TheThinkTank March 2008

thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org

55 participants
43 discussions

patch kits
by Urban Bike Project of Wilmington, Inc. 12 Mar '08

12 Mar '08

Where do you guys/gals purchase patches and tube glue? The only thing readily available to us is individual patch kits. There is always more glue left over than there are patches (waste) and there are always patches that are unnecessarily huge. Are there bulk kits available and what do you all use? Thanks for your help, Brian -- Urban Bike Project of Wilmington 1908 N. Market Street (entrance is in the parking lot behind the building) Wilmington, DE 19801 Visit us online at http://urbanbikeproject.org

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Electronic Tracking.
by plan_9＠riseup.net 12 Mar '08

12 Mar '08

I know that this has been discussed before but I didn't see what I was specifically looking for in the archives. We are growing faster than our paperwork can keep up and are in need of a better system for tracking both inventory/bikes-in/bikes-out/donations type stuff as well as Work-Trade volunteer hours. I know that there is mention of developing a "community bike software suite", does anyone know where at in development that is? From what I saw in the archives, some places do have databases set up for tracking this stuff, is there any chance that could be shared as a template with the wider community? Thanks, Andrew FM Community Bicycle Workshop

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Re: [TheThinkTank] Thethinktank Digest, Vol 19, Issue 7
by mike eng 09 Mar '08

09 Mar '08

Derek, I may be stating the obvious, but a good organization to start with would be Plan B: http://www.bikeproject.org/ On Sun, Mar 9, 2008 at 9:50 PM, <thethinktank-request(a)bikecollectives.org> wrote: > Send Thethinktank mailing list submissions to > thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > > http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.… > > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > thethinktank-request(a)bikecollectives.org > > You can reach the person managing the list at > thethinktank-owner(a)bikecollectives.org > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of Thethinktank digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. NOLA and back (Derek Dunham) > 2. suicide brake levers into diy tire levers...need pics and/or > plans... (veganboyjosh(a)gmail.com) > 3. Re: suicide brake levers into diy tire levers...need pics > and/or plans... (Julian Beldotti) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Tue, 4 Mar 2008 02:08:42 -0500 > From: "Derek Dunham" <dsdunham82(a)gmail.com> > Subject: [TheThinkTank] NOLA and back > To: "Derek Dunham" <dsdunham82(a)gmail.com> > Message-ID: > <92c1e0310803032308o1c0f155dp7e10fe467cd69b53(a)mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" > > Hello All > > My name is Derek Dunham and I am both an activist and a cyclist. My > birthday > falls on August 29th, the day hurricane katrina touched down in New > Orleans. > Ever since then I have felt a drive to get down there and help, but I had > not been able to yet. > > Skybus has tickets from Greensboro, NC to New Orleans, LA for only 40 > dollars. I want to fly, and then either ship a bike to myself, or acquire > one while I am there, possibly through a collective. There are a couple in > the city. Ideal situation would be to have one waiting for me so I could > have transportation while I am there, but I am seeking a touring bike, > because when I leave, I want to pedal back. > > I don't yet know exactly how I am going to help, or what organization, if > any, I will work through. I would love to get involved with Brad Pitt's > project, but I don't even know if that would be possible. I also really > want > to look into getting my ride back sponsored somehow. I would like to be > able > to make money for the causes I work with as well as help them while I'm > there. If anyone has any suggestions or advice as to how I might be able > to > pull this off, I'd really appreciate it. > > -- > Derek Dunham >

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suicide brake levers into diy tire levers...need pics and/or plans...
by veganboyjosh＠gmail.com 08 Mar '08

08 Mar '08

i don't remember where i heard about this idea, but someone told me about them, and i'd love to make some. basically, one removes "suicide" or flat brake levers from a (lower end) road bike/ten speed, and somehow grinds/cuts/bends them into the correct shape/etc to be used as tire levers. anyone know where there are pics of these, or directions or plans for these? thanks! josh.

