- TheThinkTank - lists.bikecollectives.org

Fwd: nowtopia: writings in the anarcho-marxist hinterland....
by Chris Carlsson 08 May '08

08 May '08

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: francesca the coat <the.coat.and.general(a)gmail.com> Date: Wed, May 7, 2008 at 8:25 PM Subject: nowtopia: writings in the anarcho-marxist hinterland.... To: the.coat.and.general(a)gmail.com Dear friends, acquaintances, esteemed professors, good people, The author of "Nowtopia", an interesting book that taps into some of the important questions du jour about revalorization and anticapitalist practice, that also happens to be written by my dear old dad, is in town and having three book talks scattered around new york. I do think it is an interesting interrogation, 'important' even, and I encourage a sojourn out to see what it's all about. I hear the discussions so far during his tour in baltimore, philly, etc, have been pretty interesting and i'm sure the trend will continue in ny. FRIDAY, May 9, 7:30pm: Brecht Forum, manhattan MONDAY, May 12, 7pm: Vox Pop, brooklyn -- Also performing with Carlsson at vox pop: music and sound performance by the indubitable Nader Hasan and the inscrutable Seth Porcello; short films by the incorrigible Brett Story; lecture #2 on the possibility of life without the sun "by" alexis bhagat. WEDNESDAY May 14, 7pm: Bluestockings Books, manhattan I encourage those who enjoy the odd aural experience or visceral film experience to come to vox pop, where Seth Nader and Brett will bring the best of Montreal to our borough. but i'll, sigh, probably be at them all, yelling at my dad like "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU SAID THAT". no just kidding. more info on the book, etc, below in love f. *Nowtopia* is a book about a new politics of work. It profiles tinkerers, inventors, and improvisational spirits who bring an artistic approach to important tasks that are ignored or undervalued by market society. Rooted in practices that have been emerging over the past few decades, *Nowtopia*'s exploration of work locates an important thread of self-emancipatory class politics beyond the traditional arena of wage-labor. http://www.processedworld.com/carlsson/nowtopia_web/ Outlaw bicycling, urban permaculture, biofuels, free software, and even the Burning Man festival are windows into a scarcely visible social transformation that is redefining politics as we know it. As capitalism continues to corral every square inch of the globe into its logic of money and markets, new practices are emerging through which people are taking back their time and technological know-how. In small, under-the-radar ways, they are making life better right now, simultaneously building the foundation—technically and socially—for a genuine movement of liberation from market life. *Nowtopia* uncovers the resistance of a slowly recomposing working class in America. Rarely defining themselves by what they do for a living, people from all walks of life are doing incredible amounts of labor in their "non-work" time, creating immediate practical improvements in daily life. The social networks they create, and the practical experience of cooperating outside of economic regulation, become a breeding ground for new strategies to confront the commodification to which capitalism reduces us all. The practices outlined in *Nowtopia* embody a deep challenge to the basic underpinnings of modern life, as a new ecologically-driven politics emerges from below, reshaping our assumptions about science, technology, and human potential. With historical grounding, a toolbox drawing from multiple schools of anti-capitalist thought and theory, and a refreshingly pragmatic approach, Carlsson opens our eyes to the revolutions of everyday life. *Chris Carlsson*, executive director of the multimedia history project "Shaping San Francisco," is a writer, publisher, editor, and community organizer. He has edited four collections of political and historical essays. He helped launch the monthly bike-ins known as Critical Mass, and was long-time editor of *Processed World* magazine. -- I am on the road (see schedule at the nowtopia link below) and may be slower than usual to respond... back to normal in July, until then, be patient and thanks! www.nowtopia.org The Nowtopian (my blog): http://www.lipmagazine.org/ccarlsson/

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what do you call people in charge of your shop- shift supervisors and film fest
by Gary Gingras 07 May '08

07 May '08

hey All can't wait to get together in Sept in Cali with you super people. so i am writing a facilitators handbook- Some do not love the "title facilitator" bicycle kitchen calls them cooks and such - looking for a fun title or like to present to the group here at Community cycles. wrenches? cooks? we wil also be having a 2nd annual bike film festval here in Boulder and are taking any submissions - this will be June 25th at the boulder theater on Bike to work day. We will be accepting films until the 15th of June. any 40minute or less films whet ya got i would love to hear!! -- Community Cycles Shop Director 2805 Wilderness place Suite 1000 Boulder CO 80301 gary(a)communitycycles.org

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Fancy Parts
by Erik Stockmeier 07 May '08

07 May '08

Question! What the heck does everybody's shop do with fancy items of special worth to collectors? For example... perhaps you come upon a donation of half a dozen 70s unused campi sidepull break sets. Your stock of breaks is full, so throwing them in the bin or selling them for 5$ or shlepping them on a Roadmaster seems like a waste. Is it ethically ok for a non-profit to occasionally indulge collectors as a source of surplus income? What about legally for a 501c3? Is it necessary to launder them through a "buyer" who sells them at profit and donates the difference? Erik

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Fwd: Re: Bike Shop in a Box
by info＠re-cycles.ca 01 May '08

01 May '08

My response below got blocked (because I responded from the wrong email address): Chris --- Chris Wells <re-cycles(a)rogers.com> wrote: > Date: Wed, 30 Apr 2008 13:57:50 -0400 (EDT) > From: Chris Wells <re-cycles(a)rogers.com> > Subject: Re: [TheThinkTank] Bike Shop in a Box > To: The Think Tank <thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org> > > From our director's web page: http://www.drumbent.com/trailer.html > The kit I based my hockey bag hauling cargo trailer on: > http://www.drumbent.com/trailer.html > > Chris > --- Vyki Englert <vyki.englert(a)thekickstand.org> wrote: > > > The Kickstand sets up a repair stand at our local farmers market > and > > any > > events we get involved in. This is currently what most of our > > outreach > > program consists of. We carry a portable stand, a 4x2 folding > table, > > an > > Ez-up, a tool set, and consumables. We've been doing this for a > very > > short > > while, but the idea is that we have a "market box", a tool box that > > is set > > aside, always ready to go with a good set of tools (we're still > > working on > > exactly what a good set of tools is), that is not used during > regular > > shop > > hours. We just started bringing consumables, patches, cables... > and > > are > > still hammering out exactly what to bring. And of course we always > > have > > some literature on hand, and usually bring some of the bright > orange > > safety > > vest the county bicycle/pedestrian advisory board gave us to pass > > out. > > > > Our only issue currently is that we toss of of this in the back of > a > > pickup > > truck! We are hopefully soon going to have the resources to build > a > > trailer > > (a member is purchasing welding equipment), but don;t as of yet > have > > any > > plans. > > > > Anyone have plans for a good (verylarge) bike trailer? > > > > vyki > > > > www.thekickstand.org > > > > On Tue, Apr 29, 2008 at 3:38 PM, Durham Bike Co-op > > <durhambikecoop(a)gmail.com> > > wrote: > > > > > United Bicycle Parts has a pretty nice looking "mix and match" > tool > > set > > > with items from a variety of different tool makers = around $200, > > if I > > > remember right, and maybe around 50 pieces with the most critical > > stuff > > > (spline tools, chainbreaker, lockring wrench etc.) being shop > > quality stuff. > > > Might be a good place to start. > > > > > > best, > > > Colin - Durham Bike Co-op > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Thethinktank mailing list > > Thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org > > > http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.… > > > > > Chris Wells > (Head Mechanic & Email Handler) > > re-Cycles Bicycle Co-op > 477 Bronson Ave. Ottawa > > re-Cycles is open 6pm-10pm Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Thursdays > (for volunteering, DIY, bike & parts sales & donation drop off) > > Bike sales and donation drop off also available during Cyclists' > Kitchen hours: 9am-5:30pm Tuesday to Friday, and 9am-1pm on Saturday > > (IMPORTANT: Please remember that while Cyclists' Kitchen will be > using our shop during the day, any public bike repair, whether > volunteer or do-it-yourself, is still only during regular re-Cycles > hours in the evenings.) > > info(a)re-cycles.ca > http://www.re-cycles.ca/ >

