June 2019 - 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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Bike! Bike! 2019 Tijuana -- ¡carteles para rodar! // flyers to circulate!
by Bicis Disidentes 25 Jun '19

25 Jun '19

* Texto en español y a continuación en inglés // Text in Spanish and in English following * Queridxs compañerxs del pedal, ¡Con mucho cariño y ánimo les invitamos a Bike! Bike! 2019 Tijuana! Les animamos a rodar estos carteles con compañerxs conocidxs y nuevxs, a largas distancias, en un espíritu de transgredir nuestras fronteras, las que son notables y las invisibles, para co-crear este encuentro de apoyo mutuo, autogestión y ánimo. Próximamente la pagina de registro y más información. https://es.bikebike.org/ <https://es.bikebike.org/?fbclid=IwAR1W_Szq-mzmokXPaBEWpMftLLbpkngMP-4gL40Pk…> Saludos transfronterizos del grupo organizador, un grupo diverso de individuxs & colectividades que incluye a Bicis Disidentes, Antena Los Ángeles y Cuir Kitchen Brigade. ******************************************************** Dear pedal compañerxs, With lots of care and intent we invite you all to Bike! Bike! 2019 Tijuana! We encourage you to circulate these posters with familiar and new compañerxs, at long distances, in a spirit of transgressing our borders, those that are noticeable and invisible, to co-create this gathering of mutual aid, do-it-yourself/do-it-together (D.I.Y/D.I.T) ethics and practices, and intent. Next up is the registration page and additional information. https://en.bikebike.org/ <https://en.bikebike.org/?fbclid=IwAR3ygAeYxfOzDukm3a9kyvxYf24d7iUabERbEHbo9…> Cross border greetings from the organizing group, a diverse group of individuals & collectivities that include Bicis Disidentes, Antena Los Ángeles and Cuir Kitchen Brigade. #BB19Tijuana <https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/bb19tijuana?source=feed_text&epa=HASHTAG&_…> #BBTj <https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/bbtj?source=feed_text&epa=HASHTAG&__xts__%…> [image: BBTj_Cartel_Esp.jpg] [image: BBTj_Flyer_Eng.jpg]

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Experimental Station is hiring a finance and hr administrator!
by J Michael Eugenio 21 Jun '19

21 Jun '19

Hi all! I wanted to share with you that Experimental Station, home to Blackstone Bicycle Works, is hiring for a full-time Finance and Human Resources Administrator in case you know of anyone who might be interested in applying. Attached is our "job ad" for the role and there is more information, including the full job description and application, on the ES website here <http://exp.st/hr>. Strong candidates may have experience in finance, office administration, human resources, small business ownership, or nonprofit management. I am happy to connect you with the person currently in the role (who is leaving to attend grad school) if you know anyone who might like a little more information about the position or Experimental Station. Feel free to let me know if you have any questions. The deadline to apply is midnight Monday, June 24, but do let us know if someone might need an extension. Thanks so much! Michael Communications Associate at The Experimental Station experimentalstation.org

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Liability mitigation
by tomharrison00＠gmail.com 14 Jun '19

14 Jun '19

Hi, does anyone have a list of items your co-op uses to mitigate liability? The main areas I’ve come up with so far are insurance, SOP’s for bike prep, waivers and buyer beware/As Is signage. Anything I’ve missed? Thanks, Tom Harrison Third Hand Bike Co-Op Columbus Sent from my iPad

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Transcontinental visiting
by Stuart Nottingham 14 Jun '19

14 Jun '19

Hopefully not too far off topic. I'm planning a cross country bike tour from Astoria OR to Bangor ME. Along the way, I hoped to visit at least one bike co-op/collective/kitchen and wondered a couple of things: 1. Does anyone know if this has been done before? I figure my bike will need attention at points along the way and would rather support members of the collective than retail establishments if possible. 2. Who's near the ACA Northern Tier and Atlantic Coast routes, preferably with some camping nearby? This trip won't take place until next year at the soonest, so I know some changes may occur between now and then. One thing I've learned in life is it's often easier to be flexible than not. Thanks for any input or ideas you have! Stuart Nottingham Head Minion The Pedal Factory Salisbury NC

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Re: [TheThinkTank] Thethinktank Digest, Vol 153, Issue 4
by Lawrence Mohammed 10 Jun '19

10 Jun '19

Pretty new to this Josh (we've only been running two years and it was mainly just me in the first year) but I've found that building a diverse group of volunteers and matching skills and desires to tasks is working pretty well. Some people are more admin focused, some are brilliant mechanics but hate paperwork and general workshop tasks, some are really detail oriented, others less so....have you set out a core list of needs of the enterprise, and a core set of competencies (and ratings) for volunteers? This is something I'm looking to start formally, but with only a handful of volunteers, it's much easier at this stage. Also, are long serving volunteers training others and do they appreciate how they're building your organisation and a key part of it as a result? 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 10/06/2019 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: Members vs Volunteers: What's the Diff & How Do You > Structure It (Josh Bisker) > > _______________________________________________ > Thethinktank mailing list > Thethinktank(a)lists.bikecollectives.org > http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.…

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Members vs Volunteers: What's the Diff & How Do You Structure It
by Josh Bisker 10 Jun '19

10 Jun '19

Pals, I'm trying to create clear pathways to leadership/collective membership for interested volunteers, and trying to have membership be awesome and not "just like being a volunteer but with more guilt and obligation and UGH." How do you approach this stuff in your shop? Do you structure a division between responsible members and interested volunteers? How do you bring people across that transition? Also, what's rad about being a member that makes people want to do it? Background and concerns: We've got a budding group of charismatic new volunteers (yay!) and a tired old group of "members" (oy!) i.e. organizers with decision-making power and some sense of adopted or begrudgingly accepted responsibility. (In your group, these might be "board members" maybe?) In the past, we've had either (1) a lackadaisical/non-systematic approach to elevating members, or (2) an overly structured but not really effective way of sharing responsibilities. What happens in the first case is that after someone becomes a member and attends a meeting, (a) they're like "y'all are boring and this makes my brain hurt" and then decide not to do "member-y" stuff anymore, or (b) they participate pretty minimally, leaving the organizational burdens distributed about the same way they were before. What happens in the second case is that everyone gets exhausted by trying to administratively caretake an organizational structure instead of doing the fun work. PLZ HALP K THNKS LV U Josh Josh Bisker 914-500-9890 New York Mechanical Gardens Bike Co-op <http://bikecoop.nyc/> 596 Acres <http://596acres.org/> Bindlestiff Family Cirkus <http://bindlestiff.org/>

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Re: [TheThinkTank] Transcontinental visiting
by Stuart Nottingham 06 Jun '19

06 Jun '19

Thanks, Judith. I've found that list and will use it as a starting point. Linda, I'm always looking for someone to jump on the TPF Bandwagon. Hopefully, the right candidate will show her/himself before the trip happens. Anne, I think you're closer to the Northern Tier than you realize. Iowa City's not that far from Muscatine, is it?

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