- TheThinkTank - lists.bikecollectives.org

cheap lubrication
by Tom Emm 01 Apr '08

01 Apr '08

Cheap chain lube motor oil mixed with paint thinner fifty-fifty or adjust to taste. theory: paint thinner allows lube to creep into the tiniest cracks, it evaporates (in theory) leaving behind oily residue to lubricate your part. --------------------------------- You rock. That's why Blockbuster's offering you one month of Blockbuster Total Access, No Cost.

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Suntour Shop tools
by BovineOaks＠aol.com 01 Apr '08

01 Apr '08

The two or four pronged tools and BMX four pronged tools need to be held in place by either the Quick release or the axle nut. The tool only needs to be held tight for only the first 1/4 of a turn when you are loosening it. After that you can unscrew it with your bare hand. I have had my Suntour tools for 23 year and used them in four bike programs on a couple hundred bikes, I have only broken one. It broke into five pieces when three of us tried to break a stuck freewheel off a bike. Always use anti seize on your threads where two dissimilar metals come together, or grease if you do not know about better products. Suntour tools should never slip if they are used correctly. **************Create a Home Theater Like the Pros. Watch the video on AOL Home. (http://home.aol.com/diy/home-improvement-eric-stromer?video=15&ncid=aolhom0…)

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Re: [TheThinkTank] On Shop tools
by troy neiman 01 Apr '08

01 Apr '08

We come across the same problems also. We use the Park PC3 chain tools and have to replace the pins fairly regularly (and find that many people that say they know how to use them may not really know how...so watching for the first few seconds helps). You can also buy direct from Park Tools replacement parts which has been very helpful when you can replace just the chain tool handle or just the T shaped screw part. The parts are about half the price of a new tool and less waste. Same goes for any of Park Tools products such as crank arm extractors and bike repair stand arms, etc. You can get a parts catalog for free through QBP and I assume through Park but you don't need any account to order from Park directly. the pump? I am at a loss but the silca seems to hold up the best for Schroeder valve using the little brass screw type head. Troy BICASTucson AZ ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mario Bruzzone" To: "The Think Tank" Subject: Re: [TheThinkTank] On Shop tools Date: Mon, 31 Mar 2008 11:10:01 -0700 With the Park Tools, you can replace just the pins--it's usually much cheaper (and creates less waste!) than buying a whole new tool. But yes, those are things that break all the time for us as well. Cheers, Mario Bruzzone Bike Kitchen San Francisco On Mon, Mar 31, 2008 at 9:53 AM, Sherief <sgaber(a)gmail.com> wrote: Hello all, This is Sherief from the Austin Yellowbike, and I was hoping to pool the thinktank's experience with shop tools prone to breakage and the like. We're currently having huge issues keeping up with Chain Tools and Presta Valve pumps especially... it feels like not a week goes by without at least one of each of these tools breaking. W/r/t the chain tools, we recently switched from the nicer Park tools to the cheapest we could get out of the catalog, but with the way those break there's effectively no net savings and even when they are functioning the new cheap ones are no good. We try to make sure people know how to use the tools before they do, etc. But my question(s) today is: Do people have any similar experience out there with broken/breakable tools-- specifically good ways to prevent these breakages? Does anyone have any recommendations for good chain tools /PV pumps that can withstand a bit of overeager volunteerin g? Best, Sherief _______________________________________________ Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.… _______________________________________________ Thethinktank mailing list Thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.… -- Want an e-mail address like mine? Get a free e-mail account today at www.mail.com!

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Re: [TheThinkTank] ***DHSPAM*** Re: On Shop tools
by Velocipede Bike Project 01 Apr '08