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Fwd: Re: Bike Shop in a Box
by info＠re-cycles.ca 01 May '08

01 May '08

Trying this from my other account to see if it gets through? Chris --- Chris Wells <re-cycles(a)rogers.com> wrote: > Date: Tue, 29 Apr 2008 11:11:22 -0400 (EDT) > From: Chris Wells <re-cycles(a)rogers.com> > Subject: Re: [TheThinkTank] Bike Shop in a Box > To: The Think Tank <thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org> > > Hi Sasha, > > We worked with Bicycles For Humanity to help send a bike shop in a > box > to Africa. Here is a link to a page on our website (which includes a > link to their's): > > http://www.re-cycles.ca/bfh2007.html > > Perhaps they would be interested in doing something similar more > locally. > > Chris > > --- dragonfly(a)mac.hush.com wrote: > > > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- > > Hash: SHA1 > > > > > > Hi, Everyone. > > > > I love reading everyone's posts. > > > > Thanks to the people who have written to me about creating a > > good bike plan for the Detroit-Windsor region. > > > > This past weekend, I was talking with some people. People we > > know were attending the UN Indigenous People's climate change > > meeting in New York, and we were talking about some things. > > > > My friends and I were talking about climate change, this time > > in the context of the aboriginal communities that these friends of > > mine come from. It was a long and interesting conversation. > > > > For a little part of it, I talked about bikes, and about how > > important my bike was to me in Detroit and about how my bike shapes > > my world view and my thoughts about community planning, etc. > > > > They all drive trucks, these friends of mine, even the ones > > from the city, and they think I'm a little nuts for riding my bike > > everywhere, but they could also see an increased potential for > > bikes in some of their communities. > > > > In some of their communities, bikes are not so practical. In > > others, they could be made into a more functional option for > day-to- > > day practical use, if there was an infrastructure to support them- > > a place to get bikes, a place to go to repair them, etc. > > > > We wondered about a "Bike Shop in a Box"-- could you get a > > big rubbermaid tub and put a whole bike shop into it? (Maybe two > > tubs plus a stand?) Could you make such a thing that would be easy > > to ship North or into the B.C. interior, by train or plane etc.? > > > > Do the people from "Bikes Not Bombs" know how to do this-- > > have some of you done this before? Is there a good way of doing > > this already known? > > > > What should go into the box, and how could we make this > > economical-- is there an economy of scale-- how many Boxed Shops > > would you need to create to get a good deal on the tools, do you > > think? Would suppliers be interested in creating a 'Shop in Box' as > > a product to offer through their catalogue, even? > > > > We're just thinking about the feasibility of this right > > now. For lots of reasons, it might be a dumb or unworkable idea, > > but one worth checking out. If any of you have done this, or if you > > know what the best things to put into the box are, please e-mail > > me. > > > > Sasha > > > > On Tue, 29 Apr 2008 01:56:20 -0400 "Urban Bike Project Wilmington, > > DE" <urbanbikeproject(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > >"we still have the Bike Against! stencil and about ten different > > >colors of spray paint..." > > > > > >Rafael, is that why you changed your name? I can only imagine the > > >positive message this has spread in Fort Collins... > > > > > >Jennifer, > > > > > >I think you want a name that instantly gives people a snapshot of > > >what > > >you do. Mike's comment rings pretty true. Often people will call > > > > >or > > >email about donating bikes and then ask what it is exactly that we > > > > >do. > > > If you do bikes and art call it something with bikes and art and > > >you'll be set. The Bike Gallery or something innocent. BICAS' > > >name > > >is pretty cool and explanatory. > > > > > >Once you pick it, stick with it. Like Rafael said, your shops > > >actions/quality are more important than the name. > > > > > >Brian > > > > > >On 4/28/08, bike against <bikeagainst(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > >> Hey Jennifer and all, Rafael from Fort Collins,CO here... > > >> > > >> I agree with Rachel, keep it simple... > > >> > > >> I believe the name does not make the project, the PROJECT makes > > >the name, > > >> just like band names, as long as the music is good people will > > >dig the > > >> name... > > >> > > >> In our case, for the first four years our project was known as > > >the Bike > > >> Against ! collective or Co-op and due to our current situation > > >we are now > > >> just called The Fort Collins Bike Co-op... yeah,is not radical > > >but it > > >> doesn't have to be. We still have the same ideals and philosophy > > > > >that gave > > >> birth to the organization and again, the quality of your work is > > > > >ALL that > > >> matters in the end. > > >> > > >> By changing our name we were able to have access to a lot more > > >resources > > >> and therefore help a lot more people. > > >> > > >> As for the militant riders out there,who believe that riding a > > >bicycle as > > >> main or ONLY means of transportation is also an act of political > > > > >expression > > >> and resistance,we still have the Bike Against! stencil and about > > > > >ten > > >> different colors of spray paint... > > >> > > >> Also there's less risk that the name will be already taken. > > >> > > >> > > >> -- > > >> Rafael Cletero > > >> Project Coordinator > > >> Fort Collins Bicycle Co-op > > >> ph (970) 484 38 04 > > >> www.fcbikecoop.org > > >> _______________________________________________ > > >> Thethinktank mailing list > > >> Thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org > > >> http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank- > > >bikecollectives.org > > >> > > >> > > > > > > > > >-- > > >Urban Bike Project of Wilmington > > >1908 N. Market Street (entrance is in the parking lot behind the > > >building) > > >Wilmington, DE 19801 > > > > > >Hours: > > >Thursday 6:30-9:00 > > >Saturday 1:00-4:00 > > > > > >Visit us online at http://urbanbikeproject.org > > >_______________________________________________ > > >Thethinktank mailing list > > >Thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org > > >http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank- > > >bikecollectives.org > > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- > > Note: This signature can be verified at > > https://www.hushtools.com/verify > > Charset: UTF8 > > Version: Hush 3.0 > > > > > wkYEARECAAYFAkgXN2wACgkQ5O7ahKJmrRkYFgCgqeGADGv4XT1x3eg9Bn49IPiPHqUA > > ninVivrE08nsJH1DEYWah7e0d/Q1 > > =zIuK > > -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Thethinktank mailing list > > Thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org > > > http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.… > > > >

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Re: [TheThinkTank] Bike Shop in a Box
by plan_9＠riseup.net 30 Apr '08

30 Apr '08

We recently were awarded a $2500 grant to do community outreach in at-risk neighborhoods and community events. We have purchased a bikes-at-work trailer, (6'x3' with removable sections if you don't need as much length). We are patiently waiting its arrival and we'll let you know how it works out. The rest of the funds will go towards two park folding stands, two basic tool sets with the idea of sewing some roll up tool bags, basic supplies like lube, cables, brake pads, etc. We also have budgeted for educational material to pass out as well as advertising so folks will know when we are going to be in their neighborhood. We already did one event at a local universities "Earth Day" celebration and it was a hit. A latent function of this was PR. More than a few people told us that they had heard about the shop and were interested in being involved but they were nervous/intimidated/unsure as to how to actually be involved or even come in and work on their bike. Hopefully their speaking with us at the outreach event alleviated some of those concerns. As for the grant, it was from an area foundation that typically doesn't fund overhead and is very into highly visible community oriented projects in the 1000-4000 range. If anyone has a similar situation and would like a copy of our grant application, contact me and I'll be happy to share. -Andy FM Community Bicycle Workshop

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Bike Shop in a Box
by Bob Giordano 30 Apr '08

30 Apr '08

We have a nice 4-wheel bike we use for lots of things. The link below: http://strans.org/pedaled_sweeper.htm explains how we attached a sweeper and swept the bike lanes by bike power. Last week we welded a hitch to it and towed several types of trailers (boat, heavy machinery, etc.) to move 400 bikes to a festival. Missoula is surrounded by mountains, but the valley is _flat_. Lots of trailer designs are flying out of the shop- a no-weld version with forks, stems, tubes, and a piece of tire for a hitch. a kayak carrier made from aluminum crutches (a wheel fits exactly where the handles on the crutches are). shopping carts with the bottom wheel assembly taken off and 2 rear triangles (a use for those walmart rear triangles) bolted on. eventually we'll get pictures onto the web. we have instructions for the 'crutches trailer' typed up- email me if you want them. my favorite load carrier is the 'long john.' so smooth and versatile. see 1st 2 pics at: http://strans.org/bikestyle.html -Bob G., Free Cycles Missoula

