- TheThinkTank - lists.bikecollectives.org

Shop software
by Godwin ! 01 Jul '12

01 Jul '12

Trying to squeeze in the extra time this week to open up to developers soon but first: Non-technicalNominate a name!Right now the code name I'm using is 'Samara' after the fruit that a maple tree produces but I'd like to hear better ideas if anyone has them (and maybe get some sort of consensus)Will my shop / organization be able to use it?Yes. The intention is to make everything completely customizable so that it can work with the way your organization does, although I'm not going to promote it over any of the other options It will be web-based and (if required) compatible with Wordpress, Joomla, and Drupal and eventually hopefully IPad and Android. Setting it up to work offline will also be possible.What will it do?The focus at the beginning is to create a point of sale system, after that I'd like to implement other features from news feeds to keep everyone informed to budget planning and audit modules (everything will be optional)Whatever else you can dream of and find someone to help buildWhy are you doing this?To create a common tool that will work for everyone's needs, so that we can combine our efforts where we can and diverge when we need toBecause I like software development and especially interesting projectsNot to overshadow other people's efforts such as freehubWhen will it be ready?No clue. I've made a number of promises in the past but I realized that I really need to stop making them, we all know what volunteering is likeDon't wait for it if you need something now, there's lots of other tools out there and if you eventually want to switch we may be able to work together to get that done.Check out: http://erply.com/, http://www.merchantos.com/, and of course https://github.com/asalant/freehub/wiki/ How to get involved GIVE IT A NAME! - It's likely that your shop name will be more prominent (if this name is even visible at all) but it would be nice to have something to call it when downloading or when talking amongst ourselvesDesign a logo - You might want to wait for the name Otherwise wait for my next email (but don't hold your breath), I'll be setting up a development environment so that people can jump on as they can. We'll be more in need of experienced PHP developers in the beginning stages to round out the framework, less experienced developers can hop on in the later stages to build modules and themes. Feel free to send questions or feedback (critical or otherwise) directly to me if you'd like,.godwin

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Woman with 2 years experience seeking work in non-profit bike shop
by Christine Hill 28 Jun '12

28 Jun '12

Hi all! My name is Christine Hill, and in August I'll wrap up two years of Americorps service at Bike Recycle Vermont<http://www.localmotion.org/programs/bikerecycle/>, a non-profit bike shop in Burlington, Vermont that accepts donated bikes, refurbishes them, and provides them to low-income Vermonters. I've learned so much as the assistant manager of our shop in the past two years and I've continuously drawn energy and inspiration from the work we do here. After 5 years in Vermont, I'm looking for a change in scenery but would love to work in a similar setting. My job responsibilities at Bike Recycle Vermont run the gamut of small, non-profit bike shop management: bike repair and maintenance, volunteer recruitment and management, long-term project planning, event planning, project management, communications and marketing, safety education, program development, running an Earn-A-Bike program, hosting Women and Trans nights, hosting Community Shop Nights, organizing bike rides, and more. My resume and references are available upon request. Just wanted to put the feelers out there. If you know your organization will be hiring in the fall or winter, shoot me a line, I'd love to chat with you! Take care, Christine Hill christine(a)localmotion.org (339)223-0722

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Bike ambassador program
by Neil Walker 25 Jun '12

25 Jun '12

We are about to launch our Bike Ambassador program for Youth. I am looking for "best practices" , Advice or suggestion for the program. I had the pleasure of seeing the program in action in Minnesota. Any and all with experience, please contribute through the collective or send an email to neil(a)atlantabike.org. Neil Walker Bicycle Education League Certified Instructor #2935 678.200.2182 Join today to support Atlanta's voice for better biking. www.atlantabike.org Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

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Re: [TheThinkTank] 'Youth Mechanics' analytical thinking skills program
by christopher＠holisticcycles.com 25 Jun '12

25 Jun '12

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Re: [TheThinkTank] (Physically) small bike shops/spaces?
by christopher＠holisticcycles.com 22 Jun '12

