- TheThinkTank - lists.bikecollectives.org

Bicycle Retailer article about co-op bike shops
by rkeener＠outsideinc.com 05 Mar '24

05 Mar '24

Greetings all, and thanks for all who responded to our Survey Monkey last month. Check out the cover photo (thanks, Scott Long at BikeAthens!) and the actual story on page 14 here: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/1516201-march-2024/0? Comments welcome! Cheers, Ray Keener rkeener(a)outsideinc.com

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Re: person looking for bay area bike co-op/collective
by Matthew Pendergraft 03 Mar '24

03 Mar '24

Thanks Angel! -Matt On Sun, Feb 25, 2024 at 9:10 AM angel york <bike(a)angelyork.com> wrote: > Where in the bay area? Here's a wiki list to check to start with. If you > learn about something that isn't on the list or find something that is out > of date, please update the list! Thanks! > > https://bikecollectives.org/wiki/Community_Bicycle_Organizations#California > > > > > > >>> > Bay Area bike co-ops/collectives, > Brooklyn Ross ( bross(a)rei.com ; cc attempted ) is looking to get > involved. Reach out. > Thanks > -Matt > Bikes del Pueblo > Kumeyaay Land (San Diego) > _______________________________________________ > TheThinkTank mailing list -- thethinktank(a)lists.bikecollectives.org > To unsubscribe send an email to > thethinktank-leave(a)lists.bikecollectives.org > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://lists.bikecollectives.org/hyperkitty/list/thethinktank@lists.bikeco… > > >

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National Youth Bike Summit coming soon: June 14-16 in the Lehigh Valley, PA!
by Kim Schaffer 25 Feb '24

25 Feb '24

Hi all-I'm writing to let you all know that the national Youth Bike Summit is back, and is coming to the Lehigh Valley, PA, this June 14-16! Details are below. We expect to open registration within the next several days. For updates, you can sign up for the YBS email list at https://linktr.ee/youthbikesummit. It's really shaping up to be a great event--Hope to see you all there! --Kim Schaffer, Community Bike Works, Allentown PA YOUTH BIKE SUMMIT 2024 Community Bike Works is thrilled to announce that we will host the 2024 national Youth Bike Summit, which is scheduled for June 14-16, 2024, at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA. We expect the event to bring together 400 youth and their advocates from Earn a Bike and youth cycling programs across the country, with a focus on engaging youth from communities who have historically been excluded from cycling. YBS2024 will be the 10th Youth Bike Summit. Since 2011, YBS has served as a supportive and inclusive space designed to transform our local communities and strengthen our national movement by empowering bicycle leaders. YBS believes in the capacity of youth to lead and in the importance of a diverse, multi-cultural and equitable movement. The theme of YBS2024 is Youth Lead the Way. During YBS2024, youth and their adult advocates will participate in a range of plenary sessions, workshops, and rides designed to help youth grow as leaders through the power of the bicycle, all while showcasing the range of riding opportunities in the Lehigh Valley. Environmental sustainability will be a secondary theme, and a conference track will be devoted to the intersection of youth, bicycles, and sustainability. An exhibit area, including national and local sponsors from the bike industry and beyond, will be open throughout the conference. The draft schedule includes the following activities: FRIDAY: Guests arrive at Muhlenberg College and head out for nearby recreational rides. An evening welcome reception at the Lehigh Valley Velodrome will allow youth to connect while cheering on that night's riders. SATURDAY: An opening plenary session will focus on youth cycling leaders. Then, attendees will choose from riding workshops, including Try the Track at the Velodrome, or a range of classroom workshops. Workshops could include creating safer streets or developing girls' cycling. An evening reception will offer additional networking. SUNDAY: YBS2024 will culminate with a large group ride across the Lehigh Valley, from Muhlenberg College, through downtown Allentown, to the historic Steel Stacks in Bethlehem. A closing visioning session will allow students to reflect on the future of youth cycling. More Information is at: https://communitybikeworks.org/youth-bike-summit-2024 ******************************* Kim Schaffer, Executive Director Community Bike Works www.communitybikeworks.org cell: 484.554.8971 [cid:image001.png@01DA666C.87CB7510]

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person looking for bay area bike co-op/collective
by Matthew Pendergraft 25 Feb '24

25 Feb '24

Bay Area bike co-ops/collectives, Brooklyn Ross ( bross(a)rei.com ; cc attempted ) is looking to get involved. Reach out. Thanks -Matt Bikes del Pueblo Kumeyaay Land (San Diego)

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Seize the time - Bike Month 2024
by Collapsing Biosphere 20 Feb '24

