TheThinkTank March 2010

thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org

28 participants
25 discussions

no boys allowed zine from bikebike?
by veganboyjosh＠gmail.com 27 Sep '18

27 Sep '18

hey all, i'm looking to get in touch with the person who wrote/published the "no boys allowed" zine which was passed out at bikebike in san francisco. it was part of one of the oppression and gender identity issues workshops. we're looking to start a women's night here at community cycles, and i'd like to scan my copy as a pdf and email it to potential volunteers, as well as make some copies to have in the shop... if you're on the list, or if you know the person who wrote it (her name escapes me), please get in touch with me off list... thanks! josh. community cycles boulder

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Is there a collective in New Orleans?
by Jonathan Morrison 06 Dec '12

06 Dec '12

Email me if you know of one. -- Sincerely, Jonathan Morrison Project Coordinator 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

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Re: [TheThinkTank] non-petroleum lube
by Michael Wolfe 04 May '11

04 May '11

Page 13 of the 1992 Bridgestone bicycle catalog has a unique recommendation of using olive oil. http://www.sheldonbrown.com/bridgestone/ On 4/2/08, Bob Giordano <mist(a)strans.org> wrote: > > Indoor air quality is tops on our list for a healthy shop atmosphere. We > do not store anything that gives off harmful fumes. Tooth brushes and > simple green (highly diluted) in a small wooden bowl is our parts cleaning > station. We are even moving away from simple green (i've learned it is > harmful to some)- to a citrus based cleaner. > > I guess tri flow is the only thing with fumes in the shop. Often we ask > people to use it outside. I'd like to find a non-petroleum lube. > > -Bob Giordano, Free Cycles Missoula > > > Michael Wolfe wrote: > > Speaking of liver damage, etc.. Wondering if any shops out there have > had > > issues solvent tanks in their shop? The fumes give me a headache but > others > > don't seem to mind it. Mostly I worry about the health effects on the > full > > time people in the shop. Short of installing a hood or ventalation > system, > > what options are there to locate that stuff outside? > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Thethinktank mailing list > Thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org > > http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.… >

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110 Community Bicycle Organizations
by Jonathan Morrison 27 Nov '10

27 Nov '10

We aren't alone. http://www.bikecollectives.org/wiki/index.php?title=Category:Community_Bicy… -- 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

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Job opening at Neighborhood Bike Works
by Neighborhood Bike Works 14 Apr '10

14 Apr '10

Neighborhood Bike Works is looking to hire a Lead Bicycle Mechanic for our North Philly shop, located at 1424-26 Susquehanna Avenue. The full job description is available at: http://www.neighborhoodbikeworks.org/NBWMechanicJobDescription.pdf. The start date for the position is March 22nd, 2010. Interested parties should contact Cat Bergeron, North Philly Shop Manager, at cat(a)neighborhoodbikeworks.org; please CC Andy Dyson, Executive Director, at andy(a)neighborhoodbikeworks.org. We encourage you to forward this notice to anyone who might be interested, but please do not repost it publicly. Thanks, Neighborhood Bike Works 3916 Locust Walk Philadelphia, PA 19104 215.386.0316 www.neighborhoodbikeworks.org Donate Now! http://www.justgive.org/nonprofits/donate.jsp?ein=23-3012779

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fix a flat teaching materials
by Sarah Follett (B!KE) 09 Apr '10

09 Apr '10

Hello all, Rather than reinvent the wheel, I thought I'd turn to the great collective resource that is the Think Tank. I was wondering if anyone had a fun handout with steps for how to fix a flat. I'm doing some high school visits with tutorials, and I think having a reference on paper is the only way I'm going to be able to manage to teach a class of 20 youth all at once! Thanks in advance! Sarah Follett Director, B!KE: The Peterborough Community Bike Shop 400 Wolfe St Peterborough, Ontario (705) 748-6681 http://www.communitybikeshop.org

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Co-ops & shade tree shops
by Joel Gillespie 01 Apr '10