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Re: [TheThinkTank] Bike Shop in a Box
by dragonfly＠mac.hush.com 30 Apr '08

30 Apr '08

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 Hi, Vyki and Everyone Else. What a good idea! It would be a great thing to have at charity bike races, too. A bike based mobile shop has all sorts of potential. It might be a good model for African, Asian, Latin American and South Asian endeavours, too. The Grameen bank might be interested in the idea, for someone's not already doing it; it might make a good micro credit business. I know someone who is involved with them-- may I forward the idea to them? One of the ideas floated in Detroit was to use the existing infrastructure of Detroit's quite active inner city churches to broaden the reach of the bike community shop; remeber, we were also talking about going to the homeless shelters? A bike shop van that would make the rounds was the thought. A bike trailer is an interesting alternative, though. We have a great guy here who runs a summer time organic catering company; he does all his deliveries by bike. It is cool to see him. People on this list are so interesting and creative. I love getting Think Tank mail! Sasha On Wed, 30 Apr 2008 13:06:29 -0400 Vyki Englert <vyki.englert(a)thekickstand.org> wrote: >The Kickstand sets up a repair stand at our local farmers market >and any >events we get involved in. This is currently what most of our >outreach >program consists of. We carry a portable stand, a 4x2 folding >table, an >Ez-up, a tool set, and consumables. We've been doing this for a >very short >while, but the idea is that we have a "market box", a tool box >that is set >aside, always ready to go with a good set of tools (we're still >working on >exactly what a good set of tools is), that is not used during >regular shop >hours. We just started bringing consumables, patches, cables... >and are >still hammering out exactly what to bring. And of course we >always have >some literature on hand, and usually bring some of the bright >orange safety >vest the county bicycle/pedestrian advisory board gave us to pass >out. > >Our only issue currently is that we toss of of this in the back of >a pickup >truck! We are hopefully soon going to have the resources to build >a trailer >(a member is purchasing welding equipment), but don;t as of yet >have any >plans. > >Anyone have plans for a good (verylarge) bike trailer? > >vyki > >www.thekickstand.org > >On Tue, Apr 29, 2008 at 3:38 PM, Durham Bike Co-op ><durhambikecoop(a)gmail.com> >wrote: > >> United Bicycle Parts has a pretty nice looking "mix and match" >tool set >> with items from a variety of different tool makers = around >$200, if I >> remember right, and maybe around 50 pieces with the most >critical stuff >> (spline tools, chainbreaker, lockring wrench etc.) being shop >quality stuff. >> Might be a good place to start. >> >> best, >> Colin - Durham Bike Co-op >> >> On Tue, Apr 29, 2008 at 10:57 AM, <dragonfly(a)mac.hush.com> >wrote: >> >> > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- >> > Hash: SHA1 >> > >> > >> > Hi, Everyone. >> > >> > I love reading everyone's posts. >> > >> > Thanks to the people who have written to me about creating >a >> > good bike plan for the Detroit-Windsor region. >> > >> > This past weekend, I was talking with some people. People >we >> > know were attending the UN Indigenous People's climate change >> > meeting in New York, and we were talking about some things. >> > >> > My friends and I were talking about climate change, this >time >> > in the context of the aboriginal communities that these >friends of >> > mine come from. It was a long and interesting conversation. >> > >> > For a little part of it, I talked about bikes, and about >how >> > important my bike was to me in Detroit and about how my bike >shapes >> > my world view and my thoughts about community planning, etc. >> > >> > They all drive trucks, these friends of mine, even the >ones >> > from the city, and they think I'm a little nuts for riding my >bike >> > everywhere, but they could also see an increased potential for >> > bikes in some of their communities. >> > >> > In some of their communities, bikes are not so >practical. In >> > others, they could be made into a more functional option for >day-to- >> > day practical use, if there was an infrastructure to support >them- >> > a place to get bikes, a place to go to repair them, etc. >> > >> > We wondered about a "Bike Shop in a Box"-- could you get >a >> > big rubbermaid tub and put a whole bike shop into it? (Maybe >two >> > tubs plus a stand?) Could you make such a thing that would be >easy >> > to ship North or into the B.C. interior, by train or plane >etc.? >> > >> > Do the people from "Bikes Not Bombs" know how to do >this-- >> > have some of you done this before? Is there a good way of >doing >> > this already known? >> > >> > What should go into the box, and how could we make this >> > economical-- is there an economy of scale-- how many Boxed >Shops >> > would you need to create to get a good deal on the tools, do >you >> > think? Would suppliers be interested in creating a 'Shop in >Box' as >> > a product to offer through their catalogue, even? >> > >> > We're just thinking about the feasibility of this >right >> > now. For lots of reasons, it might be a dumb or unworkable >idea, >> > but one worth checking out. If any of you have done this, or >if you >> > know what the best things to put into the box are, please e- >mail >> > me. >> > >> > Sasha >> > >> > On Tue, 29 Apr 2008 01:56:20 -0400 "Urban Bike Project >Wilmington, >> > DE" <urbanbikeproject(a)gmail.com> wrote: >> > >"we still have the Bike Against! stencil and about ten >different >> > >colors of spray paint..." >> > > >> > >Rafael, is that why you changed your name? I can only >imagine the >> > >positive message this has spread in Fort Collins... >> > > >> > >Jennifer, >> > > >> > >I think you want a name that instantly gives people a >snapshot of >> > >what >> > >you do. Mike's comment rings pretty true. Often people will >call >> > >> > >or >> > >email about donating bikes and then ask what it is exactly >that we >> > >> > >do. >> > > If you do bikes and art call it something with bikes and art >and >> > >you'll be set. The Bike Gallery or something innocent. >BICAS' >> > >name >> > >is pretty cool and explanatory. >> > > >> > >Once you pick it, stick with it. Like Rafael said, your >shops >> > >actions/quality are more important than the name. >> > > >> > >Brian >> > > >> > >On 4/28/08, bike against <bikeagainst(a)gmail.com> wrote: >> > >> Hey Jennifer and all, Rafael from Fort Collins,CO here... >> > >> >> > >> I agree with Rachel, keep it simple... >> > >> >> > >> I believe the name does not make the project, the PROJECT >makes >> > >the name, >> > >> just like band names, as long as the music is good people >will >> > >dig the >> > >> name... >> > >> >> > >> In our case, for the first four years our project was known >as >> > >the Bike >> > >> Against ! collective or Co-op and due to our current >situation >> > >we are now >> > >> just called The Fort Collins Bike Co-op... yeah,is not >radical >> > >but it >> > >> doesn't have to be. We still have the same ideals and >philosophy >> > >> > >that gave >> > >> birth to the organization and again, the quality of your >work is >> > >> > >ALL that >> > >> matters in the end. >> > >> >> > >> By changing our name we were able to have access to a lot >more >> > >resources >> > >> and therefore help a lot more people. >> > >> >> > >> As for the militant riders out there,who believe that >riding a >> > >bicycle as >> > >> main or ONLY means of transportation is also an act of >political >> > >> > >expression >> > >> and resistance,we still have the Bike Against! stencil and >about >> > >> > >ten >> > >> different colors of spray paint... >> > >> >> > >> Also there's less risk that the name will be already taken. >> > >> >> > >> >> > >> -- >> > >> Rafael Cletero >> > >> Project Coordinator >> > >> Fort Collins Bicycle Co-op >> > >> ph (970) 484 38 04 >> > >> www.fcbikecoop.org >> > >> _______________________________________________ >> > >> Thethinktank mailing list >> > >> Thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org >> > >> http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank- >> > >bikecollectives.org >> > >> >> > >> >> > > >> > > >> > >-- >> > >Urban Bike Project of Wilmington >> > >1908 N. Market Street (entrance is in the parking lot behind >the >> > >building) >> > >Wilmington, DE 19801 >> > > >> > >Hours: >> > >Thursday 6:30-9:00 >> > >Saturday 1:00-4:00 >> > > >> > >Visit us online at http://urbanbikeproject.org >> > >_______________________________________________ >> > >Thethinktank mailing list >> > >Thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org >> > >http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank- >> > >bikecollectives.org >> > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- >> > Note: This signature can be verified at >https://www.hushtools.com/verify >> > Charset: UTF8 >> > Version: Hush 3.0 >> > >> > >wkYEARECAAYFAkgXN2wACgkQ5O7ahKJmrRkYFgCgqeGADGv4XT1x3eg9Bn49IPiPHqU >A >> > ninVivrE08nsJH1DEYWah7e0d/Q1 >> > =zIuK >> > -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- >> > >> > _______________________________________________ >> > Thethinktank mailing list >> > Thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org >> > >> > http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank- >bikecollectives.org >> > >> >> >> >> -- >> Durham Bike Co-op >> 723 N. Mangum St. >> Durham, NC 27701 >> www.durhambikecoop.org >> _______________________________________________ >> Thethinktank mailing list >> Thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org >> >> http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank- >bikecollectives.org >> >> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Note: This signature can be verified at https://www.hushtools.com/verify Charset: UTF8 Version: Hush 3.0 wkYEARECAAYFAkgYzCgACgkQ5O7ahKJmrRkjnACfb17NjhdTunysuEquTr60oPqf/PYA nifEyhmLaQ3jKdIdkgTq88TlLPAr =Zvv7 -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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Re: [TheThinkTank] Bike Shop in a Box
by dragonfly＠mac.hush.com 30 Apr '08

