TheThinkTank September 2013

thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org

39 participants
19 discussions

Reusable Repair Checklist Tag
by director 02 May '23

02 May '23

Hey All, We just spent some time and redid the tag we use to track repairs on a bike. I'm sure your shops are similar to ours in that many mechanics of varying skill levels will work on a single bike before it's distributed back to the world for use. This make it challenging to ensure a standard of quality on any given bike leaving the shop. As we fleshed out the tag we realized that it could function loosely as a curriculum. For most mechanics, especially students we suggest starting at the top and working down the list. I've come to realize that no two mechanics will do things in the exact same way, everyone has their own style. We've been suggesting that folks do the first two items in order and then address the rest of the repairs at their discretion. Of course we couldn't put everything on a half page so we had to make compromises. You'll notice as you get closer to the bottom of the tag the categories are a little more broad and don't get into the finer details. We're working on a final check list that will include finer details like checking bearing play, tire wear, fine tune derailleurs and brakes... The final checklist won't hang on the bike but it'll be around the shop and part of our training. Stay tuned for this. We print these double sided, cut them in half and laminate them. We hang them on the handlebars and fill them out with a Sharpie. When the bike is done and gone we clean the Sharpie off with 90% rubbing alcohol and a rag. This allows us to use one tag over and over and over. We've been using these tags for about 2 weeks now and it's been awesome. Communication between mechanics is much clearer and bikes are getting done faster. It's really helped orient Earn-A-Bike students to what needs to be done next on their bike. Anyway if you think it's a good idea feel free to adapt it to your shops needs. -- Ride On! Rich Points http://communitycycles.org Executive Director (c)303-589-0597 (w)720-565-6019 Community Cycles is Boulder's only bike shop dedicated to bike commuting. Find us on facebook https://www.facebook.com/CommunityCycles

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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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Seeking help with volunteer training systems
by Dan Hock 10 Oct '13

10 Oct '13

Hello All, I work at Bike Recycle Vermont<http://www.localmotion.org/programs/bikerecycle/> in Burlington,(you guessed it) Vermont. Our shop structure is all volunteer with the exception of myself. Our program, in short, accepts donated bikes and, with volunteer help, refurbishes them so that they can be sold exclusively to low-income Vermonters. Personally, I have been struggling with training unskilled volunteers that are new to our program. I have many great people coming through the door with great intentions, but limited mechanical aptitude. Our volunteer retention is down because new folks tend to feel helpless and frustrated. In an effort to address this, I am going to start offering structured mechanics training to new volunteers. I am coming to the list with a few questions: - Are there other programs out there that require unskilled volunteers interested in volunteering as mechanics to go through mechanics trainings? If so, shed light on what structure you are using? - If we are investing over 10 hours in each prospective volunteer, is it reasonable to charge participants or ask them to commit a set amount of hours to our program in exchange for the class? If so, how much is fair in either time or money? - Does anyone have any curriculum and/or course materials (diagrams, glossaries, etc) for participants that they would be willing to share? - Are there any lessons to be learned/advice to be given to someone in my position. Thanks in advance for your time! Dan -- Dan Hock Bike Recycle Vermont Program Manager w. 802.264.9687 Bike Recycle Vermont <http://www.localmotion.com/bikerecycle> 664 Riverside Ave. Burlington Learn to ride a bicycle. You will not regret it if you live. ~Mark Twain

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Dollar value of Volunteer time at Bike Valet or in general?
by Ryan Kragerud 28 Sep '13

28 Sep '13

We're wrapping up much of our summer programming here in Longmont, CO and I'm trying to determine the "dollar value" of our services. Currently we don't pay our volunteers to do bike parking and we don't charge events for this service either. We struggled to fill many of our bike parking shifts this summer, so, our board will be discussing developing a charge for bike parking and rental of our rack/bike valet in a box program. In order to do so I'm wondering - dear Think Tank members.... What is the per hour value of volunteer time for bike valet/parking at events (or in general) in your area? thx. -- "We all do better when we all do better" - Paul Wellstone

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Bike Infrastructure question - comparable cities??
by Andrew L 27 Sep '13