01 Apr '08

as for pumps I've had good luck with topeak two sided pumps. They are pretty durable and it's easy to get new parts for them if they break or go missing(you can order a repair kit from QBP, or just seperate parts), and they make sense to people. (I've had good luck with the specialized pump as well, but it can be harder to get parts for them) We had afew silca headed pumps that were donated to us and all of them have parts missing because people don't know how to use them. It constantly blows my mind how many people out there have no idea how to pump up a tire!!!!! I've thought about attaching laminated cards to the pumps with instructions on proper use, but haven't gotten that together yet.... Still, no matter how well you care for a pump, the rubber fitting in the head will eventually wear out, so it's nice to know that you can easily find the replacement... On a slightly different note, how do you guys label your freewheel and bottom bracket tools? We've had more problems with those going missing and getting stripped than any other tool in the shop. Especially the very similar shimano splined FW tool, and the Falcon/atomic Splined FW tool. They look the same, but if you use the wrong one you strip the tool, plus, the only way to tell which one you need is to read the label on the free wheel itself..... also those Suntour two prong FW removers strip all the time if you don't use them right.....any ideas on this would be great!! -beth velocipede bike project baltimore, md > We come across the same problems also. We use the Park PC3 chain tools > and have to replace the pins fairly regularly (and find that many people > that say they know how to use them may not really know how...so watching > for the first few seconds helps). You can also buy direct from Park Tools > replacement parts which has been very helpful when you can replace just > the chain tool handle or just the T shaped screw part. The parts are > about half the price of a new tool and less waste. Same goes for any of > Park Tools products such as crank arm extractors and bike repair stand > arms, etc. You can get a parts catalog for free through QBP and I assume > through Park but you don't need any account to order from Park directly. > the pump? I am at a loss but the silca seems to hold up the best for > Schroeder valve using the little brass screw type head. Troy BICASTucson > AZ > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Mario Bruzzone" > To: "The Think Tank" > Subject: Re: [TheThinkTank] On Shop tools > Date: Mon, 31 Mar 2008 11:10:01 -0700 > > With the Park Tools, you can replace just the pins--it's usually much > cheaper (and creates less waste!) than buying a whole new tool. > > But yes, those are things that break all the time for us as well. > > Cheers, > Mario Bruzzone > Bike Kitchen > San Francisco > > > On Mon, Mar 31, 2008 at 9:53 AM, Sherief <sgaber(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > Hello all, > > This is Sherief from the Austin Yellowbike, and I was hoping to > pool the thinktank's experience with shop tools prone to breakage > and the like. We're currently having huge issues keeping up with > Chain Tools and Presta Valve pumps especially... it feels like > not a week goes by without at least one of each of these tools > breaking. W/r/t the chain tools, we recently switched from the > nicer Park tools to the cheapest we could get out of the catalog, > but with the way those break there's effectively no net savings > and even when they are functioning the new cheap ones are no > good. We try to make sure people know how to use the tools > before they do, etc. But my question(s) today is: Do people have > any similar experience out there with broken/breakable tools-- > specifically good ways to prevent these breakages? Does anyone > have any recommendations for good chain tools /PV pumps that can > withstand a bit of overeager volunteerin g? > > > Best, > Sherief > > _______________________________________________ > Thethinktank mailing list > Thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org > http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.… > > > > _______________________________________________ > Thethinktank mailing list > Thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org > http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.… > > -- > Want an e-mail address like mine? > Get a free e-mail account today at www.mail.com! > > _______________________________________________ > Thethinktank mailing list > Thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org > http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.… >

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Re: [TheThinkTank] Thethinktank Digest, Vol 19, Issue 34
by Tom Emm 31 Mar '08

31 Mar '08

Pat I have the advert re: big ride sat apr 12, i will tell don also. here's is something i thought interesting regaring shop tools \ it looks as though every body has similar problems. Tom 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. On Shop tools (Sherief) 2. Re: On Shop tools (joshua muir) 3. Re: On Shop tools (Mark Rehder) 4. Re: On Shop tools (Mario Bruzzone) 5. Re: On Shop tools (Jonathan Morrison) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Mon, 31 Mar 2008 11:53:05 -0500 From: Sherief Subject: [TheThinkTank] On Shop tools To: Thethinktank(a)bikecollectives.org Message-ID: <6f24d4530803310953n69ccb215h3f893d96c17ab91f(a)mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Hello all, This is Sherief from the Austin Yellowbike, and I was hoping to pool the thinktank's experience with shop tools prone to breakage and the like. We're currently having huge issues keeping up with Chain Tools and Presta Valve pumps especially... it feels like not a week goes by without at least one of each of these tools breaking. W/r/t the chain tools, we recently switched from the nicer Park tools to the cheapest we could get out of the catalog, but with the way those break there's effectively no net savings and even when they are functioning the new cheap ones are no good. We try to make sure people know how to use the tools before they do, etc. But my question(s) today is: Do people have any similar experience out there with broken/breakable tools-- specifically good ways to prevent these breakages? Does anyone have any recommendations for good chain tools /PV pumps that can withstand a bit of overeager volunteering? Best, Sherief

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Valet Bike Parking details: contracts, equipment?
by Jim Sheehan 30 Mar '08