22 Jun '12

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Bike!Bike! Northeast - September 28-29-30
by Andrew L 22 Jun '12

22 Jun '12

Hi ThinkTank It's official.... SAVE THE DATE SEPTEMBER 28-30, 2012 BIKE!BIKE! NORTHEAST TROY, NY We put out some feelers and got positive feedback from shops in Providence, Worcester, Ontario, Burlington, and Pennsylvania... that is enough to commence the work of creating another awesome northeast US community bike gathering. in the coming months we will keep reaching out..... we hope to get: Ithaca Syracuse Montpelier Keene Lewiston, ME Rochester Coatesville, PA Philadelphia NYC Burlington New Haven Worcester Boston if you know individuals in this state who might not be in touch, please send them our way. http://troybikerescue.org/bikebikene

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(Physically) small bike shops/spaces?
by veganboyjosh＠gmail.com 21 Jun '12

21 Jun '12

hey all, a friend of mine is doing a story on bike shops that are under 500 square feet. he's primarily focused on retail oriented shops, but when he put the call out on facebook, of course i thought some of you and your lots of things happening in space that shouldn't physically be possible. of course he can't cover every small shop, but i'm looking for suggestions from you all for shops who have been around a while (longer than a couple years, i'd say) and are tiny physical spaces. borrowed space (ie, from a school or church, etc) is fine, as long as it's small. so, any ideas? thanks, and everyone who's at bike!bike! this weekend, give each other big hugs from me.

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Bike!Bike! Northeast 2012 ?
by Andrew L 16 Jun '12

16 Jun '12

Hey guys, girls and other bicycle enthusiasts. The people here at Troy Bike Rescue (Troy, NY (near Albany)) Have been itching for a Bike!Bike! in the Northeast. We are thinking of hosting one this coming September 28-30th. If we host it, will they come ? --- that is the question. Do you rep a shop in the Northeast? Would YOU come? Our last B!B!NE was in April 2010, and it was a great success... Worcester, Ithaca, Montpelier, Burlington, Providence, Plattsburgh, and others were all in attendance.... New shops have popped up since then, and we have a new awesome space too, plus great partners to help host. If you are interested in attending, please contact: dylan.thies(a)lostorienteerer.net You can learn more about us at: http://troybikerescue.org or you can contact one of us by phone at (518) EAT-4TBR (518-328-4827) BBNE could include: Troy night out (monthly 'art crawl') Troy Critical Mass (not associated but you will see similar faces) film screenings live music Good Food! WORKZHOPZ!!! shirt printing. bike rides Whaddya think?? we hope we are not stepping on any toes, but we haven't heard any peeps on the subject. We are sad not to be headed to Vancouver, but have a great time all!!! -- ------__o ----_`\<,_ ---(_)/ (_) andrew lynn 518-573-7947

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Re: [TheThinkTank] Thethinktank Digest, Vol 70, Issue 14
by Jenna Johns-Yu 13 Jun '12

13 Jun '12

Recycle-A-Bike <http://www.recycleabike.org/>, Providence will be there! Jenna Yu, Program Director

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Help Community Bicycle Center raise $1,000
by Andy Greif 12 Jun '12