01 Apr '10

I'll apologize up front for the large amount of exposition to come. If you'd prefer to thin-slice, my question is this: What conflicts have other collectives encountered with "shade tree" mechanics and other unofficial LBS's, and what are reasonable steps to take to avoid unnecessary competition with them? Hi, this is Joel Gillespie from The Bike Project of Urbana-Champaign (http://www.thebikeproject.org) in Illinois. We've recently entered into a Facility Use Agreement with the University of Illinois to collaborate with the U of I to open an on-campus location for our cooperative, to be known as the Campus Bike Project (clever, right?). A student group funded by an optional student sustainability fee gave us a grant to convert an old garage into a shop, and the university is allowing us to use the space rent- and utility-free (at least for the first year), and they're paying a 20-hour-per-week employee (me) out of the facilities budget. In return, we're doing basically the same things we already do at our original location -- assist with member repairs and build-a-bikes, refurbish and sell or donate used bikes, and sell a few very low-end, consumable or safety parts like tires, tubes, helmets, locks and lights. Our collective has an ongoing relationship with the U of I parking department where they give us the abandoned bikes from the previous school year (this was something that they approached us about, not something we sought). This new location has been the last straw for one of our erstwhile volunteer staffers, who operates a used-bike sales, frame painting, and bike repair business out of his house. He's made some noise on the local bike listservs and has been accusing us of some pretty nasty things like misusing our nonprofit status and has threatening an FBI investigation, etc., but I guess that's not really the point of my question. His view is that we're unfairly competing with him because we accept grants and get benefits from working with the university. The most reasonable part of his argument is that we're unfairly competing with his business since we sell repaired bikes to non-members, and we also don't have the best membership tracking system, which has probably led to non-members taking advantage of multiple unpaid visits for repair help. We have a "first visit free" policy for use of the shop and tools, after which you have to buy a membership to use the space -- $25 per yr for students, $40 per yr for non-students. Those points have some merit, and we're taking steps to make things more member-centric. We're also going to have very visible maps and handouts showing locations and contact info of LBS's. So, I guess what I'm asking, is that enough? Does what we're doing sound unreasonable? We don't want to bend over backwards to please someone just because they're complaining, but at the same time, we want to be a good neighbor to folks trying to make a decent living. Thanks in advance for your time and insights. Joel Gillespie The Bike Project of Urbana-Champaign _________________________________________________________________ Hotmail: Trusted email with powerful SPAM protection. http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/210850553/direct/01/

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Specialty Tools
by Jonathan Morrison 28 Mar '10

28 Mar '10

At heart I am a tool junkie, so one of the small highlights at Mountain States Bike Bike was seeing some of their specialty tools... http://www.bikecollectives.org/wiki/index.php?title=Tools#Specialty_Tools What does your shop use that is special? 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 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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mobile bike shops?
by adam schwartz 26 Mar '10

26 Mar '10

We recently lost our physical workshop/classroom/storage space due to the economy and are considering the concept of going mobile. We already developed a mobile bike shop based out of a landscaping trailer (photos attached), however due to a conflict with our previous partner organization (the Univ of Maryland) and our main funder our mobile bike shop was siezed and its future is currently being negotiated by lawyers. Its really sad and ugly but we are committed to moving forward despite the loss. We have now formed our own 501c3 in incredible time and have fully terminated our partnership with the university. Anyway, I wanted to hear about anyone who has had success with a mobile bike program. We are currently considering using a biodiesel school bus to house our operations as cheap space is very hard to come by in the Washington DC area. Thanks for your input and ideas. -- Adam Schwartz The Renaissance Youth Bike Shop, ECO Inc. rideyourbicycle(a)gmail.com

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mobile bike shops?
by Bob Giordano 26 Mar '10

26 Mar '10

I do think every shop/program should be prepared to go mobile if money or politics does not allow a rentable/buyable space. The streets/trails/parks are _public space_, ideal for public bicycle activity. You can go to the area in need, and post a schedule. Bio bus is understandable, bike power ideal (then no license, registration, fuel and the demo power of biking a small shop has huge positive ripple effects). Parking a bikable rig on the street overnight brings up interesting 'legal' issues. In missoula, a trailer or vehicle must be registered to be left on the street- I'd fight that restriction if it arose though, since bikes have almost zero negative impact. We have parked haywagons full of bikes on the streets for a few days with free parts and instructions for trailer building. -Bob g, free cycles missoula --- adam schwartz wrote: > We recently lost our physical workshop/classroom/storage space due to the > economy and are considering the concept of going mobile. We already developed a mobile bike shop based out of a landscaping trailer (photos attached), however due to a conflict with our previous partner > organization > (the Univ of Maryland) and our main funder our mobile bike shop was siezed > and its future is currently being negotiated by lawyers. Its really sad and > ugly but we are committed to moving forward despite the loss. We have now > formed our own 501c3 in incredible time and have fully terminated our partnership with the university. Anyway, I wanted to hear about anyone who > has had success with a mobile bike program. We are currently considering > using a biodiesel school bus to house our operations as cheap space is very > hard to come by in the Washington DC area. Thanks for your input and ideas. > > -- > Adam Schwartz > The Renaissance Youth Bike Shop, ECO Inc. > rideyourbicycle(a)gmail.com

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TheThinkTank March 2010