30 Apr '08

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 Hi, Everyone. I love reading everyone's posts. Thanks to the people who have written to me about creating a good bike plan for the Detroit-Windsor region. This past weekend, I was talking with some people. People we know were attending the UN Indigenous People's climate change meeting in New York, and we were talking about some things. My friends and I were talking about climate change, this time in the context of the aboriginal communities that these friends of mine come from. It was a long and interesting conversation. For a little part of it, I talked about bikes, and about how important my bike was to me in Detroit and about how my bike shapes my world view and my thoughts about community planning, etc. They all drive trucks, these friends of mine, even the ones from the city, and they think I'm a little nuts for riding my bike everywhere, but they could also see an increased potential for bikes in some of their communities. In some of their communities, bikes are not so practical. In others, they could be made into a more functional option for day-to- day practical use, if there was an infrastructure to support them- a place to get bikes, a place to go to repair them, etc. We wondered about a "Bike Shop in a Box"-- could you get a big rubbermaid tub and put a whole bike shop into it? (Maybe two tubs plus a stand?) Could you make such a thing that would be easy to ship North or into the B.C. interior, by train or plane etc.? Do the people from "Bikes Not Bombs" know how to do this-- have some of you done this before? Is there a good way of doing this already known? What should go into the box, and how could we make this economical-- is there an economy of scale-- how many Boxed Shops would you need to create to get a good deal on the tools, do you think? Would suppliers be interested in creating a 'Shop in Box' as a product to offer through their catalogue, even? We're just thinking about the feasibility of this right now. For lots of reasons, it might be a dumb or unworkable idea, but one worth checking out. If any of you have done this, or if you know what the best things to put into the box are, please e-mail me. Sasha On Tue, 29 Apr 2008 01:56:20 -0400 "Urban Bike Project Wilmington, DE" <urbanbikeproject(a)gmail.com> wrote: >"we still have the Bike Against! stencil and about ten different >colors of spray paint..." > >Rafael, is that why you changed your name? I can only imagine the >positive message this has spread in Fort Collins... > >Jennifer, > >I think you want a name that instantly gives people a snapshot of >what >you do. Mike's comment rings pretty true. Often people will call >or >email about donating bikes and then ask what it is exactly that we >do. > If you do bikes and art call it something with bikes and art and >you'll be set. The Bike Gallery or something innocent. BICAS' >name >is pretty cool and explanatory. > >Once you pick it, stick with it. Like Rafael said, your shops >actions/quality are more important than the name. > >Brian > >On 4/28/08, bike against <bikeagainst(a)gmail.com> wrote: >> Hey Jennifer and all, Rafael from Fort Collins,CO here... >> >> I agree with Rachel, keep it simple... >> >> I believe the name does not make the project, the PROJECT makes >the name, >> just like band names, as long as the music is good people will >dig the >> name... >> >> In our case, for the first four years our project was known as >the Bike >> Against ! collective or Co-op and due to our current situation >we are now >> just called The Fort Collins Bike Co-op... yeah,is not radical >but it >> doesn't have to be. We still have the same ideals and philosophy >that gave >> birth to the organization and again, the quality of your work is >ALL that >> matters in the end. >> >> By changing our name we were able to have access to a lot more >resources >> and therefore help a lot more people. >> >> As for the militant riders out there,who believe that riding a >bicycle as >> main or ONLY means of transportation is also an act of political >expression >> and resistance,we still have the Bike Against! stencil and about >ten >> different colors of spray paint... >> >> Also there's less risk that the name will be already taken. >> >> >> -- >> Rafael Cletero >> Project Coordinator >> Fort Collins Bicycle Co-op >> ph (970) 484 38 04 >> www.fcbikecoop.org >> _______________________________________________ >> Thethinktank mailing list >> Thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org >> http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank- >bikecollectives.org >> >> > > >-- >Urban Bike Project of Wilmington >1908 N. Market Street (entrance is in the parking lot behind the >building) >Wilmington, DE 19801 > >Hours: >Thursday 6:30-9:00 >Saturday 1:00-4:00 > >Visit us online at http://urbanbikeproject.org >_______________________________________________ >Thethinktank mailing list >Thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org >http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank- >bikecollectives.org -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Note: This signature can be verified at https://www.hushtools.com/verify Charset: UTF8 Version: Hush 3.0 wkYEARECAAYFAkgXN2wACgkQ5O7ahKJmrRkYFgCgqeGADGv4XT1x3eg9Bn49IPiPHqUA ninVivrE08nsJH1DEYWah7e0d/Q1 =zIuK -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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Re: [TheThinkTank] Thethinktank Digest, Vol 20, Issue 21
by Mario Bruzzone 30 Apr '08