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[Fwd: Looking for volunteer bike mechanics to work with kids in Nepal]
by Macho Philipovich 05 Mar '08

05 Mar '08

Maybe someone is interested? And thanks everyone for your replies to my question about formalizing shop use, they are appreciated. macho

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Fwd: [yben] FW: Looking for volunteer bike mechanics to work with kids in Nepal
by Jonathan Morrison 05 Mar '08

05 Mar '08

-----Original Message----- From: Tom Martin [mailto:tom@wrenchnepal.org] Sent: Wednesday, March 05, 2008 9:26 AM To: Tom Martin Subject: Looking for volunteer bike mechanics to work with kids in Nepal Hello, from Kathmandu! This email is going out to many of the bicycle programs and community contacts I've come across in the last few years. You may have heard from me when we were initially organizing this project, looking for advice. Now that we're off the ground, Wrench Nepal is looking for volunteers. Wrench Nepal (www.WrenchNepal.org) runs a small bike shop here in Kathmandu, Nepal, that is operated by bike mechanic 'interns'-- Nepali teenagers who, for any reason, are in danger of entering adulthood without marketable job skills, or are otherwise at a disadvantage. There are over 400 homes in Kathmandu alone for children who have been orphaned or abandoned by their families. At the moment, we work with kids from a drop-in shelter and a group that supports the families of those in prison, with a seemingly endless supply of possible new interns: teenagers eager to learn a useful skill, to practice their English, and to become self-sufficient. With only one person training them, however, the shop cannot work with more than 2-3 people at a time. That's where you come in. We're looking for two people at a time to act as bike mechanic instructors and program organizers. Two positions are available to be filled immediately; the second shift will be open in May, when the current instructor's visa expires. The requirements are: - Working knowledge of basic bike mechanics - Good communication and organizing skills - Willingness to live in a foreign environment and work with people from a very different culture Bike shop or co-op experience is a major advantage, as is experience in business administration or community activism. Grant writing skills will be helpful. Each position is for approximately 4 months and requires that you live in Kathmandu. As this is an all-volunteer program, there will be no pay, and any profit that the shop raises will be distributed among the Nepali interns for things that they need as future bike mechanics. Cost of living is very low, rent in a comfortable place can be as little as $50 per month. Volunteers can also pursue part-time paid work to support themselves while in Nepal. We encourage those of you who are presently enrolled in universities to consider this as a possible independent study abroad opportunity. We will work with the administration at your school to determine if this can be a for-credit internship for you. If you do not have mechanic skills, we may still be interested in your participation as an organizer. If interested, please send a brief resume of your relevant experience and a short cover letter to tom(a)wrenchnepal.org. Make sure to highlight your experience working with bicycles and working in community organizing positions. Thanks, and hope to hear from you soon. I encourage you to forward or re-post this message anywhere you feel is appropriate. Tom Martin Wrench Nepal tom(a)wrenchnepal.org _______________________________________________ YBEN mailing list Post: YBEN(a)lists.mayfirst.org List info: https://lists.mayfirst.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/yben To Unsubscribe Send email to: YBEN-unsubscribe(a)lists.mayfirst.org Or visit: https://lists.mayfirst.org/cgi-bin/mailman/options/yben/info%40slcbikecolle… You are subscribed as: info(a)slcbikecollective.org

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formalizing shop use
by Macho Philipovich 05 Mar '08

05 Mar '08

hey folks. for our first 2.5 years, we've set up our open hours very informally. you show up, you can rip through used parts on your own, pick out a bike to fix up on your own, fix it up on your own, or ask for help fixing your bike if you like, too. this has been great, because it's offered a lot of people access to the shop without feeling overly regimented, but toward the end of each summer (peak season), the shop has gotten really chaotic, and some volunteers have started feeling pretty anxious, with all repair stands in use, more people all over the floor with their bikes turned upside down, kids running around all over the place, people asking for help every 30 seconds when you're already helping someone else, and it just being tricky to keep an eye on everything that's going on in the shop. so, we're looking to move toward a setup where people all have to sign in with a greeter and get assigned to a volunteer to work with, and if there are no free volunteers/stands, you have to wait. i'm sure most other shops are already doing this, so i thought i'd ask for your experiences/strategies/advice. some specific questions: - do you have separate sign-up sheets for quick repairs vs. say building a bike up from scratch? - do you offer a comfy area to wait for those who need to? - do you let people work on bikes without a volunteer? - if so, do you make them "prove" that they know how to use the tools properly or respect the shop? - do you have one volunteer set up at a "flat fixing" station? - how well does all of this stuff work? but feel free to discuss things that those questions don't touch on. thanks everybody, this list is such an amazing resource, macho of the bike dump

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who's got membership?
by Jessica McPherson 05 Mar '08

