- TheThinkTank - lists.bikecollectives.org

Help plan a charity event: How far can you coast?
by Carl Voss 09 Jul '09

09 Jul '09

Greetings from Des Moines! The Des Moines Bicycle Collective will sponsor a charity event on Saturday, Aug. 29 on the eve of a criterium race in our capitol city. The East Coast: How far can you coast down a steep hill from the Iowa State Capitol? (The capitol is located in our city's East Village. We are, of course, far removed from either coast. Flip the chain off the chainwheel at let 'er go! Top coasters will win a coasters. Weight won't be the only factor. There's a fairly good flat section that will even things out from the big riders. Tuck, steering, cone adjustment should be factors-we're just not sure how much. We haven't figured out what categories/divisions that will make this a fun event. That's where you come in--your chance to weigh in (so to speak). Categories by: age? bike type? gender? weight? (could be tricky with a scale) We think we can do better than a one-time "Lard Arse" event (coast down the local Soap Box Derby hill) held here years ago. With your helpful suggestions, of course. Carl Des Moines Bicycle Collective carlvoss(a)mac.com Mobile: 515-210-0237

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Re: [TheThinkTank] Anyone have a wheel building class curriculum?
by troy neiman 09 Jul '09

09 Jul '09

I am getting ready to put a wheel building class together. I was thinking about charging $30-$40 dollars to those who are building wheels for themselves and $15-20 for those who build a wheel for the shop to use. This would be similar to the set up that Rich at Community Cycles mentioned ( three 2 hour classes ) that way the first class can be about wheels, rims, hubs and measuring spokes so that folks can buy or find the materials they need before the next class. I also liked the way Ellie at the Bike Church taught the wheel-building workshop at BikeBike last year. The rims and hubs and spokes were already picked out and the groups had to find the correct spoke length before they could get the spokes. Then they were able to learn lacing and tension, etc. This makes for a faster class and having all your materials ready cuts down on time and unexpected mistakes. You could charge less or nothing for this and still end up with a few wheels for the shop at the end. Troy NeimanBICAS ----- Original Message ----- From: bovineoaks(a)aol.com To: thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org Subject: Re: [TheThinkTank] Anyone have a wheel building class curriculum? Date: Mon, 06 Jul 2009 10:51:22 -0400 Each student has different needs for the wheels they put on their bicycles. It is hard to buy a bunch of rims and hubs that will make each rider happy. I let them choose rims and hubs they want and get them from other shops if I can not provide the materials. I am providing the Education Materials or the Wheel Building Class, That is enough. If I can supply the materials also, that is just dandy too. Lots of shops out there can supply materials but not education. -----Original Message----- From: allison karow <bike.saviours(a)gmail.com> To: The Think Tank <thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org> Sent: Mon, Jul 6, 2009 2:08 am Subject: Re: [TheThinkTank] Anyone have a wheel building class curriculum? What about buying new parts and then giving the students the option of buying the wheel at your shop's price minus the cost of the class? On Tue, Jun 23, 2009 at 4:20 PM, Sam Santos <lalato(a)gmail.com> wrote: Hi Rich, Why not do both, depending on what the student can afford? We did a couple of a free wheel building classes for our volunteers using parts that were lying around. One way to avoid problems that might crop up with used parts is to have the students deconstruct a wheel prior to the class. That way they will be working with all the parts from the same wheel thereby reducing any potential problems. Good luck with the class! --sam On Tue, Jun 23, 2009 at 4:27 PM, Rich Points <rich(a)communitycycles.org> wrote: Hey All, We're developing a wheel building class here at Community Cycles. We have a rough idea of what we'd like to do but we could use some help smoothing it out. We're thinking the class would be three 2 hour sessions at a cost of $X to 6 - 8 students. We've thought of two ways to go about supplies for the class. One would be to use recycled rims, hubs, nipples and maybe spokes. Another way would be to buy the parts from our wholesalers. The latter option means we could have control of what the class is working with. The former option could mean a lot more on the fly problem solving for the instructor and class but it'd be a lot cheaper for us and our students. I'm leaning towards the new parts option because I think it'll provide the highest quality of instruction. What do you guys think? Another question we're trying to figure out is what happens to the wheels that get built in the class. At our shop we're always in dire need of 700cc wheels. So we're thinking the class could build 700 wheels and they'd be used by the shop. However people taking the class may want to build wheels that they'd keep as their own. If we structure the class to just build 700 fronts we have more consistency and control. If we let folks build wheels for their own projects the class might have more general appeal but presents logistical and supplies hurdles. Please let us know how your shop is teaching wheel building. Ride On! -- Rich Points Community Cycles Director http://CommunityCycles.org Rich(a)CommunityCycles.org 720-565-6019 (W) 303-589-0597 (C) Donate your old car to Community Cycles http://communitycycles.org/get-involved/donatecar.html Make your ride count! Register for Bike to Work Day June 24, 2009 http://www.drcog.org/btwd2009/index.cfm?page=Register _______________________________________________ Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org To unsubscribe, send a blank email to TheThinkTank-leave(a)bikecollectives.org To manage your subscription, plase visit: http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.… _______________________________________________ Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org To unsubscribe, send a blank email to TheThinkTank-leave(a)bikecollectives.org To manage your subscription, plase visit: http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.… _______________________________________________ Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org To unsubscribe, send a blank email to TheThinkTank-leave(a)bikecollectives.org To manage your subscription, plase visit: http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.… -------------------------------------------------------------------- Save energy, paper and money -- get the Green Toolbar. _______________________________________________ Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org To unsubscribe, send a blank email to TheThinkTank-leave(a)bikecollectives.org To manage your subscription, plase visit: http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.… -- Be Yourself @ mail.com! 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Re: [TheThinkTank] 'rental' bikes
by troy neiman 09 Jul '09