12 Jun '12

Hi Think Tank Friends Please help the Community Bicycle Center with your vote described below and if possible put a posting on your respective FaceBook pages. As always you are welcome to visit us in Maine. We will have the kids take you on a tandem ride to the ocean or make you a milkshake on our bike powered blender. Thanks for your help!!!! You are one click away from helping CBC win $1,000 for our community's Bike Doctor Outreach program. To support National Bike Month, GOOD and Clif Bar are teaming up to reward one organization $1,000 for their idea of how promote biking and get their neighbors on bikes. Through CBC's Bike Doctor program, kids are "paying it forward" by pedaling into neighborhoods and fixing their neighbors' bikes for free. CLICK HERE: http://clifbarbikes.maker.good.is/projects/bikedoctor to watch a short, and endearing video about Bike Doctor and the kids who are involved.and, of course, to VOTE. VOTE, PLEASE! It takes seconds. Forward to your friends, family members, anyone and everyone you know who supports kids, and fellow-cycling enthusiast! <http://clifbarbikes.maker.good.is/projects/bikedoctor> http://clifbarbikes.maker.good.is/projects/bikedoctor You can also vote via the link on our CBC Facebook page: www.facebook.com/CommunityBicycleCenter **A big THANK YOU to At Your Service Video Production, LLC for donating talent and time for this contest and many other CBC video projects!** Andy Greif, Executive Director Mailing: P.O. Box 783, Biddeford, ME 04005 Shop: 284 Hill Street, Biddeford Shop Phone: 207-282-9700 Cell Phone: 207-229-8199 Website: www.communitybike.net <http://www.communitybike.net/> "Providing Opportunities for Youth to Grow"

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'Youth Mechanics' analytical thinking skills program
by Tom Martin 11 Jun '12

11 Jun '12

Hello all, I've recently finished a 10-week pilot for an analytical thinking skills program using bicycle repair as a teaching medium. In short, the program supposes that the subjects taught in school -- math, literature, etc -- are just arbitrary avenues to the same sort of cognitive processes that could be reached though handskills and mechanicship. In other words, bike repair to become a critical, thinking person. I'd love feedback on the program, which is outlined here: http://www.martincommatom.com/youth-mechanics ...with program notes, lesson plans and other written material. I'm also looking to expand the program, so if anyone has any leads on young people to work with (or funding!) here in London, let me know. Thanks! Tom Youth Mechanics, London

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Pedal-Powered Composting Project
by Andrew L 11 Jun '12

11 Jun '12

hey think tank! We are almost there but need the help of your networks to make FoodCylce a reality. Please excuse the shameless plug, but we are trying to rock a kickstarter campaign and time is dwindling at 9 days to go!! Our project is to build a small fleet of compost hauling cargo bikes and kickstart a local compost pick up route for our collaboration between our Troy Bike Rescue and a nearby vacant-lot gardening project, Collard City Growers.... you can read all about it in the words of my friend and food blogger, Amy: http://fromscratchclub.com/2012/06/11/kickstarter-campaign-food-cycle-build… you can also find the video there. Sure we would love support from you, but also we if this project sounds interesting to you, PLEASE take a moment and post it on Facebook, Twitter, or send an email to your personal or community networks. -- ------__o ----_`\<,_ ---(_)/ (_) andrew lynn 518-573-7947

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Kitchen Start-UP in Pasadena, CA
by Juan Diego Ashton 11 Jun '12

11 Jun '12

Hello, I am a student at Pasadena City College and developer of a new, student-led program called iBike PCC. The intent of our program is to encourage our students to choose cycling as a means of transportation. We are currently looking to establish a bicycle "kitchen" on campus for both student and community use. We want to provide essential tools, assisted maintenance, and a low cost supply of parts to students, and members of the community. It is nearing the end of our semester, and we have until the 15th of June to spend 12,000 dollars left in our budget. We are looking to purchase the right kind of equipment for a space about 30ft x 20ft or smaller, and would like to have at least four work stations. We do not currently have a wholesale license, but we do have the ability to pay an invoice made out to our Associated Students Pasadena City College, Sustainability Committee. Any help or suggestions in terms of what to purchase or anyone with a purchasing license (in the Los Angeles Area) willing to put out an order out for equipment, please feel free to reply via this message board or by contacting me personally at juanashton(a)gmail.com | mobile 626-203-8134. We really appreciate the help getting started! Juan Diego Ashton Sustainability Committee - ASPCC juanashton(a)gmail.com 626.203.8134 | Mobile

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New Bike Co-op in Martin, TN
by Ken 10 Jun '12

