- TheThinkTank - lists.bikecollectives.org

sopo wins grant from fund for southern communities
by rachael spiewak 14 Nov '07

14 Nov '07

hi, friends. just wanted to share the fabulous news that we scored a grant from the fund for southern communities <http://www.fundforsouth.org>. we appear to be in good company <http://fundforsouth.org/new/grants/grants2007_2008.htm>. i'm going to upload our application to the wiki later so folks can make use of it. hooray for community bike shops! -rachael

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design specs for steel cable wheel rack?
by Durham Bike Co-op 09 Nov '07

09 Nov '07

Hey Free Ride + anyone else who has done something like this: we're also thinking about installing a cable (+ hooks + spacers) kinda thing for wheel storage, as on the "shop organization" part of the wiki. So: I was wondering if there were any suggestions out there about what type of wire is appropriate; what hardware (ends, anchors, assemblies etc.) to use and how to use them. We'll be going into either brick or wood joists to anchor it, depending on how we lay it out. Thanks. peace, Colin. -- Durham Bike Co-op 723 N. Mangum St. Durham, NC 27701 www.durhambikecoop.org

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BICAS Hiring Community Mechanic / Collective Member
by Ellie Kaszniak 08 Nov '07

08 Nov '07

BICAS, a collectively run non-profit BICYCLE recycling and education center is seeking a part time Staff Collective Member, $7.85/hr. Job Description: assist customers, help with classes, build bikes, coordinate volunteers, etc. Personable and comfortable greeting customers, strong mechanical skills encouraged, bilingual a plus, interest or experience in teaching classes or grant writing/organizational work a plus. Diversity of age, gender, ethnicity encouraged. Accepting applications until November 23rd. Contact bicasunderground(a)yahoo.com or 44 W. 6th St (drop in or mail) for resumes, #628-7950 or e-mail for questions. www.bicas.org. TUCSON, ARIZONA P.S. I tried posting this directly on the bike collectives website but was not able to submit the form... same thing happened a few months ago and someone helped us get it on there. If anyone is able to do that again, it would be hugely appreciated, or just pass this on to anyone that might have interest. Thanks _________________________________________________________________ Boo! Scare away worms, viruses and so much more! Try Windows Live OneCare! http://onecare.live.com/standard/en-us/purchase/trial.aspx?s_cid=wl_hotmail…

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Bike Intake Sheet
by Austin Amos 06 Nov '07

06 Nov '07

I have my first bike donation pickups scheduled for this weekend. I posted an ad in a local weekly trader paper for junk bike pickup service. I plan to repair / service the bikes and off them to the community to test the waters on the bike collective concept. Other members have advised me to get a signature / driver's licence number from the person making the donation of the bike(s). Does anyone have a template form available in Word .doc or .PDF format that I can use as a Bike Intake Sheet. I would almost like something with some legal verbage on it. I plan to provide a copy to my city police for them to research the serial numbers for theft. Additionally I feel that once I achieve 503 C non-profit status I can contact the past groups of donors about their donation values. I also appreciate any additional tips you can provide. Thanks again, Austin Amos

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Re: [TheThinkTank] Craigslist Postings - tires (The Bike Cave - San Marcos, Texas)
by Taylor 31 Oct '07

31 Oct '07

>> recycled as metal scrap (and now that our local MEC store takes our >> dead tires for recycling our garbage now is mainly old seats and >> other plastic bits). >> > > that's a question for you guys... what do you do with your old dry rotted tires? We can't find anyone that will take them in baltimore. I found one place that would charge a dollar a pound to recycle them, obviously not an option for us....... Any ideas about who to talk to and what to do with them if not? The only reuse idea I've had is to make potts out of them which would be time consuming, and only use afew...... Beth Velocipede Bike Project Baltimore, MD RE"CYCLING" , etc. Hello Beth and others, Our ethos at our shop is to recycle EVERYTHING! So besides the usuals, glass, cans, paper and cardboard we make an effort to separate and recycle aluminum (unusable walmart frames) and steel (most bolts, etc.) and patch all our tubes (gives mundane but fun work for those volunteers who dont know much about fixing bikes but want to help the shop, we also have the occasional "tubular tuesday" were we all sit down with a beer and patch tubes like crazy) and give them away for free. I also started to make wind chimes out of used, unusable chainrings, short cables, stems and bent handlebars (aluminum = better sound). They aren't the best sounding windchimes, but they are damn cool and use 100% recycled parts. Try it out and send me a picture if it works! Tires: An idea I had to use the extra tires we discard is to keep them, shred them (something like a wood chipper) then make them into floor mats. I would like to think a good glaze glue would do the trick, but I HAVE NOT tried this out yet (we are super busy, just like every other community bike shop). Its not much help, but its an idea! I will test this theory out and try it soon, if someone beats me to it, let me know! Taylor taylorpow(a)gmail.com www.thebikecave.org