20 Feb '24

Hello think-tankers, *Feed me your Bike Month 2024 ideas!* Here are a few that we're trying out this year. *Tour de Friends -* During open shop days in April we will help riders map a weekend ride to visit their friends around town*. *Riders will have the chance to paint ($19 markers) bicycles, or write pro-bicycle messages on contractors flags ($7 for 50) to place at all the stops. *Tune-in and Tune-up - *Partner with Parks and Recreation, a local DJ, and volunteer mechanics to host a "repair party" along the busiest trail. *Farms and Gardens Bike Around * - Guided or self-guided tours of local gardens and farms. The goal is to deepen everyone's understanding of local food and water issues... and connect these issues to bicycle and pedestrian issues. There are a few more, but I want to hear from you all. -- Plants Armstrong

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Group Ride protocols
by Mary-Catherine Graziano 25 Jan '24

25 Jan '24

Hi all, Does anyone have any group ride protocols that they use for their rides? Ex, methods for controlling intersections, etc? We're wanting to collaborate with another bike org on rides, and it's best if we have similar protocols on this, and I wanted to collect some examples to bring to the team Thank you!! Mary-Catherine Mary-Catherine Graziano Senior Education and Safety Manager Pronouns: she / her / hers Local Motion Inc. 1 Steele Street # 103, Burlington, VT 05401 www.localmotion.org Vermont Walk Bike Advocates Forum <https://groups.google.com/a/localmotion.org/g/walkbikevt> Office: (802) 861-2700 ext 106 <https://www.facebook.com/localmotionvt> <https://www.instagram.com/localmotionvermont/> <https://www.linkedin.com/company/local-motion-vt> <https://www.youtube.com/c/LocalMotionVT>

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Bicycle Retail story on community shops
by rkeener＠outsideinc.com 18 Jan '24

18 Jan '24

Hi I'm Ray Keener, Retail Editor of Bicycle Retailer and Industry News magazine, former President (2013-16) and current Industry Liaison with Community Cycles here in Boulder. I wrote a BRAIN story about community bike shops back in 2016. I'd be glad to share the story if there a way to attach a .pdf? It's time to do this story again. Last time, someone at bike!bike! provided us with with a list of community shops to which I sent the Survey Monkey. Seeings how this benefits you at bike!bike! and all community shops by providing information, and the industry overall by promoting understanding of what y'all do... Might you be willing to either provide the list, or send out a link to the survey to your list, please? I'm glad to hear back from anyone on here if you can point me in the right direction! Cheers and Happy New Year, Ray (303) 525-5489

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Tracking data
by Director Lincoln Bike Kitchen 17 Jan '24

17 Jan '24

The Lincoln Bike Kitchen, based in Lincoln, Nebraska, is growing and looking for a better way to track our programs. We have funders who want more accurate data and we want to make life easier for our volunteers. Currently, we have Cognito forms on our website for requests and a backend Microsoft Azure database that together meet some of our needs but are time-consuming and difficult to maintain. We would like to track bikes (coming in, repairs, who repaired, where the bike went, bike sales), as well as volunteers, donors, and bike requests all in one system that doesn't require specialized training to maintain. What technology are you using to track data? I couldn't find any recent posts on the list about this. I'll make sure to report back with a summary of the responses I receive. Thanks! Ingrid -- Ingrid Kirst Interim Executive Director Lincoln Bike Kitchen<http://lincolnbikekitchen.org/>

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Job Posting: Shop Lead in Manchester, New Hampshire
by Abby Easterly 16 Jan '24

