February 2018 - TheThinkTank - lists.bikecollectives.org

Webhosting/domains
by Bike City 24 Mar '25

24 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 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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Songs about bikez
by Cynthia Williams 02 Apr '18

02 Apr '18

Hey everyone, Sunny and I are working on a podcast about community bike shops that's going to air sometime in February on CiTR 101.9 FM, unceded Coast Salish territories, Vancouver. What are your favourite songs about bikes and biking? We need more solid tunes, especially songs written by women, queer folks, femmes (aka FEMcon) and Canadian content (CANcon), because radio stations in Canada are required to play a certain amount of CANcon. Are you in a grimey band? Send us your tracks! Cheers, *Cyn Williams * *Communications Coordinator* AMS Bike Co-op University of British Columbia 604-822-BIKE | bikecoop.ca | @ubcbike

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Ogden Bicycle Collective is Hiring a Youth Program Coordinator
by Danielle Fry 26 Feb '18

26 Feb '18

Hi all, The Ogden Bicycle Collective is hiring a Youth Program Coordinator! After spending a year successfully developing our growing youth programs, our Youth Program Coordinator is off to meet new challenges. So, we are looking for an equally engaging individual to run our current youth programs including Youth Open Shop Night, Earn-A-Bike, Kids Bike Giveaways, and more. There will be opportunity to develop new programs and serve the youth in the community in new ways as capacity and community interest grows. If you like teaching youth of all ages about bikes and want to make sure all kids get to experience the joy of bikes, this is your gig! The Highlights: Part-time (20-25 hours/week) $10-$14 hourly pay DOE Ability to share the love of bikes with kids throughout the community Attached is the job description. Please feel free to share! -- Danielle Fry Director Ogden Bicycle Collective 936 28th Street Ogden, UT 84403 801-997-0336

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Point of Sale Recommendations
by Phoenix Bikes 26 Feb '18

26 Feb '18

Hi everyone, I don't think this has been asked about for a while so here goes: Phoenix Bikes is moving to a new space and would like to use this opportunity to switch out point-of-sale (POS) systems. Any recommendations? Thanks in advance, Meg *Meg Rapelye, MSW* Executive Director, Phoenix Bikes 4200 S. Four Mile Run Drive Arlington, VA 22206 Bike Shop: 703-575-7762 Cell: 703-350-3843 Web: www.phoenixbikes.org Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/phoenixbikesVA/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/PhoenixBikes Instagram: phoenix_bikes <https://www.instagram.com/phoenix_bikes/>

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501c3 activity and IRS rules
by Bob Giordano 24 Feb '18

24 Feb '18

Below is a link and some text related to IRS rules and 501c3 activity. To me this points out the critical importance of defining your mission. When we started in 1996, we were very clear that 'providing bikes' and 'creating sustainable transportation' were goals towards a 'healthy community and environment', for instance. See part 3 of the IRS 'three-part' test below. (this ruling is from 1985, so more up to date rules may be out there) -- Bob Giordano Free Cycles Missoula, www.freecycles.org Missoula Institute for Sustainable Transportation https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-tege/eotopicj85.pdf "Questions arise as to whether these activities, such as strikes, economic boycotts, picketing, and mass demonstrations, are permissible methods of furthering educational or charitable purposes. In determining whether activities of this type are consistent with IRC 501(c)(3), the Service relies on a three-part test. Rev. Rul. 80-278. Such activities will be considered permissible under IRC 501(c)(3) if: (1) The purpose of the organization is charitable; (2) the activities are not illegal, contrary to a clearly defined and established public policy, or in conflict with express statutory restrictions; and (3) the activities are in furtherance of the organization's exempt purpose and are reasonably related to the accomplishment of that purpose. " --- Edward Stewart wrote: Be careful of your non-profit status when taking political stance on issues. --- On Thu, Feb 22, 2018, BikeConcord <Smitty(a)bikeconcord.org> wrote: We are debating wether or not to post on our Facebook page. The brands Bell, Giro helmets, Blackburn lights, and CamelBak bags are all owned by the parent company Vista Outdoor, America’s largest manufacturer of ammunition and a big NRA booster.

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Boycott Vista Products
by BikeConcord 24 Feb '18

24 Feb '18

We are debating wether or not to post on our Facebook page. The brands Bell, Giro helmets, Blackburn lights, and CamelBak bags are all owned by the parent company Vista Outdoor, America’s largest manufacturer of ammunition and a big NRA booster. https://vistaoutdoor.com/brands/ Best regards and Happy pedaling! “Smitty” (S. M. Ardrey) Community Bicycle Shop Coordinator a.k.a. The Instigator (925)285-1814 BikeConcord.org Facebook: BikeConcord Bike Concord's nonprofit 501(c) 3 sponsor is Bike East Bay BikeEastBay.org

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Consent Forms and logistics for Drop-in Public Youth Rides and Road Skills learning?
by bike club 19 Feb '18

19 Feb '18

Hey Folks, We are hoping to create a riding/ road skills component to our drop-in youth shop program and I am wondering about the logistics/legalities of how to approach this! For over six month now we've been hosting a drop-in shop program as a collaboration between Pedal Society and Kickstand community bikes one afternoon a week where teens can drop in and get free support servicing their bikes, volunteer on shop projects to learn mechanics skills, and volunteer as part of our earn a bike program.In an effort to make the program as low barrier as possible we have left it as a drop in program vs. having a formal sign up, etc. The drop in is slowly growing a devoted crew of regulars. YAY! It has come to our attention that many teens, especially those who have not previously had access to a bike, do not have competency navigating the roads safely. In an effort to remedy this and build road skills and riding into our program, our thought is to make one week of the month our teen community ride and another day our road skills learning in the parking lot. It seems like hosting a road skills/riding session as a drop-in, with different people showing up every week would come with a host of challenges and complexities. Right now, our best idea, is that youth who will be leaving the parking lot with us on monthly rides will need a consent form and to have demonstrated a certain aptitude for riding. We're not exactly sure how to test for this or how exactly to go about teaching road skills on a drop in basis on a different monthly day while other folks are in the shop with the other instructor. How can we build on road skills when different people may show up every week? Therefore, my associated questions are: - Structure: Does anyone have any feedback on how to structure this? If we have different youth coming in all the time, it's kind of hard to build on road skills that take more than one day to teach - is it feasible to have a drop in program that teaches riding skills? - If many teenagers want to come on a community ride, do we need to cap it like a formal program (2 instructors per 10 youth) or is there a way to facilitate a larger more open community ride? I'd love to hear any feedback folks have for how to make this happen. Woohoo! Sarah -- Sarah Duby FioRito Bike Club Youth Program Coordinator Pedal Energy Development Alternatives (PEDAL) www.pedalpower.org

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Tool Board Fashion Show - late but great
by DCoppley＠intercitytransit.com 19 Feb '18

19 Feb '18

I meant to share our boards, but took a while snapping photos. Work stands, tool boards, and work ticket clipboards are color coordinated. There is storage behind the board for tires and cables. Please enjoy all the lovely type-a organizing. Photos are attached. David David Coppley Walk n' Roll Program Assistant Intercity Transit 360-705-5817 (office) 360-701-8379 (cell) PO Box 659 Olympia, WA 98501 dcoppley(a)intercitytransit.com<mailto:dcoppley@intercitytransit.com> Find us on Facebook!<https://www.facebook.com/BicycleCommuterContest> [WalkNRoll_HZ_RGB]

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