30 Apr '08

Track down the Davis, CA Bike Church for a portable shop--their whole shop is housed in a "church" that you can drive (bike) around. It's really quite fun! ~Mario Bruzzone Bike Kitchen, San Francisco Wrench Nepal, Kathmandu On Wed, Apr 30, 2008 at 1:23 AM, <thethinktank-request(a)bikecollectives.org> wrote: > Send Thethinktank mailing list submissions to > thethinktank(a)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)bikecollectives.org > > You can reach the person managing the list at > thethinktank-owner(a)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: Bike Shop in a Box (rachael spiewak) > 2. Re: Bike Shop in a Box (Durham Bike Co-op) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Tue, 29 Apr 2008 11:54:16 -0400 > From: "rachael spiewak" <rachael(a)sopobikes.org> > Subject: Re: [TheThinkTank] Bike Shop in a Box > To: "The Think Tank" <thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org> > Message-ID: > <d74806f70804290854qe7ff55cs70d46b2250a739d1(a)mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" > > It might be most affordable and easiest to get a complete toolset from one > of the big bike tool companies (via a distributor or a sympathetic local > bike shop). Here's what Park > Tool<http://www.parktool.com/products/category.asp?cat=6>has, for > example. The backpack is a nice idea, but, in my experience, > structurally hard to deal with. I would add to your set a bunch of hard > line tools, which are easy to get donated. Tons of people have metric box > wrenches lying around in their garages. > > Our wiki <http://www.bikecollectives.org/wiki/index.php?title=Tools> has > some excellent ideas about stocking tools. > > Good luck! > > rachael > > On Tue, Apr 29, 2008 at 10:57 AM, <dragonfly(a)mac.hush.com> wrote: > > > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- > > Hash: SHA1 > > > > > > Hi, Everyone. > > > > I love reading everyone's posts. > > > > Thanks to the people who have written to me about creating a > > good bike plan for the Detroit-Windsor region. > > > > This past weekend, I was talking with some people. People we > > know were attending the UN Indigenous People's climate change > > meeting in New York, and we were talking about some things. > > > > My friends and I were talking about climate change, this time > > in the context of the aboriginal communities that these friends of > > mine come from. It was a long and interesting conversation. > > > > For a little part of it, I talked about bikes, and about how > > important my bike was to me in Detroit and about how my bike shapes > > my world view and my thoughts about community planning, etc. > > > > They all drive trucks, these friends of mine, even the ones > > from the city, and they think I'm a little nuts for riding my bike > > everywhere, but they could also see an increased potential for > > bikes in some of their communities. > > > > In some of their communities, bikes are not so practical. In > > others, they could be made into a more functional option for day-to- > > day practical use, if there was an infrastructure to support them- > > a place to get bikes, a place to go to repair them, etc. > > > > We wondered about a "Bike Shop in a Box"-- could you get a > > big rubbermaid tub and put a whole bike shop into it? (Maybe two > > tubs plus a stand?) Could you make such a thing that would be easy > > to ship North or into the B.C. interior, by train or plane etc.? > > > > Do the people from "Bikes Not Bombs" know how to do this-- > > have some of you done this before? Is there a good way of doing > > this already known? > > > > What should go into the box, and how could we make this > > economical-- is there an economy of scale-- how many Boxed Shops > > would you need to create to get a good deal on the tools, do you > > think? Would suppliers be interested in creating a 'Shop in Box' as > > a product to offer through their catalogue, even? > > > > We're just thinking about the feasibility of this right > > now. For lots of reasons, it might be a dumb or unworkable idea, > > but one worth checking out. If any of you have done this, or if you > > know what the best things to put into the box are, please e-mail > > me. > > > > Sasha > > > > On Tue, 29 Apr 2008 01:56:20 -0400 "Urban Bike Project Wilmington, > > DE" <urbanbikeproject(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > >"we still have the Bike Against! stencil and about ten different > > >colors of spray paint..." > > > > > >Rafael, is that why you changed your name? I can only imagine the > > >positive message this has spread in Fort Collins... > > > > > >Jennifer, > > > > > >I think you want a name that instantly gives people a snapshot of > > >what > > >you do. Mike's comment rings pretty true. Often people will call > > > > >or > > >email about donating bikes and then ask what it is exactly that we > > > > >do. > > > If you do bikes and art call it something with bikes and art and > > >you'll be set. The Bike Gallery or something innocent. BICAS' > > >name > > >is pretty cool and explanatory. > > > > > >Once you pick it, stick with it. Like Rafael said, your shops > > >actions/quality are more important than the name. > > > > > >Brian > > > > > >On 4/28/08, bike against <bikeagainst(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > >> Hey Jennifer and all, Rafael from Fort Collins,CO here... > > >> > > >> I agree with Rachel, keep it simple... > > >> > > >> I believe the name does not make the project, the PROJECT makes > > >the name, > > >> just like band names, as long as the music is good people will > > >dig the > > >> name... > > >> > > >> In our case, for the first four years our project was known as > > >the Bike > > >> Against ! collective or Co-op and due to our current situation > > >we are now > > >> just called The Fort Collins Bike Co-op... yeah,is not radical > > >but it > > >> doesn't have to be. We still have the same ideals and philosophy > > > > >that gave > > >> birth to the organization and again, the quality of your work is > > > > >ALL that > > >> matters in the end. > > >> > > >> By changing our name we were able to have access to a lot more > > >resources > > >> and therefore help a lot more people. > > >> > > >> As for the militant riders out there,who believe that riding a > > >bicycle as > > >> main or ONLY means of transportation is also an act of political > > > > >expression > > >> and resistance,we still have the Bike Against! stencil and about > > > > >ten > > >> different colors of spray paint... > > >> > > >> Also there's less risk that the name will be already taken. > > >> > > >> > > >> -- > > >> Rafael Cletero > > >> Project Coordinator > > >> Fort Collins Bicycle Co-op > > >> ph (970) 484 38 04 > > >> www.fcbikecoop.org > > >> _______________________________________________ > > >> Thethinktank mailing list > > >> Thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org > > >> http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank- > > >bikecollectives.org > > >> > > >> > > > > > > > > >-- > > >Urban Bike Project of Wilmington > > >1908 N. Market Street (entrance is in the parking lot behind the > > >building) > > >Wilmington, DE 19801 > > > > > >Hours: > > >Thursday 6:30-9:00 > > >Saturday 1:00-4:00 > > > > > >Visit us online at http://urbanbikeproject.org > > >_______________________________________________ > > >Thethinktank mailing list > > >Thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org > > >http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank- > > >bikecollectives.org > > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- > > Note: This signature can be verified at https://www.hushtools.com/verify > > Charset: UTF8 > > Version: Hush 3.0 > > > > wkYEARECAAYFAkgXN2wACgkQ5O7ahKJmrRkYFgCgqeGADGv4XT1x3eg9Bn49IPiPHqUA > > ninVivrE08nsJH1DEYWah7e0d/Q1 > > =zIuK > > -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Thethinktank mailing list > > Thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org > > > > > http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.… > > > > > > -- > Sopo Bicycle Cooperative > 404-425-9989 > www.sopobikes.org > * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * > Hours of operation: > Tues/Thurs 7 pm - 10 pm > Sat/Sun 2 pm - 6 pm >

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Re: [TheThinkTank] New shop name ideas, anyone?
by mike eng 29 Apr '08

29 Apr '08

I'd just echo Rachel's point about not trying too hard to come up with some funky word for the name. Having a self-explanatory name makes it easy for people who know nothing about your program recognize what you do. In our case, at an outreach event, a bunch of people just saw the name and walked up and said, "Oh, I'd never heard of your organization before, but can I donate my old bike to you so it doesn't have to go in the garbage?" And we said, "Absolutely". -- Mike Eng Recycle-a-Bike, Providence, RI www.recycleabike.org

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Re: [TheThinkTank] Article from Common Dreams NewsCenter
by Tom Emm 28 Apr '08

28 Apr '08

A friend <refsvr(a)referralblast.com> wrote: Hello, A friend wanted to share this article with you: http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/04/27/8558/ Thanks! ______________________________________ Common Dreams Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community www.commondreams.org ________________________________________________________ Referral service by ReferralBlast.com --------------------------------- Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now.

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Liability insurance/ Children's legal issues?
by Sandy Robson 28 Apr '08

28 Apr '08

Howdy from St. Paul, Minnesota! We've been having a pretty successful starting season at Sibley Bike Depot--maintenance classes, a women's/trans open shop night, an after school program, art bike projects...it's all going swell. Right now we have a number of children that come to our open-shop hours and earn bikes. We don't have any liability insurance whatsoever, so we've temporarily limited the number of kids allowed in the shop at one time. How do you all handle this? Do you have any advice as to what kind of insurance/ forms we need? Thanks! Sandy Robson (410)206-7826

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Mayor's Ride May 12!
by Community Bicycle Shop Omaha 25 Apr '08

25 Apr '08

2008 Mayor's Ride to Start at the Community Bicycle Shop! Start your day off right on *Monday, May 12 at 8:00* am and bring your bicycle down to 33rd and California! Community Bicycle Shop Omaha (CBSO) is pleased to partner with Mayor Mike Fahey, Activate Omaha, and Bikeable Communities to bring the Mayor's Ride to Gifford Park. This event kicks off National Bike to Work Week and will include the presentation of Omaha's first commuter bicycle map. The mayor will make a proclamation at 8:30 am and the group will ride to the Pedestrian Bridge downtown and back through Creighton's campus. Bicycling to work is good exercise and saves money on gas. Cycling instead of driving is also good for air quality and mitigates global warming. Most important to CBSO is the immediate benefit of your presence on the street! Our streets are safer and more enjoyable when we employ human power to get us where we're going. If you are new to bicycle commuting this is a great way to get started! All you need is a bicycle and helmet. The ride will be guided by the police so that traffic at intersections will be monitored. If you'd like to know more about the event call Stuart at 216-1235 or visit * www.activateomaha.org*.

