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 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 has some excellent ideas about stocking tools.
Good luck!
rachael
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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@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@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@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@bikecollectives.org
>http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-
>bikecollectives.org
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