Hola Everyone!

My name is Xail Hernandez, I am the Community Bike Repair Manager at Working Bikes and manage the Service Department here. We do not service e-bikes here either for the same reasons that Bike Project of Urbana -Champaign provided. We have made really few exceptions when the e-bike has a mid-drive but those tend to be more expensive and our community here does not have access to them. We have gotten e-bike donations that sit around the warehouse for a long time until we find people and/or organizations we can give with the understanding that e-bikes are as is.

I do appreciate this conversation. I think it is just a matter of time for us to start adapting our set up for e-bikes and provide educational resources so people learn more about e-bikes before spending so much money on cheap, unsafe conversion kits.

On Fri, Feb 10, 2023 at 9:28 AM Todd Spinner via Thethinktank <thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org> wrote:

On two occasions, the Bike Project of Urbana-Champaign Illinois voted and banned all gas and electronic bikes. They are not allowed in our shops.

There are several reasons for this.
1. Insurance
2. Lack of knowledge of our volunteer mechanics in regard to these types of bikes.
3. Wear and tear on our stands as they tend to be heavier than analog bikes
4. Too many different standards of ebikes make it difficult to be knowledgeable about all systems.
5. Risk of fire.
6. Since we serve both a large University and surrounding towns, the e-bike projects that folks tend to try are the cheapest DIY kits and batteries shipped from Asia. It is just not worth the liability. I have seen some really dodgy stuff over the years.

The final straw is that we are located in a basement of an old converted post office. While there are some avenues of escape that keep the fire marshall at bay, the combination of a dodgy battery and the various lubricants used over the years is a risk we really don't want to take right now.

Todd Spinner
The Bike Project of Urbana-Champaign

On Fri, Feb 10, 2023 at 8:30 AM claire grover via Thethinktank <thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org> wrote:
Hello Andy and everybody,

As someone retired, I use my mechanical bike daily, and when I have more than I can handle especially more than one long uphill destination the same day, I am happy to have that backup of an e-bike available.
Not a problem with the bike workshop I attend (Gepetto et Vélo) where I also aquired my two bicycles.
Nice to read you all out there again !

The situation is pretty much similar here...few resort to emails since the confinements on the Vélorution list.

brises cyclistes,

Claire Grover
+33 (0)6 26 60 07 38
Vélorution Paris

Le vendredi 10 février 2023 à 14:00:07 UTC+1, Andy Ballentine via Thethinktank <thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org> a écrit :

Hi --

How are bike co-ops dealing with e-bikes? We are all-volunteer at the Bicycle Co-Op of Williamsburg (Virginia). We have several very fine mechanics, but none of us is expert in the motors and batteries of e-bikes, and we don't know whether we should accept them as donations or sell them. I'd be interested in others' experience and policies.

Thanks --

Andy Ballentine

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--
Todd Spinner

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