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Cheap locks/stolen bikes
by plan_9＠riseup.net 25 Apr '08

25 Apr '08

We at the FM Community Bicycle Workshop have had a good,(read: busy, chaotic, overwhelming) first spring openand have run into a few unexpected situations regarding stolen bikes. We have a one bike a year limit policy and have had individuals get bikes from us, then come back the next week saying theirs was stolen and they want to get another one. Some of these were pretty decent, modern bikes (trek 4300, Giant Cyprus, Diamondback BMX) and we don't want to suspect the worst, that these bikes were pawned or sold for profit rather than ridden, but we also don't want to open ourselves up to exploitation either. We have put in place a policy that if you bring us a copy of your police report you are eligible for earning another bike, assuming that folks wouldn't file a false police report. We don't live in an area that has high bike theft rates, except for "bike hopping" where people just grab a bike that isn't being used and leave it wherever they end up. Basically, crime of opportunity rather than intent. The bigger issue here is that we are getting folks bikes who can't normally afford one, but not giving them the means to secure it. We are interested in getting locks to give out to people who get bikes from us through our referral system but are debating which is the best solution. One idea would be to buy cheap cable locks in bulk. Another idea we have had is a much more DIY approach: Get a roll of beefy hardware store chain and a padlock and call it good. Has anyone run into this? Thoughts? -Andy FMCBW

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New shop name ideas, anyone?
by Jennifer Nordhem 25 Apr '08

25 Apr '08

We've decided against using the name Battlesteed for multiple reasons. Does anyone have a good name the didn't get picked for their shop that they still like or came up with after it was set in stone. This is really the only thing that's holding us back right now since we can't file as a non-profit organization until we have one. This is our brief mission: We are a small group of avid cyclists who, through our love for the bike, decided to found Battlesteed Custom Bike Works. Battlesteed's mission is to create a larger, more knowledgeable and self-reliant community in Denver through teaching affordable bicycle mechanics classes in a comfortable, unpretentious learning environment. These are other intentions of the shop: -To hold monthly art shows to support the growing art community of Denver and advertise our services to new potential students. -To sublet space/benches to people (mainly people who are teaching classes and are involved with the shop) for their personal tools... we even have a friend interested in using his space for a screen printing press which he will teach classes in as well. Any ideas?! Thanks, Jen Nordhem Denver

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Following up with Bike Donors
by Rich Points 25 Apr '08

25 Apr '08

Collectives, At Community Cycles when someone donates a bike we have them fill out a tax deductible donation receipt. This is a carbon copy form where the donor gets one copy and we get the other. We then take that info an input into our database. We've done this for about 9 months now and have quite a few Bike_Donor contacts. So far we haven't contacted these donors but I've been thinking of doing a direct mail campaign to these people. My question is, have other collectives done this kind of direct mail? Or more broadly how are you following up with people who donate bikes and parts to you? Peace -- Rich Points Community Cycles Director http://CommunityCycles.org Rich(a)CommunityCycles.org 720-565-6019

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Re: [TheThinkTank] illustrated instruction booklet
by dragonfly＠mac.hush.com 17 Apr '08

17 Apr '08

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 Hello, Everyone Back in the 1980's when I was a little kid, my big sister was part of a group called Cycle Watch, which was one of the early local cyclists groups in Toronto. Cycle Watch made a beautiful little booklet for cyclists. It had a yellow cover of a light card stock and accordion folded paper inside. It was small enough to fit inside a wallet, but it was a little fat. Sort of the thickness of a package of rolling papers (I'm getting all Canadian on you now.) Instead of information about flats, it had a picture of a bike with all the parts labelled with their names, and spaces for you to write in information about your bike, such as the make, the size, the serial number, the City bike licence if you had one, etc. The next little pages were a description of what information you needed to gather if you were in an accident-- the name and details of the driver who hit you (Kate had to explain the concept of insurance to me), and space for contact info. for witnesses, plus the name and badge number of the police officers, etc.. (They used small type.) It was a little booklet of information about how to record all the things that would help you win a traffic case if you were hit (the picture ofthe bike with the names of the parts was to help you describe your bike or the damage to it), plus all the info you'd need to have if your bike was stolen. It was great. Part of what made it compelling to me was that it was kid- sized. My sister gave me a whole bunch of these booklets to hand out at school (As my mother had encouraged me to afix a "Midwives do it Better" button to my knapsack, you can imagine how cool the cool kids found me, right?); to my amazement, everyone wanted them. I've often thought of recreating them, and I've wondered if they would still be popluar-- if you are working on a little booklet, something like that might go over well. A bi-lingual version would be a good design problem-- how to include all the info while preserving readability and a small size. For me, those little yellow booklets were my introduction to cycling as something that created a community, and also an early, simple way of participating in do-it-yourself politics. Thanks for reminding me of something happy, and good luck with your project. Sasha On Thu, 17 Apr 2008 14:09:23 -0400 "Urban Bike Project Wilmington, DE" <urbanbikeproject(a)gmail.com> wrote: >http://www.bikecollectives.org/wiki/index.php?title=Spanish_Resourc >e_Materials > >The first link is a good place to start, maybe you could print it >front/back >and fold it. > >Brian > >On Thu, Apr 17, 2008 at 2:02 PM, Sharlyn Grace ><sharlyngrace(a)gmail.com> >wrote: > >> Hello all, >> >> We're thinking of putting together an illustrated little booklet >> (bi-lingual) that people could carry around as a resource-- >mostly right now >> we're thinking how to fix flats, tips like putting a dollar >inside a tire >> with a hole, etc. Does anyone know if something like this >exists? Or do >> you have good ideas about what would be useful information to >include? We >> want it to be really small, but also helpful. We have so many >people come >> in and fix a flat and never think about it again, so they're >helpless when >> the next one comes around, so this is an attempt to make the >info >> non-technical and available all the time. >> >> Thanks!, >> Sharlyn >> >> The Recyclery >> Evanston, IL >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Thethinktank mailing list >> Thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org >> >> http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank- >bikecollectives.org >> >> > > >-- >Urban Bike Project of Wilmington >1908 N. Market Street (entrance is in the parking lot behind the >building) >Wilmington, DE 19801 > >Hours: >Thursday 6:30-9:00 >Saturday 1:00-4:00 > >Visit us online at http://urbanbikeproject.org -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Note: This signature can be verified at https://www.hushtools.com/verify Charset: UTF8 Version: Hush 3.0 wkYEARECAAYFAkgHo/EACgkQ5O7ahKJmrRlBcwCgspKA561xLxabj6eHRCyfKkM+CbsA oIBvdZ3xIIfVsQAw0uijdsSRII/R =EeZ3 -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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illustrated instruction booklet
by Sharlyn Grace 17 Apr '08

17 Apr '08

Hello all, We're thinking of putting together an illustrated little booklet (bi-lingual) that people could carry around as a resource--mostly right now we're thinking how to fix flats, tips like putting a dollar inside a tire with a hole, etc. Does anyone know if something like this exists? Or do you have good ideas about what would be useful information to include? We want it to be really small, but also helpful. We have so many people come in and fix a flat and never think about it again, so they're helpless when the next one comes around, so this is an attempt to make the info non-technical and available all the time. Thanks!, Sharlyn The Recyclery Evanston, IL

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Being seen at night: Lighting and reflective materials
by BovineOaks＠aol.com 16 Apr '08