10 Jun '12

I started the Martin Bike Co-op and Repair in a detached garage 5 months ago. Martin is a small town with a population of 10,000 residents, and has the University of Tennessee at Martin with a student population of 8,000 students. The Co-op is a hybrid concept run out of my garage as both a bike repair shop and a bike co-op. So far, the bike repair business has been about 80% of the work. The population here is just not large enough to support a free standing bike co-op. My bike co-op is fairly well equipped with bike tools I accumulated before moving to Martin last Sept. My bike shop is the only bike repair service in town, and so I have had a good volume of bike repairs this past spring. I am a community partner with the UTM campus Institute for Civic Engagement, and the GEARS (Green Energy and Renewables Society). GEARS is interested in getting a bike share program started on campus, and I will support them in any way I can to get that started. UT at Knoxville has started a bike share program and they have some electric assist bikes in their fleet of bikes. I am a do it all sort of Co-op/Bike Shop..I do repairs, community programs, organize bike rides, work with UTM faculty and students on any bike issues, repair bikes for the UTM campus police, ride in parades..anything bike related I do. I get bikes donated from the UTM Recycling program and I buy low cost bikes for parts to use on department store bike repairs. The only place in town to buy a new bike is at WalMart, and I am the only place in town to do repairs to bikes. I do get some higher end bikes to repair from UTM faculty that go out of town to buy a new bike. The area is one of the poorer areas in the U.S. It is not the poorest, as that would be further south of us. So my market is focused on the lower cost bikes and used bikes, although there are a good number of people riding hybrid bikes that they purchased out of town at a bike shop about 60 miles away. I would be interested in attending any gatherings of Bike Co-op folks in the mid-south, if there are any. Currently I buy my new bike parts and supplies from a bike shop 60 miles away. I am wondering if there are any online bike parts dealers that sell to Bike co-ops. I don't buy enough to be able to use QBP or any of the other larger wholesalers. Thanks. Ken Leibold Martin, TN, Small Town USA. On the web at: www.BikeBarn.biz

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Assessing Value of Donated Bikes
by Marissa Pherson 09 Jun '12

09 Jun '12

Hi all, I'm new to the list, from Columbus, IN's community bike co-op. We just launched a new website: www.bikeco-op.org I come to you seeking any policies and procedures you may have in place at your local bike collective regarding determining the value of a bicycle. We have an Earn-a-Bike program and a shop bike program and would like to standardize the values. At the moment, we don't have a checklist or chart to determine how much time an Earn-a-Biker needs to work to earn a donated Raleigh hybrid, or how much to suggest a donor provide for us to have that same Raleigh hybrid fixed up and ready to go. Before re-inventing the wheel, I wanted to come to you all and get some input or some info on what is used elsewhere to keep bike values somewhat consistent. Thanks in advance! Marissa Pherson

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Liability/waiver/assumption of risk form?
by Campus Bike Project 08 Jun '12

08 Jun '12

Hello Erin - Our location is a member run teaching & educational shop and we currently do not have a "Bike Library<http://www.fcbikelibrary.org/policies.php>" or lease or rent bikes. All members sign a liability waiver when they join. Several campus units within the University manage their own small fleets for inter-campus trips. There are additional resources available for your information from the think-tank Please visit: <http://www.bikecollectives.org/wiki/index.php?title=Insurance > You might also join that list sever and post your inquiry, there are a broad range of ideas on the subject. Good luck - carl volunteer mechanic the Bike Project of Urbana-Champaign On Fri, Jun 8, 2012 at 1:22 PM, Erin Gurley <egurley(a)students.pitzer.edu> wrote: > Hi Campus Bike Project, > > I am a student at Pitzer College in Claremont, CA and I help run our on > campus bicycle co-op. We are in the process of drafting a > liability/waiver/assumption of risk to inform people of the risks associated > with using shop equipment/bikes and has them agree to the said risk. I was > wondering if your bicycle program does any bike loans/rents or allows people > to borrow equipment and whether you have a liability/waiver/assumption of > risk form that I would be able to see. It would be great to get a sense of > what other bicycle co-ops/shops/programs do before drafting our own. > > If you are able to send me any materials it would be much appreciated! > > Thank you! > Erin Gurley and the Pitzer Green Bike Program