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do you have an internship program? details please!
by rachael spiewak 31 Oct '07

31 Oct '07

Hi, friends. Sopo just got its first intern, an 11th grader with an anti-authoritarian outlook who's ready to learn how to alter power structures (his words, I swear!). We're all kinds of thrilled about creating a radical internship program for him, and we want him to get the most out of the experience. I'm working on the structure end of things. His school didn't supply us with any parameters (the idea is to spend time at some nonprofit of your choice and write a few review papers). I'm wondering: - if you offer internships at your shop, what kind of structure do you use? - if you have experience with radical internships, can you share a little bit about that with us? Thanks! rachael

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Youth EAB program documentation
by Edward France 31 Oct '07

31 Oct '07

Hey Friends, We in Santa Barbara are already in over our head with our youth program, which is part 'trips for kids' style and part youth Earn-A-Bike. We're trying to write out a program guideline for our instructors (and funders?) and would super duper appreciate any program materials (like word docs or pdf's) from you' alls programs. I know there has already been a lot of good discussion on the think tank, and more documentation -especially formal documents- will help even more. One example of what we're looking for is the SLCBC EAB application : http://www.bikecollectives.org/wiki/index.php?title=SLCBC_Earn-a-Bike_Grant… Any others for us to contrast, compare, and cannibalize? best, Ed France BiciCentro.org

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Craigslist Postings
by Rich Points 30 Oct '07

30 Oct '07

Hey All, Craigs has been a great way to clear the showroom when it's overstocked or you need to raise some quick cash. I just posted a couple of our bikes on Craigslist and thought I'd share it with you. Please have a look at it and respond with your comments. How is your collective using Craigs? http://denver.craigslist.org/bik/459346784.html -- Rich Points Community Cycles Director http://CommunityCycles.org Rich(a)CommunityCycles.org 720-565-6019

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Fwd: Bike Collective Resources and Association: Free Ride on satellite tv
by Jonathan Morrison 27 Oct '07

27 Oct '07

FYI ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: John Z Wetmore <john(a)pedestrians.org> Date: Oct 27, 2007 1:10 AM Subject: Bike Collective Resources and Association: Free Ride on satellite tv To: jonathan(a)slcbikecollective.org This is an enquiry e-mail via http://www.bikecollectives.org from: John Z Wetmore <john(a)pedestrians.org> Tuesday, October 30, The Universityhouse Channel will show Episode 134 of "Perils For Pedestrians". Contents of Episode 134 (2007): --We talk with the head of Bike Pittsburgh; --We learn about Friends of the Riverfront; --Free Ride recycles abandoned bicycles; --The Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission looks at transportation issues; --A study at Carnegie Mellon University examines the history of pedestrian crashes. DISH Network Channel 9411 -- The Universityhouse Channel Tuesday -- 9:30 PM Eastern, 6:30 Pacific Episode 134 is also available on Google Video: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4134265547136887723 Note: Public access cable channels are showing different episodes than DISH Network. Thank you. -- Sincerely, Jonathan Morrison Project Coordinator Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective 2312 S. West Temple Salt Lake City, UT 84115 w: 801-328-2453 c: 801-688-0183 f: 801-466-3856 www.slcbikecollective.org

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getting and keeping kids in the shop
by veganboyjosh＠gmail.com 26 Oct '07

26 Oct '07

at Community Cycles in boulder, we're trying to nail down a formula for the kid's program(s) that works well with our facilitators, as well as our kids. we want to be flexible enough to address different learning styles, experience levels, languages, etc. we're getting better at this, as we gain experience with planning, execution, etc. one issue we were facing a while ago is that kids would join the Earn-a-bike program just for the bike. they had no interest in helping around the shop, contributing to the community of the place, etc. once they got their bike, and finished their hourwise commitment to the program, they were gone. we'd never see them again. there were some kids who we felt really got it, with regards to the bike culture/attitude we were trying to foster in our shop, our neighborhood, etc. those kids we miss the most, since they have so much potential to keep on giving, teaching other kids, staying on a bike when all the other kids are starting to drive, etc... anyway, we seem to have done something right. now we have kids who are done with their hours at the EAB program, and want to hang out in the shop. we're loathe to send them away, but what to do with them? some have brought some friends, so we've tried getting them to mentor their friend, and strip bikes, etc...we'd like to do more, and are struggling to come up with things for the more experienced/motivated kids to do while we focus on those not so experienced. the time we have set aside for kids night is kids and parents only, so it's not like we have to take time away from grownups--who, strangely, often have less patience when their question won't be answered until the kids' issue is sorted out. We'd still like to give the kids what they want, and keep our sanity. any ideas? anyone else facing similar problems? what did/do you do? i heard someone from our shop say they talked to a bunch of people at bikebike! and no one else had a model close to ours, so i'm not sure if we're the only ones dealing with this or not... thanks, and have a great weekend everyone! josh.

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