16 Apr '08

I wrote this for another bike group, I thought you might find some of the information useful. I have been a light tester for year. 25 years as a photographer with a tra ined eye to respond to changes in light and study lighting contrast. Constantly studying ever changing lighting conditions has helped me see bike lighting effectiveness in relationship to other traffic. I do not believe anything workes to make me seen by cars, I test it to prove it works all of the time, some of the time or is just Psychological protection. I have also studied how the eye reacts to different levels of light. I have carefully evaluated the eyes reaction time to change when eyes are blinded by bright car head lamps, to how long it takes to see much lower intensity LED blinky lights. I have studied how the spacing of lights creates the illusion of space or can hide the true shape and size of an object. Trying to keep things short I have found the following the be most effective. 6 and 12 volt bright helmet lamps 6 volt generator, 6 and 12 volt rechargeable battery lamps mounted to the bars or above the front wheel. Blinky's out on the ends of the bars and lower on the fork. Multiple red led strobes spread out across the rider and the rear of a bike or trailer. Reflective side walls on tires. Rear facing reflective material on bike, rider, bag, trailer, Reflective material on Left wrist for arm signals. Front facing reflective material If you want to read the reasoning continue on, if not, stop here. I have been trained to act like traffic. I do not know any electric or petroleum powered traffic that uses low watt LED blinky lights as the primary source of light to be noticed by other traffic. If low watt LED's were a sufficient light source, all car manufactures would use them to cut costs. I am traffic, I need to have similarly powerfully lights to be seen effectively by other traffic on the road. Cars do hit other cars with bright lights, having bright lights on a bike will not stop impacts, It will increase visibility of cyclist and reduce incidents. I wish it could end incidents between vehicles, that is a human behavior issue. Reflective material In your lane of traffic you should see red 10 watt light ahead of you and white 50 watt lights behind you. Reflective material works best when there is very little light behind it. Reflective material reflects less light than it receives. As a rider you are for the most part directly in front of the motor vehicles 50 watt head lamps. Your material will reflect 30% to 70% of this light, which is much more light than the 10 watt red lamps ahead of the rider. This makes rear facing reflective material greatly effective at all times. Front facing reflective materials are very effective when you are alone on the road ways. You are not positioned directly ahead of oncoming car headlamps, you are off to their side and out of the strongest part of their headlight beam. On coming traffic can easily distinguish you from the darker background. When you ride on the right side of the road you are not straight in front of oncoming head lamps where the light is focused and the brightest, you are on the far side or the edge of their lamps beam. You may only receive 10 watt of the 50 watts of light coming from their lamps and you are reflecting even less of that light. To reduce the effectiveness of reflective material even more the traffic behind you is backlighting you with 50 watt lamps this makes the few watts of light coming from the vest almost invisible. All of this is bull unless you can test it. I have tested it and you can too. Have a friend put all your reflective stuff on. Get a bright hand held spot light or a car, aiming the light down the side of the road the cyclist is not on. Have the cyclist stand still at 100 yards away 50 yards away and 25 yards away. Look at how bright the reflective material is when the cyclist has a car behind and beside them, and when there is no car around them. Have the friend switch to the same side of the road you are on with their back facing you. Look at how much more light comes off the reflective material from your hand held spot light or from your car. Watch how the reflective light changes as a car in your same lane approaches the cyclist and after they pass the cyclist and the tail lights are on the other side of them. You can also evaluate how much the reflective light changes as oncoming cars in the opposite lane pass by the cyclist. I have done this test and I was surprised and horrified by the results. I thought reflective materials worked all the time and were great. Now I know they are a part of a complete package to be seen by other traffic. I agree with Jim and others "It's always a good idea to have lots of reflectors. You can never have too many." I have reflectors or reflective tape on my trailers, bike, clothing, helmet, tires, if I could get reflective teeth I would. I love having a reflective strip, cuff, glove on my left arm for night time turn signals. I sometimes put a reflective ankle strap around my wrist for signaling. Rear lights I had a few experiences that taught me about how we perceive the size of an object by the spacing of lights. Cars with one head lamp look like a motorcycle. Trucks on dark roads out in the country appear to be farther away if the tail lights are inside the rear step instead of on the outside corners of the trailer. I was in a blinding snow storm at night looking ahead for tail lights. When I saw the lights I thought I was 150 feet away from the truck. I switched lanes only to fine I was right next to the truck instead of 150 feet away. The two tail lights were between the stair instead of on the out side corners of the trailer that threw my perception of distance off. Same thing with bike lights. A single light from a bike has to go through a windshield of a car before it reaches the driver. If you look at a red blinky that is far away you will find that the normal road dust and fine scratches on the windshield change the appearance of the lights. Red lamps farther away will look larger, and light closer will look smaller. This is the reverse of what it should be. Two blinky light separated give traffic more consistent way to judge the distance they are from you. I like a blinky on the cyclist back and one on the bike. Examples: One on the helmet or back pack or courier bag or collar of clothing. The other mounted on the seat post, rack, handlebar ends, high on a trailer. The idea is to have one light low and one high to give you shape. The more lights the easier it is to show your shape to other traffic and help other traffic judge distance and closing speed. Blinky and reflective material work great on the back of your bike. Reflective tires Something I was surprised by: Reflective sidewalls on tires. My thoughts were what help are reflective sidewalls? If the side of a bike is in front of a car it is a little late. All I can say is that I was wrong. I found that the sidewalls did reflect from the front and rear. As we keep balance we turn the tire a little to the left and right all the time. This turning back and forth allows the reflective surfaces to gather and shoot back light like a blinky. The tires strobe and catch attention in a large way. I recommend Reflective Tires whole heartily now. Up to now I have not talked about expensive lights. Blinkys, reflectors, reflective tires are not super expensive to do well. I am traffic and need to act like the rest of traffic to be seen in ALL conditions. Bright Head Lamps I am surrounded by traffic with 50 Watt head beams. I am surrounded by people whose iris closes down when they are facing bright head lamps. This smaller hole in the eye lets less light in and makes it harder to see dimmer low wattage lights. In simple language if you have a car behind you or one has just passed you, it is likely that any oncoming traffic will not be able to see a low watt blinky or flashlight because there iris takes a while to recover and become large enough to see dimmer lights. This is why it is important to have a similar amount of light coming off your bike as is coming of the rest of traffic. Some newer LED lights put out the same amount of light as a 30 watt incandescent bulb. I have seen them priced at $50 to $70. If you know your history then you know that lights this bright were triple that amount of money three years ago. I have one light system that cost $360 and a helmet light that was $180. Modern lights are much more affordable. I like a 30 watt light on the bike and one on the head. One to light the ground effectively and one to look over at traffic coming in from the side. I like to make sure I am seen, get the attention of a driver and see their face. I like a mindful driver and I make sure I am not invisible to them.When I can see their face I know they can see my light. On the road at night I am SOL the sun god, not black invisible Ninja. I act like traffic because I am traffic. Christopher Wallace **************Need a new ride? Check out the largest site for U.S. used car listings at AOL Autos. (http://autos.aol.com/used?NCID=aolcmp00300000002851)

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Re: [TheThinkTank] Cheap locks/stolen bikes
by dragonfly＠mac.hush.com 16 Apr '08

