September 2014 - TheThinkTank - lists.bikecollectives.org

Webhosting/domains
by Bike City 25 Mar '25

25 Mar '25

Well, I recently threw together some hand-written HTML and slapped it onto a free (and ad-less) webhost. This seemed great at first, regardless of the weird URL. But after lots of other publicity and potential traffic, I've seen it get hacked twice (by a radical Islamic group after the whole host, nothing personal), and lately it's either painfully slow to load or completely down. So, I haven't done this for about a decade and I'm out of the loop. I'm really not willing to suffer any ads, but since our budgeted is obcenely limited for such fluff, does anyone have recommendations? Are there any more reliable ad-free free hosts? (Probably not, for obvious reasons.) Otherwise, how do you guys handle web hosting? How much does it cost? What's a good balance between reliable and affordable? How much is domain registration nowadays? We don't have our 501(c)(3) status yet so we won't get a deal until later this year, by the way. Anyway, please help. It's rough to find time to FTP an update and find the site's down. Thanks, andrea Bike City Recyclery of Fayetteville, Arkansas http://bikecity.uuuq.com/ (hahaha)

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Reusable Repair Checklist Tag
by director 03 May '23

03 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 28 Sep '18

28 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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Instruction for Marginalized Communities: Women on Wheels and Multilingual Nights
by Lauren Warbeck 27 Feb '16

27 Feb '16

Oh HEYYYY again... It's a double email kinda day. 1) Multilingual Nights We're hosting our first ever multilingual nights YAYYYYY! We now have a posse of rad mechanics who are fluent in English, Spanish, French, Cantonese, and Mandarin and we are planning to hold a series of multilingual instruction nights. We're about to have our first sub-committee meeting about how we're going to go about the planning of these nights (ie: Do we have a strictly Spanish night, or a Spanish & French night? What is the role of Anglo mechanics in these nights? What are the underlying needs of these communities beyond language instruction?), but first I wanted to find out if any of you have feedback or resource materials about your own experiences hosting multilingual nights. What did you set out to do? Did it work? What did you learn? 2) Women on Wheels We're in the process of reconsidering the reach and name of our women's night, Women on Wheels. This name has been revisited several times by our collective, and again we're feeling the need for change. Those of you who commit energy to thinking about providing services across the gender/sexuality spectrum...I'm looking for your input. The key challenges for us, (and maybe all of us?) I think, are two-fold: First, it's about holding space for those who adhere to identity politics (tangible and named - Woman, Lesbian, Dyke, sometimes Transwoman etc) while also holding space for folks who exist all along the gender and sexuality spectrum (intangible and variably named - Queer, Tomboi, sometimes Transwoman, Genderqueer, etc ). As in, how do we hold safer space for butch grandmas and trans women and gender queer folks all at once? Is it feasible or possible to hold safer space strictly around gender variance? Or is it presumptuous as fuck to try to lump these diverse communities together? Or reductionist to assume gender experience is the key connecting factor between these individuals (and not race, or class, or ....)? Second, it's about negotiating the instances of inclusion and exclusion that emerge as a result of differing levels of awareness and knowledge around these varied philosophies and ways of identifying. This is the crux of why we've called it Women's Night for so long. While in practice our "women's night" is attended by trans-women, cis-women, femmes, masculine-identified genderqueers, tombois, etc etc, we have continued to call it women's night to make sure that people who aren't familiar with the world of post-modern gender identity know they are welcome, and cis-men know easily and clearly that it is not for them. I guess, to make it legible to mainstream communities, while still welcoming to non-mainstream communities. Meanwhile, we've also had interest from femme-identified cis-men and trans men in having services for masculine-presenting folks or folks who are presumed masculine (which again, is on a really broad spectrum). We're in convo with folks about their needs and wants, but it would also be great to have input from other shops. Where I'm really seeking is input about how your shops are drawing the lines around participation in nights for marginalized communities (including communities bonded around race, ethnicity, ability, etc) and/or how to meld diverse communities in appropriate and supportive ways. I know that Plan B has Ladies, Trans, and Sissies Night, and BICAS has Women, Trans, and Femme night. Where are folks at with their organizing process around this? What are other shops doing? You are all so great. Lauren

