- TheThinkTank - lists.bikecollectives.org

City 'backed' co-ops
by Sylvie Baele 31 Aug '18

31 Aug '18

Hi folks! I am currently pursing dual master's degrees in Env. Sciences and Public Administration. One of my courses is Urban Transit, and a project for it is a mock presentation tailored for a City Counsel study session. Another organization in town already focuses on advocating for infrastructure and we already have a bike share, so I would like to 'educate council' on bicycle co-ops. Has anyone done this? Or even better (maybe I'm dreaming), but does anyone know of any co-ops that are city-sponsored in some form? Sylvie

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Bike collectives that run in commercial bike shops
by Cicloficina dos Anjos 31 Aug '18

31 Aug '18

Hi guys, Do you know any bike collective that works in the same place as a comercial bike shop? Like on the shop closed hours? Any thoughts about how it can be a good or very bad ideia? We need to move from the place where we are for some years, and one possibility is to move temporarily to a friendly comercial bike shop. But I would like to know if any or similar experiences occurred, and how it went. Thanks! rosa *Cicloficina dos Anjos* Rua Dr. Almeida Amaral 15A, Lisboa anjos(a)cicloficina.pt anjos.cicloficina.pt fb.com/cicloficina.anjos <http://facebook.com/cicloficina.anjos>

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Boise Bicycle Project Seeks Lead Mechanic
by Emily Summerhays 22 Aug '18

22 Aug '18

Boise Bicycle Project seeks a full time, lead mechanic in one of the most exciting bicycling communities in the country! Boise Bicycle Project Lead Mechanic BBP’s Mission The Boise Bicycle Project (BBP) is a nonprofit bicycle cooperative that promotes the personal, social, and environmental benefits of bicycling. It functions as a bicycle recycling center as well as an educational workspace in a diverse and non-threatening atmosphere. Through education and access to quality affordable bicycles, BBP strives to build a stronger bicycling community. The BBP Experience Community When you enter our doors, you have entered a place of community. Everyone is welcome to get their hands dirty, and all bikes belong. Connection Once inside, we will work together to connect you to where you need to go. By sharing tools, knowledge, and experiences in a cooperative space, we can learn from each other and remove barriers that block opportunities. Empowerment When you exit our doors you leave empowered with the resources and confidence to engage in other opportunities. Through pedal-power and people-power, we can build the community we want to live and ride in. Position Summary The Boise Bicycle Project seeks a Lead Mechanic to make bicycles, bicycle repair and bicycle education available to the entire community regardless of income. The Lead Mechanic works with the Shop Manager and team mechanics to reach impact goals in making SAFE, RELIABLE, SERVICEABLE, AFFORDABLE and FUN bicycles available to the community in need. Through staff education, leadership, and hands on DIY bicycle repair, the Lead Mechanic fosters an empowering environment where bikes are fixed and barriers are broken. Essential Job Responsibilities Leadership and Mechanic Education 30% - Manage Shop Floor during open hours when Shop Manager is not available - Collaborate with Shop Manager with hiring and onboarding of Bike Mechanics - Educate/train Bike Mechanics on Bike Sales and DIY standards - Assist fellow staff members with the bike repair problems they encounter - Create systems for mechanics, volunteers, and youth to continually grow mechanic skills. - Assist facilitators with service writing of incoming walk-ins and members DIY Repair and Shop User & Staff Experience 30% - Work with Walkins, Members, and Work Trade, setting standards for customer service - Maintain a positive empowering and educational shop experience for Staff, Members, Volunteers and Program Participants - Utilize 360-degree vision to offer coaching and support to team mechanics working with our customers Resource/Inventory Management 20% - Work with Shop Manager to manage bike repair/accessory related inventory, organization, and cleanliness of the shop - Support shop manager in placing bi-weekly inventory orders, assessing shop needs for new product offerings, process inventory upon delivery - Maintain work benches with appropriate functional tools for all shop users - Maintain systems that ensure donated quality affordable bike parts are available to customers, and new inventory compliments gaps customer/mechanic needs SAFE, RELIABLE, SERVICEABLE, AFFORDABLE and FUN bicycle Creation 20% - Biking Building for Quality Affordable Bikes program - Direct Bike Mechanics in maintaining a diverse assortment of quality affordable bicycles for programs and public Job Skills and Requirements: - You have a passion for teamwork, a black belt in communication, and an arsenal of interpersonal skills - You enjoy working with people from all walks of life, all backgrounds, and all ability levels. - You’ve been paid to wrench on a wide variety of bicycles for over 3 years - You’ve used the phrase “Steel is Real.” Rigid steel bikes will always have a soft spot in your heart. The simplicity of frictions shifters makes you warm and fuzzy. But those wonders from the past haven’t road blocked your brain for new technology. - You’ve got the skills to pay the bills and a passion to teach what you preach - You’ve spent a significant time volunteering with nonprofits or working on community projects - You love systems and organization, but embrace evolution and flexibility How to Apply: Please email the following to emily(a)boisebicycleproject.org - 1 example of working as a team to overcome a barrier - 1 examples of past volunteer history in community based organizations - 1 example of how bicycle repair has had an impact on your life - Cover Letter and Resume. This 40 hour/week job located in Boise Idaho. Weekend availability is required, and the BBP leadership team cooperates with a “Saturday Share” rolling schedule on a monthly basis, so that we can practice work/life balance while working together to support the shop needs. Leaders at BBP can expect to work 1-2 Saturdays each month depending on the shop schedule and scheduled time-off for team members. $14 - 15/hour (depending on experience) plus an employee benefits package that includes medical insurance, paid time off, and commuter incentives. We are an equal employment opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law. -- Emily Thompson Summerhays Director of Shop Operations Boise Bicycle Project 1027 S. Lusk Street Boise, Idaho 83702 208.429.6520 boisebicycleproject.org https://youtu.be/D-v5vS-03gk?t=8s