27 Sep '13

hey ThinkTank, somewhat separate from my work at Troy Bike Rescue, I am part of an appointed citizens committee on alternative transportation (an idea our city is just sort of coming around to). we have 0 bike lanes, few bike racks, and about 11 sharrows (under a year old). our task is primarily research-oriented, and I am searching for comparable cities and hoping the ThinkTank might help me. Do any of you have suggestions of cities with the following characteristics: -population: 50 - 100,000 -small "bike culture" community -sizeable low-income population -investing time/money/energy into bicycles as a way of turning the city around. -demonstrable progress on that front i know they are out there, but most examples are of much bigger cities. I appreciate any suggestions! Thanks!! Andrew

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Hello, Nashville?
by Matthew VanSlyke 27 Sep '13

27 Sep '13

I'm wondering if there is a community bike shop in Nashville. I see Revolution (Memphis) listed as the only shop in TN. Hello, Nashville, do you hear me? If so, please contact me by email off the listserv, for everyone's inbox benefit. Matt VanSlyke Utica Bike Rescue

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Re: [TheThinkTank] Thethinktank Digest, Vol 85, Issue 13
by chris turner 25 Sep '13

25 Sep '13

We're going to bring a pile of stickers for Off the Chain and screen to make shirts at Bike!Bike!. Bring a blank shirt. -chris Off the Chain Bicycle Collective http://offthechainak.org On Wed, Sep 25, 2013 at 12:19 PM, < thethinktank-request(a)lists.bikecollectives.org> wrote: > Send Thethinktank mailing list submissions to > thethinktank(a)lists.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)lists.bikecollectives.org > > You can reach the person managing the list at > thethinktank-owner(a)lists.bikecollectives.org > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of Thethinktank digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Bike! Bike! Shirt Swap (director) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Wed, 25 Sep 2013 12:10:39 -0600 > From: director <director(a)communitycycles.org> > To: The Think Tank <thethinktank(a)lists.bikecollectives.org> > Subject: [TheThinkTank] Bike! Bike! Shirt Swap > Message-ID: > <CAKAQTJ= > NM1fCaqjPZuNUgZFHNzKdBe7+t1wxhTQT-03HM8PwqA(a)mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" > > Hey All, > I'm gonna bring a couple Community Cycles medium shirts and would love to > swap them for a medium shirt from your shop. > > Bring it! > > -- > Ride On! > > Rich Points > http://communitycycles.org > Executive Director > (c)303-589-0597 > (w)720-565-6019 > > Community Cycles is Boulder's only bike shop dedicated to bike commuting. > Find us on facebook <https://www.facebook.com/CommunityCycles> > Subscribe to our monthly e-news <http://eepurl.com/i7SLv> >

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Bike! Bike! Shirt Swap
by director 25 Sep '13

25 Sep '13

Hey All, I'm gonna bring a couple Community Cycles medium shirts and would love to swap them for a medium shirt from your shop. Bring it! -- Ride On! Rich Points http://communitycycles.org Executive Director (c)303-589-0597 (w)720-565-6019 Community Cycles is Boulder's only bike shop dedicated to bike commuting. Find us on facebook <https://www.facebook.com/CommunityCycles> Subscribe to our monthly e-news <http://eepurl.com/i7SLv>

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Re: [TheThinkTank] Floor Pump Recommendation
by christopher＠holisticcycles.com 23 Sep '13

23 Sep '13

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Shop Setup - What does your shop do well? What does it do not so well?
by director 18 Sep '13

18 Sep '13

Hey All, I'll be doing a presentation on shop setup at Bike! Bike!. I'll be talking about Community Cycles and how we do shop setup. We're good at some things and not so good at others. One thing we struggle with is storing drop handle bars. Meanwhile we've finally figured out to handle tires effectively. I'm writing the list to ask you to send me no more than 2 photos from your shop. One of something you do well and another of something you could use help with. Please send your photos off list to director(a)communitycycles.org Thanks! -- Ride On! Rich Points http://communitycycles.org Executive Director (c)303-589-0597 (w)720-565-6019 Community Cycles is Boulder's only bike shop dedicated to bike commuting. Find us on facebook <https://www.facebook.com/CommunityCycles> Subscribe to our monthly e-news <http://eepurl.com/i7SLv>

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TheThinkTank September 2013