May 2009 - TheThinkTank - lists.bikecollectives.org

how to deal with enthusiastic but wrong volunteer mechanics?
by veganboyjosh＠gmail.com 13 May '09

13 May '09

Sorry for dominating the emails, folks. Community Cycles is in all kinds of transition, and we're looking for help. I don't know all the details right now, so I'll keep this general. We've been lucky enough to have a volunteer show up who's very motivated and enthusiastic about our mission and our programs. This person has gotten really involved in existing programs and even helped work on and start a new one. Recently, this person was asked by another shop visitor a mechanical question, since it was clear that the volunteer was more staff like, and less client. The answer given was very incorrect (one of the details I'm missing is what the quesiton/answer were), but this was witnessed by another very competent experienced mechanic, who was uncomfortable correcting the misstatement in front of the group. In another situation, the same volunteer was seen making very basic mistakes when working alone on a bike. From what I understand, the big one was being asked to install cables on a bike, and neglecting to include housing. We would like to continue having this person as a part of our team, but we also need to make sure the advice and work they do is correct, safe, and appropriate. One other wrinkle, is that the two incidents were witnessed by two different staff members, both very skilled mechanics. How to approach the volunteer? Any help or experience you folks have would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! josh.

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What to do with the nice stuff?
by Jonathan Morrison 12 May '09

12 May '09

Everyone wants the nice bikes / parts, only those that don't know any better aren't savy yet (and that never lasts long if they hang around a shop). So what does your shop do with the nice stuff in regards to work-trade? We are trying to develop a policy in SLC. I have heard some shops don't allow trade over a certain dollar value... I have heard some shops set work-trade at an unskilled labor rate of $5... Sincerely, Jonathan Morrison Executive Director Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective 2312 S. West Temple Salt Lake City, UT 84115 w: 801-328-2453 c: 801-688-0183 f: 801-466-3856 www.slcbikecollective.org Get Addicted to Crank! http://www.slcbikecollective.org/crank/ The mission of the Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective is to promote cycling as an effective and sustainable form of transportation and as a cornerstone of a cleaner, healthier, and safer society. The Bicycle Collective provides refurbished bicycles and educational programs to the community, focusing on children and lower income households.

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Collaborations between your organization and others?
by veganboyjosh＠gmail.com 12 May '09

12 May '09

Howdy all, Hope the spring to summer transition is greeting all of you with good weather and lots of competent willing volunteers to handle the influx of traffic... I'd love to hear about collaborations you've found with outside organizations, either bike related or not. What potential sources for programming and resources have you come across? I'm interested in hearing both successes and failures. Thanks! josh Community Cycles Boulder, CO

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Re: [TheThinkTank] Collaborations between your organization and others?
by james blesdoe 12 May '09

12 May '09

??summer influx ?? in sunny so cal we never get a rest we are booked, and have been for a year, one week out it's a mad house --- On Mon, 5/11/09, veganboyjosh(a)gmail.com <veganboyjosh(a)gmail.com> wrote: From: veganboyjosh(a)gmail.com <veganboyjosh(a)gmail.com> Subject: [TheThinkTank] Collaborations between your organization and others? To: "The Think Tank" <thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org> Date: Monday, May 11, 2009, 6:07 PM Howdy all, Hope the spring to summer transition is greeting all of you with good weather and lots of competent willing volunteers to handle the influx of traffic... I'd love to hear about collaborations you've found with outside organizations, either bike related or not. What potential sources for programming and resources have you come across? I'm interested in hearing both successes and failures. Thanks! josh Community Cycles Boulder, CO -----Inline Attachment Follows----- _______________________________________________ Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org To unsubscribe, send a blank email to TheThinkTank-leave(a)bikecollectives.org To manage your subscription, plase visit: http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.…

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Why tribes, not money or factories, will change the world - TED talks, Seth Godin (2009)
by Doug Franz 11 May '09

11 May '09

This presentation makes me think a lot about what we are all doing, changing the world. It’s a very interesting and insightful presentation. Please watch it. Doug Franz President Coatesville Community Bike Works Feed: TEDTalks (video) Posted on: Sunday, May 10, 2009 10:34 PM Author: Seth Godin Subject: TEDTalks : Why tribes, not money or factories, will change the world - Seth Godin (2009) Seth Godin argues the Internet has ended mass marketing and revived a human social unit from the distant past: tribes. Founded on shared ideas and values, tribes give ordinary people the power to lead and make big change. He urges us to do so. <http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~r/TEDTalks_video/~4/KSp4GlqIQHc> View <http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TEDTalks_video/~3/KSp4GlqIQHc/538> article... Enclosures: <http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TEDTalks_video/~5/-MeVD1nobbg/SethGodin_2009…> SethGodin_2009.mp4 (57 MB) <http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TEDTalks_video/~5/-MeVD1nobbg/SethGodin_2009…> http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TEDTalks_video/~5/-MeVD1nobbg/SethGodin_2009…

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Seth Godin on the tribes we lead | Video on TED.com
by hitrim＠yahoo.com 11 May '09

