January 2019 - 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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2 floor bike racks
by Tigre Bici 24 Mar '19

24 Mar '19

Hello everyone We are thinking on buying/making a 2 floor bike rack to save some space and have more bikes in a small space. Do anyone have experience on them? Any insights on we shall make it or buy it? Thanks R.

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Your opinion please....
by Ellen Willis-Conger 06 Feb '19

06 Feb '19

Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition has 3 different sites/shops. We are going to upgrade our POS system to work better with our Quickbooks online in order to make life easier and more accurate for all! Do you have experience with how the following POS systems interface with Quickbooks? Please share your opinion and experience with support !! 1) Primaseller 2) Shopkeep 3) Lightspeed Thank you!! Ellen -- Ellen Willis-Conger *Associate Director* Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition p: 805.845.8955 w: sbbike.org e: ellen(a)sbbike.org <https://www.facebook.com/sbbikes/> <https://www.instagram.com/sbbike.s/>

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Ogden Bicycle Collective is Hiring a Volunteer Coordinator
by Danielle Stiff 31 Jan '19

31 Jan '19

Hi all, Our Volunteer Coordinator is off to grad school, so we're hiring a new one! Here's a link <https://bicyclecollective.org/ogden-news/item/784-obc-is-hiring-a-volunteer…> to the job posting and on our website! Thanks! -- Danielle Stiff Director Ogden Bicycle Collective 936 28th Street Ogden, UT 84403 801-997-0336

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Bike wash
by Jennifer Shriver 28 Jan '19

28 Jan '19

Community Cycles is moving to a new permanent space (hooray!!) and we are updating a few of our processes along the way, including our bike wash. Has anyone looked into this issue? Concerned about 2 things: 1. Conserving water 2. Not putting grease and contaminants into the waste water Interested to hear ANY experience or thoughts y'all have. Thanks so much. Wishing you a beautiful, bicycle-filled day, Jennifer Marie Shriver Development Director 303-641-2749 w <http://www.communitycycles.org>ww.communitycycles.org <http://www.communitycycles.org>

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Re: [TheThinkTank] Thethinktank Digest, Vol 148, Issue 14
by Lawrence Mohammed 28 Jan '19

28 Jan '19

Great concept and strategy Bob, congrats! Warmest regards, *Lawrence Mohammed* Director & Head Mechanic Pro Bike Service C.I.C. *+44 (0)77 222 58587* *probikeservice.co.uk <https://probikeservice.co.uk>* *facebook.com/probikeservice <https://www.facebook.com/professionalbikeservice>* /[Location, NOT delivery address] Pro Bike Service C.I.C. Multi-Storey Car Park Lesney Avenue Olympic Park London E20 3BS / On 26/01/2019 21:04, 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. Re: capital campaign in missoula, results (Judith Feist) > 2. capital campaign in missoula, results (mist(a)strans.org) > > _______________________________________________ > Thethinktank mailing list > Thethinktank(a)lists.bikecollectives.org > http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.…

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capital campaign in missoula, results
by mist＠strans.org 28 Jan '19

28 Jan '19

Hi all, If any group is thinking of taking on a big capital campaign to buy their building and property, I'd be happy to talk about our experience here in Missoula over the last few years. The nutshell: our 4,000 sq ft community shop was for sale as part of a larger 2 acre property with a 28,000 sq ft building (lots of additions, annexes, offices, warehouse, etc). We went for it and succeeded in buying the whole thing, for 1.1 million dollars. It's in the heart of Missoula, on the trail system with great vistas to the mountains. We raised $200,000 in cash donations in 9 months, secured a $100,000 county loan (4% over 20 years) and had a local woman loan us the balance of 900k. We pay her $6,200/mo as the mortgage (6% over 25 years). A key component: we have secured enough renters to bring in $7,600/mo. That amount covers the local loan, the county loan, insurance and property tax (we gained tax exempt status on 85% of the property). We have like minded renters, from a mushroom grower to t-shirt shop to non profits renting the offices, a clay studio and so on. It has been a challenge, yet we feel very secure. We are growing bike programs, a venue space and we will likely take on the other spaces for more programs as we pay down the loan notes. The arrangement with the local person was a 'contract for deed', which gives us all the rights and responsibilities as property owner. Send me an email if you'd like to talk more. I do think this is a good model: buy a piece of property and rent out enough to cover the bulk of costs. -Bob Giordano, Free Cycles Missoula

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fundraising inquiry
by Judith Feist 25 Jan '19

25 Jan '19

Good Morning (almost afternoon), all! I have a question for any folks out there whose collective/workshop does large fundraisers/events where participants are asked to register either themselves or teams. We have been using crowdrise and had a number of complications with it this year. Are there any fundraising websites or apps out there that you would suggest? Just kinda getting things organized for next year... Thank you in advance. Greatly appreciated. -- Judith C Feist Co Director, the Hub at Back Alley *"*Radical simply means 'grasping things at the root'"- Angela Davis "A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle." -Gloria Steinem I think [the bicycle] has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world...It gives a woman a feeling of freedom and self-reliance.~Susan B. Anthony

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Re. Fundraising Inquiry
by Geoffrey Smart 25 Jan '19

25 Jan '19

Try booking is popular in Australia for fundraisers and I know several organisations that have used it successfully for fundraisers. Works well but there is a fee to use. https://www.trybooking.com/ Regards Geoff Smart Back2Bikes Port Melbourne -- Sent from Gmail Mobile

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