05 Mar '08

Hello everyone, I am wondering who out there has tried having membership requirements, and how that has worked. Has it resulted in greater volunteer committment? How has it affected the demographics of the people that use the shop? Has anyone tried a set-up kind of like a food cooperative, where you have to volunteer hours at the shop in order to be able to use it? thanks, Jessica (Free Ride, Pittsburgh) -----Inline Attachment Follows----- _______________________________________________ Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.… ____________________________________________________________________________________ Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo! Search. http://tools.search.yahoo.com/newsearch/category.php?category=shopping

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Re: [TheThinkTank] formalizing shop use
by Bob Giordano 04 Mar '08

04 Mar '08

it comes in cycles... simple clean shop with 5-12 happy people working at stands with 2-3 vols helping as needed... then boom, shop is over full, 3 hands reach for one chain tool, small kids want help now! so... a year ago we formalized a 'bikewell' program. if you want to build a bike from the 'well' (our sideyard stocked with everything) we ask that you take a class and volunteer 2 hours. 5 different vols teach the classes that are offered 3 times a week. 3 vols run the vol. night. the class covers basic bike laws, basic maintenance, and a _shop orientation_. this one change in our program has brought just enough 'order.' we do have a nice sitting/conversing area too. like austin, we have about 12 stands, and some share tool boards. a solution we would like to see someday: open many more hours, like 10am-7pm daily. but we are all-volunteer like many others. i'm off at city meetings all the time advocating for a connected bicycle infrastruture. but it does work- we trust about 20 people with keys to the shop, and they get it done. sure we lose a tool now and then, and maybe someone that did not take the class gets a sweet bike. we bend 'rules' a lot, and try to stay fair to all. each person that comes thru the door is a relationship not a customer. our donation jar brings in about $600 a month- just enough to cover $500 rent and $100 utilities. tools are always being donated, or bought with extra shop funds and small neighborhood grants. other: -average 30 visitors per 4 hours open shop session -average 3-5 vols running each 4 hour shift (4 shifts per week) -inside space 2,000 sq ft., outside 1,000 -given away 4,000 bikes since '96 -50 green loaner bikes in circulation ($10 deposit, comes with lock, light, basket, fenders) (in process of getting them all sponsored by local businesses- for $100 a year business gets a small logo on basket, or they can decorate the bike) -one section of the shop is 'Pedal Technology' for trailer building, etc. -'people's projects' get tagged (name, date, phone) and can stay at shop for 2 weeks, then it can go back into the 'well'. -we have an annual 'festival of cycles' that is like one huge open shop session- we bring all stuff to a park, invite mechanics and musicians, and we all help each other build bikes that people ride away. (4/19/08) -we have 4 'log books' at the front of the shop: guest book, checkout log, bikewell log, financial log -i can send more info or e-docs of anything in this email... -bob giordano free cycles missoula

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direct-pull brake levers v. everything else
by Erik Stockmeier 04 Mar '08

04 Mar '08

sheldon brown (r.i.p.) went on at length all over his website about not mixing direct-pull ("V" brake, noodle brake) brake levers with any other type of brakes & vice versa. here is one quote, from http://www.sheldonbrown.com/canti-direct.html : Direct-pull cantilevers have double the mechanical advantage compared with traditional brakes, so they require special brake levers. Direct-pull brake levers pull the cable twice as far, half as hard. The lower mechanical advantage of the lever compensates for the higher M.A. of the cantilever. It is not generally safe to mix and match levers/cables between direct pull and other types for this reason. * Conventional brake levers used with direct-pull cantilevers will usually not pull enough cable to stop in wet conditions without bottoming out against the handlebars. In dry conditions, they either won't work, or will grab too suddenly. * Direct-pull brake levers used with any other type of brakes will feel nice and solid when you squeeze them, but due to their lower mechanical advantage you'll need to squeeze twice as hard to stop as you should, so unless you are a lightweight rider with gorilla-like paws, this combination isn't safe either. ...end quote so my question is this... do i need to go through my personal collection of brake levers and somehow identify/separate DP levers from the rest? is there any simple way to do this? it seems like a problem i've seen many people run in to--the brakes seem fine on the stand, nonexistant when the bike goes out for a test ride. so this is probably something we should be on the lookout for, right? ok, thanks erik of course there is this huge and boring page as well: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/cantilever-geometry.html#mechanical

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TheThinkTank March 2008