16 Apr '08

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 Hello, Everyone Sometimes people in Detroit try to earn one or more bikes to help get bikes for other family members or friends without the time to do EAB themselves. (Not all older siblings are evil bike thieves.) Single mums sometimes need help earning bikes for themselves and a couple of kids, some of whom are too small to be responsible for EAB hours. Kids sometimes earn bikes for their mums as a present after earning their own. People who live far away or who do shift work or who work a million little jobs to keep afloat sometimes have a friend who will earn a bike for them. The locks made of chain from the hardware store (often covered with bits old fire hose to make it harder to cut) and a padlock are popular and apparently effective here. Coming from Toronto, where bike theft is a real problem, I was amazed to see Detroiters leaving their bikes on the ground outside-- unlocked!-- to go into stores. Many of the thefts we have involve people trustingly leaving their bikes completely unlocked. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would never have believed the tales of the naive, trusting denizens of Detroit's Cass Corridor... Sasha On Wed, 16 Apr 2008 15:56:14 -0400 veganboyjosh(a)gmail.com wrote: >We got the city of Boulder to subsidize locks, lights, racks, and >a small >tool/set for each of our Youth EAB students. The locks are the 4 >tumbler >number kind that you can "program" with your own combination, so >the kids >won't forget. One issue we had early on was someone opened her >lock to lock >up her bike, and bumped one of the tumblers, and couldn't get it >to lock. >she didn't know what to do, so she left it unlocked. Then it got >taken. (We >now walk the kids through the process of locking and unlocking and >locking >again their locks. It's almost as important to me to explain that >the locks >won'tclose if the combination is wrong, just as it won't open... > >Anyway, we've also encountered the older sibling/evil evil bike >thief >takes/breaks an EAB'ers bike...we're still working on a solution. > >My thought is that anyone should be able to earn as many bikes as >they want, >with one caveat. With each bike that they earn, the hours they >need to put >in go up. For example, in the normal program, students go through >12-16 >hours of work before they earn a (first) bike of their own. With >my >proposal, if someone wants to come in and earn a second bike, it >would take >20-24 hours, or some appropriate amount. The goal would be for >them to have >the option to do it, but make it silly enough (wanna earn 5 bikes? >work 200 >hours...etc) that it's not worth it. I realize there are some >other >issues--what if someone comes in and wants to earn 5 bikes, no >matter how >many hours it takes?--but i don't like the idea of limiting people >to one >bike... >This way, while students have more invested in the second, third, >etc, bikes >they've earned, which hopefully encourages them to take better >care of their >bike/security, it also offers them the opportunity to get another >bike >should the first one get stolen, run over by mom/dad, etc. > > > > >On Wed, Apr 16, 2008 at 1:37 PM, rachael spiewak ><rachael(a)sopobikes.org> >wrote: > >> We've been running into this with the younger folks at the bike >shop, and >> we have to be firm about our earn one bike and one bike only >policy. >> They're allowed to trade in their bike for a different one only >if the one >> they're turning in is in good condition, and we regularly have >chats about >> why our policy is what it is. We also chat about how not to get >your bike >> stolen. It's hard when older siblings are the ones taking the >bikes away >> from the kids who come up to the shop and otherwise abide by >what we have to >> offer, so we do our best to be understanding. The most we can >do is create >> a system of accountability that makes sense for us, stick to our >rules for >> the good of the entire shop community, and be understanding >about >> extenuating circumstances. >> >> When we can find deals on locks, we buy a few and distribute >them to folks >> who express the need for one. That seems to work for some >people. The >> younger folks tend to lose keys, so combo locks work best for >them. I try >> to keep a list of their lock combinations and spare keys to help >them out >> when things get lost or forgotten. >> >> If folks don't trade cash for bikes, are they doing anything to >create a >> sense of investment or ownership in the bikes? >> >> -r >> >> >> >> On Wed, Apr 16, 2008 at 3:24 PM, <plan_9(a)riseup.net> wrote: >> >> > We at the FM Community Bicycle Workshop have had a good,(read: >busy, >> > chaotic, overwhelming) first spring openand have run into a >few >> > unexpected situations regarding stolen bikes. We have a one >bike a >> > year limit policy and have had individuals get bikes from us, >then >> > come back the next week saying theirs was stolen and they want >to get >> > another one. Some of these were pretty decent, modern bikes >(trek >> > 4300, Giant Cyprus, Diamondback BMX) and we don't want to >suspect the >> > worst, that these bikes were pawned or sold for profit rather >than >> > ridden, but we also don't want to open ourselves up to >exploitation >> > either. We have put in place a policy that if you bring us a >copy of >> > your police report you are eligible for earning another bike, >assuming >> > that folks wouldn't file a false police report. We don't live >in an >> > area that has high bike theft rates, except for "bike hopping" >where >> > people just grab a bike that isn't being used and leave it >wherever >> > they end up. Basically, crime of opportunity rather than >intent. The >> > bigger issue here is that we are getting folks bikes who can't >> > normally afford one, but not giving them the means to secure >it. We >> > are interested in getting locks to give out to people who get >bikes >> > from us through our referral system but are debating which is >the best >> > solution. One idea would be to buy cheap cable locks in bulk. >Another >> > idea we have had is a much more DIY approach: Get a roll of >beefy >> > hardware store chain and a padlock and call it good. Has >anyone run >> > into this? Thoughts? >> > -Andy FMCBW >> > >> > _______________________________________________ >> > Thethinktank mailing list >> > Thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org >> > >> > http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank- >bikecollectives.org >> > >> >> >> >> -- >> Sopo Bicycle Cooperative >> 404-425-9989 >> www.sopobikes.org >> * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * >> Hours of operation: >> Tues/Thurs 7 pm - 10 pm >> Sat/Sun 2 pm - 5 pm >> _______________________________________________ >> Thethinktank mailing list >> Thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org >> >> http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank- >bikecollectives.org >> >> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Note: This signature can be verified at https://www.hushtools.com/verify Charset: UTF8 Version: Hush 3.0 wkYEARECAAYFAkgGYUwACgkQ5O7ahKJmrRldeACggmrH2IqkO6dLjTP3KUKKrPuA8TsA n0//+iabyCayeMXgvbfshjkFI6jw =PMkr -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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moving bikes by bike
by Bob Giordano 15 Apr '08

15 Apr '08

freewheelin' friends, We are having our annual Festival of Cycles this weekend and we are reviving an old tradition: moving all the bikes to the festival by bike/people power. At the peak, we moved 600 bikes on 3 giant haywagons across town to the festival site, with people pushing and pulling- quite fun. We no longer have access to the hay wagons and we are thinking of using lots of boat trailers hooked to bikes, with people walking and biking along side. We have about 400 bikes to move this way- any ideas or thoughts before we began the search for 10 trailers? thanks, -Bob G., Free Cycles Missoula

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who's got resources en español?
by rachael spiewak 10 Apr '08

10 Apr '08

We just got the news that a community bike shop is in the works in a suburb of Atlanta that's largely populated by Spanish speaking recent arrivals. Thought I'd ask the kind folks on this list for a round up of resources en español to send over to the shop organizers. We've already got the BICAS manual (has some Spanish translations), which is my favorite repair manual in general. Is there a way to filter the Wiki to search only for things in a particular language? Or can there be a section for multilingual resources? Thanks! -rachael -- Sopo Bicycle Cooperative 404-425-9989 www.sopobikes.org * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Hours of operation: Tues/Thurs 7 pm - 10 pm Sat/Sun 2 pm - 5 pm

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BICAS is hiring
by kyle mckinley 10 Apr '08

10 Apr '08

All- Anyone wanna join us for the warmest weather this side of the Sahara? Please tell your friends and coworkers, especially if they are/ might soon be in Tucson. BICAS, a collectively run non-profit BICYCLE recycling and education center is seeking a part time Staff Collective Member, $8.50/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, and ethnicity encouraged. Accepting resume˙s until April 25th. 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. thanks,kyle -- If an Easyrider rides easy, then a bicirider rides bicis

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Re: [TheThinkTank] hijacked espanol "thread". or "junk bikes for the world"
by veganboyjosh＠gmail.com 09 Apr '08

09 Apr '08

continuing on the theme of not hijacking the thread; my girlfriend just got back from new orleans, where she went to the book collective and got me the new chainbreaker<http://www.microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/books/2077/>book. it's along these lines, and many people on the list are already familiar with chainbreaker zine. the book is awesome. lots of goodies, and she even put the 4 issues of chainbreaker zine in the back of the book, as the originals were destroyed in hurricane katrina. if you don't have the book, personally, it's an awesome read. good sense of humor, and she's got a list of community bike shops in the back, which is surprisingly up to date, what with it having a 2008 copyright date. well worth the 12 bucks, and an awesome present for someone you like/love. On Wed, Apr 9, 2008 at 9:14 PM, Urban Bike Project Wilmington, DE < urbanbikeproject(a)gmail.com> wrote: > <snip> is there an opportunity to publish a repair manual available to the > general > public? something like "fix any bike or die trying". included would > be such topics as "home-made drop bolts" , "build your dream bike out > of trash on the street" and "my cat could fix this with a hammer, > screwdriver and adjustable wrench (though he should probably use the > proper tools)".</snip>

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