30 Mar '08

Can we resurrect this topic with more detail about problems and solutions? A few of ours are: Getting event organizers to pay what the service is worth. We are writing a contract for this and will share it when finished -- does anyone have one we can model ours on? Parking large volumes. I loved the idea of playing card suites for parking areas. Some have mentioned a chronological (sequential, for numbered tickets) system, and color coding. We usually invite users in to help find their own bike, which is less than ideal. Racks. We have made some from rims and crib railings, and have a grant pending for a design contest, so if you have something good (sturdy, light, collapsible), let us know. If we get the grant, you could get $250. On Sun, Feb 10, 2008 at 1:04 PM, Jonathan Morrison < jonathan(a)slcbikecollective.org> wrote: > Does anyone else do it? > http://www.bikecollectives.org/wiki/index.php?title=Valet_Bike_Parking > Jim Sheehan Director, Ohio City Bicycle Co-op 1823 Columbus Rd Cleveland, Ohio 44113 216 830 2667 OhioCityCycles.org

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Re: [TheThinkTank] Women and Trans Night
by Kale 24 Mar '08

24 Mar '08

Just my two cents on this issue, which has already been discussed fairly thoroughly-- but it seems like the "and trans" is often tagged on the end. The discussion has been entirely about women, which is a discussion that needs to take place, but what about the transpeople? There are a whole other set of issues at work here- how masculinity gets defined in the shop, and who gets to define it- the cismen or the transmen. As a fairly iffeminate transman and amateur bike mechanic, I get a lot of hate from more masculine transmen, plus the standard, run of the mill sexism from cis-gendered men. Can transmen be included in a woman's only or women-identified space? We face some of the same issues of oppression by patriarchy and homophobia as cis women and queer peoples, but our issues are different in a lot of ways. -K

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Bike Works Seattle is Hiring: Lead Mechanic
by Melanie Lyons 23 Mar '08

23 Mar '08

POSITION OPENING: LEAD MECHANIC Please help spread the word! Bike Works is a nonprofit organization that has been working for kids, bikes, and community in Seattle since 1996. Our programs and services invest in young people and encourage bicycling as a clean and healthy transportation alternative. Our programs include Earn-a-Bike for youth, Summer Bike Camps, Neighborhood Rides and Street Burner bike club activities, Community Bike Shop, Annual Kids Bike Swap, domestic and international bicycle donations to charitable organizations, and more. Our Community Bike Shop serves Seattle residents from all walks of life with used bike sales and affordable repairs. Essential Job Functions: The Bike Shop Lead Mechanic assumes primary responsibility for managing all mechanical work in the Shop, which includes scheduling work, maintaining quality and timely services, performing repairs and overhauling bikes for resale, providing outstanding customer service and sales, supporting the overall operations of the shop, and serving as a resource to the community. Primary duties include: * Oversee mechanic services in the shop, ensuring quality, timely work * Perform bicycle repair, maintenance, and walk-in services on customer bicycles of all types and conditions * Recondition and overhaul used bicycles of all types and conditions for resale * Deliver professional, accessible, and helpful customer service to a diverse customer base * Support daily Bike Shop operations * Collaborate with Program Staff to support Youth Programs and Adult Volunteers * Represent Bike Works to the neighborhood & act as a resource for the community * Work in partnership with Executive Director, Board of Directors, other staff, and Key Stakeholders to participate in strategic planning process, to develop a long term mission driven strategic plan, and to create annual operational plans Desired Qualifications: * Strong commitment to youth leadership, sustainable communities and bicycle transportation; * Strong customer service skills, attention to detail, ability to work independently are key aspects of this job; * Excellent mechanical skills required (minimum 3 years hands-on, professional experience working on a wide variety of bicycles, wheel building is a plus!); * Previous experience in retail management and sales preferred; bike shop experience essential; * Ability to work with youth and adults of diverse cultural backgrounds; * Self-directed, energetic, flexible and personable & be able to work independently and as part of a team; * Excellent organizational skills: systems oriented with high attention to detail; * Ability to work competently with computers and word processing, spreadsheet, and database software, Basic PC skills, working knowledge of QuickBooks and Microsoft Office applications; * Strong interpersonal skills & a friendly outgoing attitude with a desire to work with the public; * Ability to mentor youth ages 9-17 in engaging and empowering apprenticeship relationship; * Ability to multi-task in a fast paced, ever-changing environment; * Respect for and a commitment to diversity, teamwork, and progressive social values; How to Apply: Send your resume, cover letter, and contact information for three references to development(a)bikeworks.org Pay Rate & Benefits: Regular, full-time, salaried position with benefits. Monetary compensation commensurate with qualifications and experience. Bike Works is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, or sexual orientation Melanie Lyons Assistant Director Bike Works 3709 S. Ferdinand St. Seattle, WA 98118 206-725-9408 HYPERLINK "http://www.bikeworks.org"http://www.bikeworks.org "Building sustainable communities by educating youth and promoting bicycling." No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG. Version: 7.5.519 / Virus Database: 269.21.8/1339 - Release Date: 3/22/2008 4:43 PM No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG. Version: 7.5.519 / Virus Database: 269.21.8/1339 - Release Date: 3/22/2008 4:43 PM