09 Jul '09

At BICAS we have a fleet of rental bikes that are mostly coaster brake bikes of varied sizes. They are spray painted all different colors so that they are ugly and easy to spot. We have a name plate welded inside the main triangle that says BICAS RENTAL and has our contact info. These rental bikes have been returned to us after being lost before but sometimes do go missing. We charge $5 per day or $20 for the week or about 30 min of work-trade per day. I joke around about how these rental bikes are gold mines but some of them that have been around for years but seriously I would not be surprised if some of these bikes have raised $500 dollars or more for our organization. And we are talking about heavy, single speed, ugly bikes with ripped up seats and solid tires. The lock situation was really hard because we used to buy locks and then end up with a bunch of locks and keys that did not match but then we started welding chains to the frame and pad locks to the chains. All the keys for the rental bikes are the same key so we don't have to match a key to the lock and if a key disappears then we only need to make a copy and not get a hole new lock. This has worked really well. We do sign people out for them and get a phone #, email, or ID # but its mostly just a formality than anything. No deposits are taken. Troy Neiman ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bob Giordano" To: "The Think Tank" Subject: [TheThinkTank] 'rental' bikes Date: Mon, 6 Jul 2009 12:22:25 -0600 (MDT) we do rentals with whatever is on hand. good income. $1/day, $5/week, $15/month, negotiate for longer. most come back. some marked with 'free cycles checkout', some painted green. some with fenders, baskets etc. sometimes they do the work to get it rolling. no deposit- too messy. flexible. we also have a community fleet with 60 (mostly one speed, rear derailer limit screw cranked) bikes.... goes to large groups, like Korean and Japanese teachers coming to missoula next week thru university program. we had 500 helmets donated by hospital. not many takers. local gov't group gives us free blinky red lights. not great, but usable. sometimes we do locks, sometimes not. (we want to make our own!) we give brief training/ rules of roads to all... many times a really good bike will be a checkout for awhile, and then go into the build a bike program. -bob g. free cycles missoula. info(a)re-cycles.ca wrote: > > We take a similar approach and sell people a discounted AS-IS bike (tuned-up used department store bike) for around $40 Cdn if they promise to dontate it back when they are finished with it. This avoids a lot of hassles with tracking the rentals and with our lack of insurance coverage > for rentals. > > Chris Wells > (Email Handler & one of many Volunteer Head Mechanics) > _______________________________________________ Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org To unsubscribe, send a blank email to TheThinkTank-leave(a)bikecollectives.org To manage your subscription, plase visit: http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.… -- Be Yourself @ mail.com! Choose From 200+ Email Addresses Get a Free Account at www.mail.com

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OpenSprints: Logo Artist needed
by Jonathan Morrison 06 Jul '09

06 Jul '09

You may or may not know that there is an open source goldsprints / roller racing project out there called opensprints (www.opensprints.org). One thing that we are truly lacking is a quality (vector drawn) logo, if you are interested in helping with this please contact me. Sincerely, Jonathan Morrison

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'rental' bikes
by Bob Giordano 06 Jul '09

06 Jul '09

we do rentals with whatever is on hand. good income. $1/day, $5/week, $15/month, negotiate for longer. most come back. some marked with 'free cycles checkout', some painted green. some with fenders, baskets etc. sometimes they do the work to get it rolling. no deposit- too messy. flexible. we also have a community fleet with 60 (mostly one speed, rear derailer limit screw cranked) bikes.... goes to large groups, like Korean and Japanese teachers coming to missoula next week thru university program. we had 500 helmets donated by hospital. not many takers. local gov't group gives us free blinky red lights. not great, but usable. sometimes we do locks, sometimes not. (we want to make our own!) we give brief training/ rules of roads to all... many times a really good bike will be a checkout for awhile, and then go into the build a bike program. -bob g. free cycles missoula. info(a)re-cycles.ca wrote: > > We take a similar approach and sell people a discounted AS-IS bike (tuned-up used department store bike) for around $40 Cdn if they promise to dontate it back when they are finished with it. This avoids a lot of hassles with tracking the rentals and with our lack of insurance coverage > for rentals. > > Chris Wells > (Email Handler & one of many Volunteer Head Mechanics) >

