Words of wisdom from Gary; we should listen and figure something out.
In similar matters, lately i've been thinking quite a bit about brainstorming / negotiating / launching a Bike Collectives / Tool manufacturers sponsorship / marketing campaign to get some really good deals on tools and other shop supplies by running ads on all possible bicycle publications and related websites with " if we don't break it, no one will... " type captions; WE as in Us, Community Bike Projects of the U.S.
WHY ?
NO local bike shop uses their freewheel removing tools 10,15,20 times in a day; we do.
No LBS cuts as many cables or as many yards of housing in a regular shop day like we do.
No LBS uses their chaintools 25+ times in a day... etc,etc.
In general, not a single tool is used at any LBS as many times per day as tools are used and abused at community bike projects.
Where floor pumps are used, nowhere they get used 50+ times in a day...
( i know i can't speak from all the Bike Projects out there,but to get the point across i must generalize, you get the idea )
- WE ARE THE ULTIMATE TESTERS -
Sure, companies have their testing departments / procedures / staff... but when Bike Collectives,etc look into any of these companies products to try' em out, that's it, that's the real deal.
We know more than the average wrench which products work AND are durable and which aren't...
I believe this ads could be very appealing to home mechanics trying to get the most for their money, hell, maybe even pro/race/team mechanics looking for the most bombproof /race-tour worthy equipment could be interested in hearing what we have to say about such and such products...
The ads could feature some of the largest, busiest Co-ops and such out there; a different one every month or so, while at the same time these ads will help promote our organizations and perhaps also help younger community shops to get more recognition and respect from their communities for their efforts.
Mix in a few good facts about the featured organization complete with numbers and all and you have a state of the art marketing tool:
Number of bikes recycled in 2007: 483
Number of bikes sent as aid to countries with limited or no access to bikes: 1500
Number of bikes donated to charity: 300
Number of bikes relocated into the community through Earn-A-Bike program: 224
Total number of bikes diverted from the Landfill in 2007...
ETC, ETC... (maybe also things like: years in operation: # number of volunteers: # etc. or even some fun facts like what's the weirdest thing you've found inside a bike you worked on or something... ( in my case, i once found a mummified mouse in the BB and someone else found a love letter in a seat post )
This will show the general public and the companies WHAT we do with THESE tools...
I realize there's a lot more to it, but this is the main concept. Thoughts ?
On the topic of department store bikes, i wanna make stickers that say " Friends don't let friends ride Walt-Mart bicycles"...
perhaps we could come up with a shared design that we can all use and just add your Project's Name / Logo on it, that way is the same
sticker nation wide and BAM !! we start the Dept, store bike awareness campaign... who knows, if done neatly, it could catch some major mainstream media attention ( not only indymedia ! ) who wants to join ?
Sorry this mail was sooo long.
Wear the grease under your nails with pride.
Cheers to all, see you in Sunny Cali.
-R
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Rafael Cletero
Project Coordinator
Fort Collins Bicycle Co-op
ph (970) 484 38 04
www.fcbikecoop.org