11 May '09

*Please note, the sender's email address has not been verified. This presentation makes me think a lot about what we are all doing, changing the world. Itâs a very interesting and insightful presentation. Please watch it. Doug Franz President Coatesville Community Bike Works ******************** If you are having trouble with any of the links in this message, or if the URL's are not appearing as links, please follow the instructions at the bottom of this email. Title: Seth Godin on the tribes we lead | Video on TED.com Copy and paste the following into your Web browser to access the sent link: http://www.emailthis.clickability.com/et/emailThis?clickMap=viewThis&etMail… $summary Copy and paste the following into your Web browser to SAVE THIS link: http://www.savethis.clickability.com/st/saveThisPopupApp?clickMap=saveFromE… Copy and paste the following into your Web browser to forward this link: http://www.emailthis.clickability.com/et/emailThis?clickMap=forward&etMailT… ******************** Email pages from any Web site you visit - add the EMAIL THIS button to your browser, copy and paste the following into your Web browser: http://www.emailthis.clickability.com/et/emailThis?clickMap=browserButtons&…" ********************* Instructions: ----------------------------------------- If your e-mail program doesn't recognize Web addresses: 1. With your mouse, highlight the Web Address above. Be sure to highlight the entire Web address, even if it spans more than one line in your email. 2. Select Copy from the Edit menu at the top of your screen. 3. Launch your Web browser. 4. Paste the address into your Web browser by selecting Paste from the Edit menu. 5. Click Go or press Enter or Return on your keyboard. ********************

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Re: [TheThinkTank] diluting the market
by james blesdoe 11 May '09

11 May '09

your friend is wrong if a person gets one of the junkers from you and starts riding they will need new stuff or a new bike later and go to a bike shop, spending money, If you replace a car driver with a bike rider the new rider will spend money in bike shops. no instead of diluting the market, even if you give the bikes away you are adding to the cycling world and creating more chances for the bike shops to do business. --- On Sun, 5/10/09, Liza Mattana <pedals2people(a)gmail.com> wrote: From: Liza Mattana <pedals2people(a)gmail.com> Subject: [TheThinkTank] diluting the market To: "The Think Tank" <thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org> Date: Sunday, May 10, 2009, 8:13 AM Hey, I have a question about reselling bikes and what to charge people. We're located in Spokane, WA and the bike "boom" is just starting to hit us. Those great deals on craiglsist and at Goodwill don't exist any more. We accept some quality bike donations from people, mostly older mtn bikes, and we sell some as-is and some refurbished. We sell these bike for around $75-100. A friend of ours who works at a bike shop in town said that with our low prices, we were diluting the market. Do you all think this is right? In our defense, we feel these bikes are donated and we want to pass on a good deal. We don't want to squeeze people for every penny. thanks, Liza -- Liza Mattana president www.pedals2people.org Spokane, WA -----Inline Attachment Follows----- _______________________________________________ Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org To unsubscribe, send a blank email to TheThinkTank-leave(a)bikecollectives.org To manage your subscription, plase visit: http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.…

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diluting the market
by Liza Mattana 10 May '09

10 May '09

Hey, I have a question about reselling bikes and what to charge people. We're located in Spokane, WA and the bike "boom" is just starting to hit us. Those great deals on craiglsist and at Goodwill don't exist any more. We accept some quality bike donations from people, mostly older mtn bikes, and we sell some as-is and some refurbished. We sell these bike for around $75-100. A friend of ours who works at a bike shop in town said that with our low prices, we were diluting the market. Do you all think this is right? In our defense, we feel these bikes are donated and we want to pass on a good deal. We don't want to squeeze people for every penny. thanks, Liza -- Liza Mattana president www.pedals2people.org Spokane, WA

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Work Bench Types
by Rich Points 06 May '09

06 May '09

Community Cycles is expanding into a larger space, not to be confused with "enough" space, our main shop area will now be about 1,000sqft. As we reconfigure the shop we're trying to determine what kind of work benches to go with. Right now we have one main 8 ft bench with a pegboard where the common every day tools are kept, screw drivers, allen keys, box wrenches... This bench also has a vice and stores crates of parts below. We keep other specialty tools like crown race pullers and the like out of the mix and require them to be checked out. We've seen quite a few shops who have smaller benches with a set of dedicated tools at each, Salt Lake, Fort Collins, Bike Kitchen San Fran... We've also seen places like Free Ride in Pittsburgh that have one super long bench with dedicated sections. I can see the benefits of both set ups. At the same time I realize the configuration of a building often dictates how you set up the shop. We've got a 24ft wall where we can put the bench(s) in the new shop. I envision each work station requiring 6 X 10ft which would allow four stations in the space. The individual benches would be 2.5ft wide and 3-4ft long. A long bench would have pegboard the whole way and each work station could be marked by colors or something. Small individual benches can be moved for special events or large bike donations whereas the long bench is somewhat permanent. I see the long bench as a way to maximize the storage space. What do you guys think? Is there a perfect work bench for a bike coop with a little bit of space? Ride On! -- Rich Points Community Cycles Director http://CommunityCycles.org Rich(a)CommunityCycles.org 720-565-6019 (W) 720-565-0155 (H) Donate your old car to Community Cycles http://communitycycles.org/get-involved/donatecar.html

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Tax implications of paying people
by Urban Bike Project Wilmington, DE 06 May '09

06 May '09

Hello! Thanks to everyone who replied to the fork storage question, it was really helpful to see photographs. Now for another issue. We may get funding/reimbursement for rehabbing bikes, then distributing them in a free bike program. There is currently not enough time or space in the shop to do this during regular shop hours. What we thought to do was pay mechanics an hourly or per bike stipend to come in when we're closed and work on the free bikes. What sort of things do we have to keep track of/worry about in regards to the money. There could be any number of people working on the bikes and I would hate to, tax-wise, consider each of them an employee, especially when the per year total would probably be a few hundred dollars at most. Is it enough to keep track of who we paid and where the money went and put the onus on our mechanics to report it on their personal tax return? Thanks! Brian Urban Bike Project of Wilmington -a 501(c)3 non-profit bike shop- 1908 N. Market Street (entrance is in the parking lot behind the building) Wilmington, DE 19802 Hours: Thursday 6:30-9:00 Saturday 1:00-4:00 Visit us online at http://urbanbikeproject.org

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