16 Jan '24

Queen City Bicycle Collective - Shop Lead Our Shop Lead ensures that the bikes which are repaired, sold, and delivered by QC Bike are safe, functional, and reliable. The bikes donated to QC Bike all need work. The Shop Lead will bring the enthusiasm needed to fix these bikes, directly, and by supporting volunteers in the development of their skills and confidence as mechanics. With ample support and training, your day-to-day would include: + Building bicycles. You'll build and make repairs to bicycles that will be sold or otherwise delivered by QC Bike. You'll make use of our large supply of used parts to get bicycles up and running. You'll work with the Executive Director to prioritize building bicycles that will be sold to the public, as well as those that support our ongoing voucher programs. Your efforts will dovetail seamlessly with the work of other paid staff and our volunteer mechanics. + Performing safety checks. You'll ensure bicycles finished by others are in good working order and safe. This includes checking that components are adjusted correctly and are in good condition, checking shifting and limit screws, ensuring all bolts are tightened, checking for play in bearings, making sure the wheels are true, etc. You'll either be fixing these problems yourself, or will be cataloging and delegating the necessary repairs to volunteers to complete. + Helping to manage orders and inventory. You'll communicate with the Executive Director to ensure that all necessary parts and tools are available at the Collective. You'll assist with managing orders from QBP and J+B. + Orienting new volunteers and shop users. From the outset, you'll be able to make volunteers and members of the public feel welcome in the workshop, showing our bicycle repair workflow, where tools and consumables are kept, etc. + Leading Closed Shop sessions that empower volunteers to become better mechanics. You'll be ready and willing to pass on your skills and passion to our volunteer mechanics, to help us grow our Collective's capacity. With the shop closed to the public, you'll help provide increased production while also providing nurturing, hands-on educational experiences that develop and strengthen our mechanical volunteers. + Diagnosing and repairing bikes during Open Shop Hours. With time and training you'll be able to independently diagnose problems, and help lead community members in making appropriate repairs to their bikes. You will also provide support and oversight to volunteer mechanics in the space. About You + You love all bikes, not only high-end and modern bikes. Most of our donated bikes are 10-70 years old, ranging from bike-boom and department store bikes to middle-of-the-road 90's rigid-fork mountain bikes, with the rare higher-end bike mixed in + You have reason to think of yourself as a bike mechanic, and are willing to share what you do, and work on learning what you don't already know. Maybe you have a couple of years of bike shop experience, or maybe something equivalent. Either way, you're able to diagnose and fix many of the most common issues in bike repair. You're comfortable researching, trying out, and asking for help with what you don't know. + You are a good leader and teacher. You're someone volunteers and staff will look to for support, particularly when fixing bikes gets tricky. You're able to facilitate positive, supportive learning experiences, and will apply that to your work at QC Bike. + You're able to creatively solve problems. Sometimes we don't have the perfect substitution; you're able to cobble together a work-around that is almost as good as or better than the original. + You're an effective multitasker. During shop hours you'll be repairing bikes, while maintaining awareness of the whole shop - is someone stuck on a bottom bracket, frustrated setting up cantilever brakes, or does someone have a load of bikes to donate? You'll be able to step in to offer assistance. You also wouldn't mind being pulled away from your task to answer a question or provide a demonstration. + You want to help fill the world with bike mechanics and nurture everyone's love for bicycling. From your one-on-one interactions, to your part in helping us craft a safe and welcoming space for all of our community, you make sure that folks in the shop feel welcomed and empowered to learn the art of turning a wrench on a bike! We are looking for candidates who are passionate (about bikes, our Do-It-Yourself/Do-It-Together ethos, community development, & education), and who have real enthusiasm for the hands-on skill building our work offers. We recognize that passion and enthusiasm are paramount to our success, and are, therefore, willing to provide the ideal candidate with ample training, in any and all areas necessary for them to succeed in this role. As such, potential applicants who have interest, passion, and enthusiasm, but who feel they may lack the technical know-how, are very much encouraged to apply. We are committed to building a welcoming work environment that treats everyone with fairness and respect. We do not discriminate in practices or employment opportunities on the basis of an individual's race, color, national or ethnic origin, religion, age, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, veteran status, disability, or any other category protected by federal, state, or local regulations. Rate: $20 - $24 per hour Hours: 30 - 40 per week Modest but flexible benefit package included Please send an expression of interest to Tyler Glodt, Executive Director at tyler(a)qcbike.org. We plan to fill this position as soon as we find the right candidate. More about the Queen City Bicycle Collective Queen City Bicycle Collective (QC Bike), is a Manchester, New Hampshire-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit with a mission to get - and keep - the Manchester community riding bicycles safely and affordably. Our vision is a Manchester full of bike riders who can depend on their bicycle for transportation, recreation, and exercise, because of the educational and affordable services we provide. We encourage you to visit our website www.qcbike.org [1] and our YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC21sRDyDMQ5zGFVdE4EHKKg/channels [2] and ask any questions you may have about QC Bike. Abby Easterly QC Bike Collective 35 Elm Street, Manchester, NH 03101 603.493.1720 - shop phone 603-315-2656 - Abby phone www.qcbike.org [1] Links: ------ [1] http://www.qcbike.org [2] https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC21sRDyDMQ5zGFVdE4EHKKg/channels

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Mozilla search plugin for the ThinkTank archives
by cyclista＠inventati.org 12 Jan '24

12 Jan '24

Hey all, I got tried of repeatedly needing to check the archive but then having to go and dig around in my browser or a search engine just to get there and do a search. I know BOOKMARKING ISN'T HARD, but even that doesn't make it as easy as, for instance, a search plugin. So I went over to the mycroft project and made one. Here is the link to the search plugin, tested working on Firefox. It may or may not work on other browsers: https://mycroftproject.com/install.html?id=120475&basename=bc_thinktank_arc… Hopefully this will simplify things for at least a good amount of folks! IMO, the ThinkTank archive ranks up there with Sheldon Brown as an amazing information resource for the bicycle community/cooperative/collective shop worlds. Get In The Street and Ride Safe, cyclistas! ~cyclista Nicholas

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