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Re: [TheThinkTank] Tips for Building a Bike Blender?
by Saint deRoche 14 Aug '18

14 Aug '18

Hi Aida, I've built a few. My family ran a little bike pedaled smoothy biz briefly. Sweetpedals.com I use a standard rack, with a front hub, connected to a roller skate wheel. I use Oster brand blenders, don't think that part matters but I got several from the 70's for cheap. The thing for us is that we needed to have multiple blender canister that fit the base. I'll try to attach some pictures. Let me know if I can answer any thing. Much love from Philly Ry

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Re: [TheThinkTank] Tips for Building a Bike Blender?
by Stuart Nottingham 14 Aug '18

14 Aug '18

Aida, I found this on one of my favorite "Maker" sites. I haven't built it, but judging from the comments it is workable. https://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-create-a-human-powered-bike-blender…

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Re: [TheThinkTank] bike blender - Green Action Centre
by Ian Wassink 13 Aug '18

13 Aug '18

Contact Green Action Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba. They have a bike blender that is used for events to make smoothies and such. info(a)greenactioncentre.ca Ian Wassink The Greasy Chain Portage la Prairie, Manitoba ianwassink(a)gmail.com > On Aug 12, 2018, at 3:04 PM, thethinktank-request(a)lists.bikecollectives.org wrote: > > Send Thethinktank mailing list submissions to > thethinktank(a)lists.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)lists.bikecollectives.org > > You can reach the person managing the list at > thethinktank-owner(a)lists.bikecollectives.org > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of Thethinktank digest..." > Today's Topics: > > 1. Tips for Building a Bike Blender? (Aida Mas Baghaie) > <mime-attachment> > _______________________________________________ > Thethinktank mailing list > Thethinktank(a)lists.bikecollectives.org > http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.…

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Tips for Building a Bike Blender?
by Aida Mas Baghaie 12 Aug '18

12 Aug '18

Hey bike buds, So, it turns out people love bike blenders, and over the last couple weeks we've had a bunch of requests for them at the Mechanical Gardens. Have you made a bike blender? What worked and what didn't? We're looking to build something simple and functional, preferably with no/minimal welding. Any recommendations, instructions, and/or photos would be much appreciated! Thanks! aida P.S. We built the outdoor repair stand and are just adding some finishing touches. Once it's done, I'll make a folder with the photos y'all sent me and share it!

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OT: Milwaukee, where ya at?
by Josh Bisker 10 Aug '18

10 Aug '18

Who's in Milwaukee? I'm coming your way in a few weeks with a play and want to say hi. Josh Bisker 914-500-9890 New York Mechanical Gardens Bike Co-op <http://bikecoop.nyc/> 596 Acres <http://596acres.org/> Bindlestiff Family Cirkus <http://bindlestiff.org/>

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Shop repair stands
by Tigre Bici 08 Aug '18

08 Aug '18

Hello everyone. This email is for asking on reocmendations on repair stands. Since you have been uploading the DIY ones we have some odeas on doing some to move around but on the shop we have been using a portable plastic repair stand and we have decided on buying a shop one that might last longer and will make it easier to fix bikes (the plastic ones usually dont support heavy bikes and we have suffer some accidents with bike moving down the stand) Some time bak we looked at teh park tool deluxe stand and now that we might be able to purchase it we find out that the base is not included and that costs $300 more. So, any recomendations on a shop stand, not the plastic ones, that we can buy with $400 us dollars? Or have you made your own base to put the park tool stand that has worked? Thanks R.

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Incentivizing regular shifts in volunteer run shops!
by Sarah FioRito 08 Aug '18

08 Aug '18

Hey Folks! We at Kickstand community Bike Shop in East Vancouver have had ongoing challenges with staying open for all our our regular shop hours because we sometimes do not have enough volunteers signed up to volunteer to facilitate our volunteer-run shop on a given day. Does anyone have strategies for encouraging volunteer commitment and regular shifts so that we can reliably open for our posted hours? Obviously, transitioning to having paid staff is one pathway, though there are probably many other alternatives that would meet our needs and encourage community participation in keeping the space open. Sarah

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