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Random Thought: Creating a bicycle parts/tools distributor for Community Bike Shops.
by Jonathan Morrison 23 Mar '08

23 Mar '08

Distributors ( http://www.bikecollectives.org/wiki/index.php?title=Distributors) are just the middle men separating manufacturers from retailers. Just like food cooperatives that buy in bulk and disseminate food at bulk rates, we could do that with bike parts. For those of us that buy using distributors it would save an roughly 25% off of wholesale, and for those community bike shops that aren't established enough to get a distributor account -- we would be providing an option that is 75% off of MSRP. Ideally we would get accounts with tool manufacturers like park tool, pedros, hozan, etc.,... as well as wearable items like grease, bearing, chain lube, patch manufacturers, and then lower-end (but quality) parts manufacturers for things that we don't get enough of donated, or that aren't worth re-using. This will be different for each shop, but as an example in SLC we don't re-use bearings, spokes, cables or housing -- they get recycled and we put new ones on bikes. We also buy new road tires (27" & 700c) because we don't have enough decent ones donated, either they are too worn or dried out. I can think of 2 conclusions: 1) It isn't worth doing. The 25% cut a distributor gets is worth paying given the hassle and it is just another random thought that might result in spending $5 to save $3. 2) It is worth doing. -- Sincerely, Jonathan Morrison Executive Director Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective 2312 S. West Temple Salt Lake City, UT 84115 w: 801-328-2453 c: 801-688-0183 f: 801-466-3856 www.slcbikecollective.org Get Addicted to Crank! http://www.slcbikecollective.org/crank/

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Re: [TheThinkTank] Women and Trans Night
by dragonfly＠mac.hush.com 22 Mar '08