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Re: [TheThinkTank] Coming to PDX, need a bike to ride while there.
by info＠re-cycles.ca 06 Jul '09

06 Jul '09

We take a similar approach and sell people a discounted AS-IS bike (tuned-up used department store bike) for around $40 Cdn if they promise to dontate it back when they are finished with it. This avoids a lot of hassles with tracking the rentals and with our lack of insurance coverage for rentals. Chris Wells (Email Handler & one of many Volunteer Head Mechanics) re-Cycles Bicycle Co-op 477 Bronson Ave. Ottawa info(a)re-cycles.ca http://www.re-cycles.ca/ --- On Fri, 7/3/09, veganboyjosh(a)gmail.com <veganboyjosh(a)gmail.com> wrote: > From: veganboyjosh(a)gmail.com <veganboyjosh(a)gmail.com> > Subject: Re: [TheThinkTank] Coming to PDX, need a bike to ride while there. > To: "The Think Tank" <thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org> > Received: Friday, July 3, 2009, 8:37 PM > Community Cycles in Boulder doesn't > rent bikes, but we get asked about it all the time. Our work > around is that we'll sell you a bike and then you can > donate it back when you're done. No deposit, return it > in whatever shape. > > I don't know if we've had any takers to date, but > it evens out with our local bike rental places after about 5 > days or so. >

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Anyone have a wheel building class curriculum?
by Rich Points 06 Jul '09

06 Jul '09

Hey All, We're developing a wheel building class here at Community Cycles. We have a rough idea of what we'd like to do but we could use some help smoothing it out. We're thinking the class would be three 2 hour sessions at a cost of $X to 6 - 8 students. We've thought of two ways to go about supplies for the class. One would be to use recycled rims, hubs, nipples and maybe spokes. Another way would be to buy the parts from our wholesalers. The latter option means we could have control of what the class is working with. The former option could mean a lot more on the fly problem solving for the instructor and class but it'd be a lot cheaper for us and our students. I'm leaning towards the new parts option because I think it'll provide the highest quality of instruction. What do you guys think? Another question we're trying to figure out is what happens to the wheels that get built in the class. At our shop we're always in dire need of 700cc wheels. So we're thinking the class could build 700 wheels and they'd be used by the shop. However people taking the class may want to build wheels that they'd keep as their own. If we structure the class to just build 700 fronts we have more consistency and control. If we let folks build wheels for their own projects the class might have more general appeal but presents logistical and supplies hurdles. Please let us know how your shop is teaching wheel building. Ride On! -- Rich Points Community Cycles Director http://CommunityCycles.org Rich(a)CommunityCycles.org 720-565-6019 (W) 303-589-0597 (C) Donate your old car to Community Cycles http://communitycycles.org/get-involved/donatecar.html Make your ride count! Register for Bike to Work Day June 24, 2009 http://www.drcog.org/btwd2009/index.cfm?page=Register

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google squared useful for cataloging community bikes shops
by rachael spiewak 06 Jul '09

06 Jul '09

For the computery types on the list.. If you enter "community bike shop" (or bicycle collective, etc) into Google Squared, a nifty spreadsheet comes up with a handful of our shops. If anyone wants to take it on, it could be expanded to include everyone and all sorts of useful info. It might be a good way to answer some frequently asked questions, like "who has a youth earn-a-bike program?" or "what's your mission statement?". -rachael -- Sopo Bicycle Cooperative 404-425-9989 www.sopobikes.org * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Hours of operation: Tues, Wed, & Thurs 7 pm - 10 pm Sat & Sun 2 pm - 6 pm

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Coming to PDX, need a bike to ride while there.
by Julian Beldotti 03 Jul '09

03 Jul '09

Hailing here from Fort Collins, CO. I'm about to take a quick reprieve from the small city life, to a big small city, and hang out in Portland for 10 days in July. Last time I was there and attempted to borrow a bike, citybikes or whatever wanted to charge me 15 bux a day. It wasn't very co-op friendly of them, I thought. So this time, I'm hollering at all ya'll in the Portland area who are bike co-op connected to see if I can borrow a bike while I'm there, so I don't have to take the rail everywhere. Holler. Julian.

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Creative solutions for handling/storing shop pumps?
by veganboyjosh＠gmail.com 03 Jul '09

03 Jul '09

We've got a number of donated, bought, and found floor pumps in our shop. A variety of brands, sizes, and shapes. Right now they just live in a corner, but they like to play the domino game and fall over themselves when someone goes to grab one. Does anyone have any creative things you've done to handle this problem? As always, pictures are great. Thanks! josh.

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