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Re: [TheThinkTank] ladder Bike Racks
by christopher＠holisticcycles.com 06 Jun '12

06 Jun '12

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Re: [TheThinkTank] Event Bike Rack Rentals
by christopher＠holisticcycles.com 06 Jun '12

06 Jun '12

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Assembling a list of international bicycle aid organizations
by Ryan Feller 04 Jun '12

04 Jun '12

Hello! I'm assembling a list of international bicycle aid organizations for an individual in Nicaragua who is establishing a nonprofit and looking for a partner organization to distribute bicycles. I found this list on the Bike Collectives wiki. Are there any others that aren't listed? (I'll update the wiki accordingly.) Are any of your organizations considering international distribution? - Bicycles for Humanity, www.bicycles-for-humanity.org - Bikes for the World, www.bikesfortheworld.org - Cyclo Nord-Sud, www.cyclonordsud.org - Pedals for Progress, www.p4p.org - Re-Cycle, www.re-cycle.org - Recycle-a-Bike, www.recycleabike.org - Village Bicycle Project, www.villagebicycleproject.org - Working Bikes, www.workingbikes.org Many thanks! Ryan Feller

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Re: [TheThinkTank] Event Bike Rack Rentals
by scott＠gknightride.org 30 May '12

30 May '12

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Re: [TheThinkTank] Event Bike Rack Rentals
by Tara 29 May '12

29 May '12

Check with local events companies that put on triathlons, some have their own equipment such as transition bike racks. I believe Without Limits is a company near Longmont, but I could be wrong on their location. Tara USA Cycling On May 29, 2012 2:44 PM, <scott(a)gknightride.org> wrote:

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Event Bike Rack Rentals
by scott＠gknightride.org 29 May '12

29 May '12

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Bike Stand
by aaron searle 28 May '12

28 May '12

We are going to be hosting several community flat tire events ( come get your kids flat tire fixed ) this summer. We are in need of a couple more bike stands and another 10x10 canopy. If anyone has extra that they are willing to part with, we would be wicked happy to take it off your hands. Karma Bike Shop www.karmabikeshop.com aaron(a)karmabikeshop.com

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Food Cycle campaign .... go!
by Andrew L 23 May '12

23 May '12

Worldwide friends! we are now doing a kickstarter here in Troy, involving Troy Bike Rescue and our companion project Collard City Growers (and a coalition of organizations (The Sanctuary for Independent Media and the Missing Link Street Ministry) and we would love your support!! Please watch the video & spread the word... the countdown is on! http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/collardcitygrowers/food-cycle-building-… This is a project to create a hyperlocal compost-pickup and delivery service in Troy, NY, building and using our own custom-made cargo bikes, and employing local youth. the link explains a lot more. If you are familiar with Troy Bike Rescue, you know that we are interested in: -repurposing materials and reusing the discarded.... -building custom bikes - cargo and otherwise -building community and working with youth towards liberation and empowerment -subverting the economics of supply and demand and reinventing the concept of 'value' in the minds of our patrons and supporters -reimagining a not-so-distant world where bicycle-culture is THE culture. We've never done this sort of thing before, so, please help us succeed in this experiment. Give what you can. the money will do just what the website says.... kickstart this project and provide the financial confidence to go beyond the feats we have already accomplished!!! Thank you for reading! Love, Andrew Lynn -- ------__o ----_`\<,_ ---(_)/ (_) andrew lynn 518-573-7947

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Americorp VISTA Volunteers
by Reno Bikes 21 May '12

21 May '12

Hello All! Quick question--how many of you have Americorp volunteers or an Americorp program at your organization and what type of programs do the volunteers work on? Thanks! -- Wed-Fri 11am-6pm Sat 10am-4pm 541 E. 4th Street. Reno, NV 89512 775.323.4488 donate via paypal: http://www.renobikeproject.com/index.php/donate/ Follow us on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/renobikeproject/ Please let us know if you would like to unsubscribe to our email list.

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