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members and sign up database software
by Jesse Cooper 23 Sep '15

23 Sep '15

Hey Folks! So at Our Community Bikes in Vancouver, we're thinking it's time to set up a proper sign in / sign out system, combined with a membership and volunteer database. Ideally we would like to know what software is out there that can track people coming in and using our space, a simple laptop or desktop kiosk where folks can type in info, and it would enter our database. Also to serve as a database that members can register into, and again wherein volunteers can sign up, and log their hours, and tasks accomplished. sooo.. any ideas? Jesse Cooper

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Bike Pirates Announces a Big Move!
by Ainsley Naylor 29 Oct '14

29 Oct '14

Friends and allies, Bike Pirates would like to announce that we are currently in search of a new home for 2015! We are excited to start a new chapter and to have you all along for the exciting years ahead. Our hope is to be settling into a new, bigger and better space in January which should have the least impact on our operations. But we need your help! We will need hands to help sort, pack and move out of our home on Bloor Street. We will also need lots of help and skilled individuals to help build and set up our new home. To cover the predicted costs of moving and renovating and lost income during this transition period we will be launching a fundraising campaign in the next few weeks. Please stay tuned for details on this campaign, as well as callouts for support and “hands on deck” as we sail into the future. *Check our website, facebook and twitter feeds to keep up to date*. Thanks for all of your support, we couldn't do this without you! Bike Pirates.

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CBC Job Posting - Development/Communications Director
by Andy Greif 28 Oct '14

28 Oct '14

Hi Colleagues, We are recruiting to hire a Development/Communications Director for the Community Bicycle Center. The link announcing the job application details along with the job description can be found at http://communitybike.net/images/Development_Communications%20Director%20CBC. pdf. Let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for helping us get the word out to potential candidates. FYI, Bronwyn has chosen to leave the CBC effective January 1, 2015. She plans to continue supporting the CBC as a volunteer leading our AppleCycle benefit in 2015. Our hope is that we will have our new Development/Communications Director on staff by early December to have cross over with Bronwyn. Contact me if you have any questions. Thanks for your help! Take care, Andy Andy Greif, Executive Director Mailing: P.O. Box 783, Biddeford, ME 04005 Shop: 45 Granite Street, Biddeford Shop Phone: 207-282-9700 Cell Phone: 207-229-8199 Website: www.communitybike.net <http://www.communitybike.net/> "Providing Opportunities for Youth to Grow" Don't forget to check out our orchard-hopping bike ride to support kids! Oct. 5 | Southern Maine | 17, 30 or 62 miles Register now for a free event shirt! www.BikeAppleCycle.com <http://www.bikeapplecycle.com/>

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Shop Liability Insurance- who are you using these days?
by Leslie Peteya 28 Oct '14

28 Oct '14

Hi all, We at the Durham Bike Co-op are on the market for a new shop liability insurance carrier to cover our assets, our volunteers, and their assets. What carrier have you had good success with? Who should we avoid? And to those shops that don't carry it, holy crap, I totally suggest you should. We recently had a patron's health insurance company come after us because of an accident on our premises, and saved us a good amount of hassle by having our insurance deal with it. Best, Leslie Board Member, Purchaser and 4 Other Roles Durham Bike Co-op

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bikebike 2014 inventory discussion handout
by William Wedler 16 Oct '14

16 Oct '14

Hey everyone, Thanks for the great discussion at BikeBike on inventory. Attached is the handout that I had. I am also cc'ing this to the thinktank list. Please send this along to anybody else who may want to see the information. -Will

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Bike collectives in New Hampshire/Vermont areas
by mfen651＠aol.com 11 Oct '14

11 Oct '14

Hi all, quick question - do you know of any bike collectives, organizations in the Brattleboro Vt, Keene New Hampshire area? Could you let me know contact information. I have a young lady friend who I think would like to get tied into a group to learn all aspects of cycling. Thanks in advance. Matt

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