22 Mar '08

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 Hi, Colin. Back Alley bikes in Detroit has had wonderful Women and Trans nights for over a year. The amazing B got the idea from the people at Plan B. She and C ran it. It was great. The shop was so quiet. Everyone asked politely for tools and shared and helped, we usually had homemade food we'd made to feed each other, so it became a potluck. There were often babies (and no one shouted at the little ones), and usually a fantastic dog called Ruby. We played music and you could actually hear it. The whole energy of the shop was more gentle and mellow. For most women, it was our favorite night. Lots of women came out, so it was often just as busy as a usual night, but the shop seemed larger and cleaner and better organized on Women and Trans night. It was peaceful and fun. A whole other crowd came out-- Detroit is a homophobic place, and transgendered people have a tough time in this town. There are not many spaces respectful of them. It was such a fantastic thing to have happy, relaxed transgendered people just fixing their bikes. Women who don't usually come to the shop came; other women who are usually nervous and quiet all of a sudden emerged as strong and raunchy and funny and really good at things. More older women came; one said that the regular shop nights had too much background noise for her to hear anything, as she is partly deaf. Many women seemed to learn twice as fast as they usually do. B and C were the only two people who were really great mechanics. The rest of us know our own bikes pretty well, or else we know how to make some repairs and not others. We were pretty good at helping each other, and many of us felt confident to try to teach or assist for the first time on these nights, but B and C really, really worked hard. It is too bad that one of your members is upset by Women and Trans night. There is a lot of terrible violence and injustice in the society as a whole, and a lot of women and particularly transgendered people have some real safety concerns and scars. Despite everyone's best efforts, our ordinary shop nights are NOT always safe or cool. We have a collective member and a couple of regulars that have to be spoken to with alarming regularity. Many of us can speak for ourselves, but there is only so much BS you really want to deal with on your off hours, and some people are a little fragile. I nearly lost it one night when some f**kwad started lecturing me about how to pump up my tires on a day when I was taking things slow because I'd had chemo that morning. He made some comment about not having to pump up my breasts but wanting to squeeze them, and I was just freaking done. Lucky for me other men in the shop are stellar human beings who hustled him out of there so fast his feet left the ground. The exclusivity of Women and Trans night is a decent band- aid solution for now. Maybe you could tell your upset person that if he would take on the task of totally policing your regular shop hours and making the place feel really secure, and if he'd do the outreach in the local women's and transgendered communities to recruit female and transgendered mechanics, and if he could address the concerns of the conservative Muslim women who won't be given permission by their fathers and husbands to come to the shop if it is a mixed gender space-- good luck changing THAT one over night, buddy-- the special nights could be phased out. In Detroit, no one has complained about the exculsivity of Women and Trans night. Every one who comes to the shop is cool with it. We've had a different problem, though. We have one collective member who has been really disrespectful of the authority that B and C demonstrate. He treats them really badly, some times even pretending that he does not hear their voices, or telling someone to stop working on something that either B or C asked them to do. On ordinary shop nights, there are little blow- ups that get hustled off into corners and smoothed down by other (male) collective members. B and C are the main women of Back Alley, and this guy does not do this to male collective members, but he does get pissy with them if they stick up for B and C. All the shop regulars and volunteers have noticed this. B and C are sick of it, and may be leaving the shop for a while or permanently, until the people who are squeamish about directly addressing this man's behavior (he is one of the original collective members) are willing to do so. No one wants B and C to go, but the situation is pretty unbearable. What should everyone do about THAT situation? The women and transgendered people who have created a safe and happy space for each other at our Women's only nights might lose that space because a disfunctional silverback has been allowed to run amuck. This man has lots of good points, and he is a founding member, but everyone is troubled by his conduct. I love Women's night, but agree with your guy who is upset about it that there is something disappointing about it, too. It would be great if the shop as a whole was so totally free of ugliness at all times that special arrangements did not have to be made. It's hard to fix a bike wearing a chador, though, and so totally cool to have chador-wearing women becoming bike mechanics along side transgendered people that pretty much whatever you have to do to keep that happening should be done. Incidentally, we do run kid's only programs, and no one gets upset. We have mechanics classes that are closed to people who just want to fix their own bikes and not take the class. We are trying to figure out how to set up a sessions for the homeless men so they don't have to choose between fixing their bikes and a bed for the night. Treating everyone in exactly the same way all the time does not always lead to a just society. Seeing people's real lives and responding to their real needs gets you closer to a beloved community than a one-size-fits-all approach. What do you all make of this one? -- There are some people who have floated the idea of having shop hours that would only be attended by black men. Some black male shop users have indicated that they would like to have a black male space once a month. Totally needed conversations and forms of community building might happen on those nights that would make our neighbourhood as a whole a better place to live, in the same way that those special women's conversations happen when we have the shop to ourselves. One man wanted it to be about fathers and sons. A lot of the dads in this community are non-custodial parents who look for good things to do when they have their visitation rights, and if fewer numbers of people were in line to use the shop, the dads and their kids might have more quality bike repair time with each other, as opposed to sitting-outside-in-the- sun-waiting time, which isn't much fun. (There are ants.) If those kids had a better time with their fathers, wouldn't that serve all of us, even if we had to wait a couple days to true our front wheels? There isn't enough demand for this yet to make it real, and no one who has said they want it has come forward to agree to organize and lead it, but given where our shop is and who it serves, if people want such a night, if they see that it would serve a good community building, family strengthening, purpose, why shouldn't it go forward? I'd be really, really uncomfortable with a whites-only night, but things like a Spanish language or Manderin and Cantonese shop night, or this black father-and-son thing, all seem fine to me. What do other people think? Good luck to you with your Woman and Trans nights, Colin. Sasha On Sat, 22 Mar 2008 10:52:48 -0400 freeridemp(a)riseup.net wrote: >Hey Bike Shops, >Does anyone else hold a Women and Trans night or Ladies' night? I >know >Plan B does. We had a weekly one last summer and will be having >another >this summer. The women who have held the shift have found it >effective to >keep the shift exclusive, closed to male-bodied masculine- >identifying >people. We have had a backlash from one of our members, who >accuses us of >sexism, discrimination, and injustice. We have gotten some >incomplete and >bad press. > >Please let me know if you hold a shift like this one, exclusive or >not, >and what you have done about any complaints your membership or >community >has had. > >Thanks, >Colin Gunn >Freeride Montpelier >Montpelier, VT >www.freeridemontpelier.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 wkYEARECAAYFAkflRI8ACgkQ5O7ahKJmrRmCAACfeJYAYaAWQEcKi4Pk4Lt7wKZs9hsA n0F5+indXn2UDNNfDhmRs4bGzxA7 =q4gZ -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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