New subject: Parts Washers (Bike Saviours)

27 Jul 2023 · *Nicole*

      Our shop was gifted an ultrasonic cleaner that we swear by. It holds 30L of
liquid and we use a 1:10 ratio of Simple Green to water. We've removed the
heat sink because it already heats up on its own with lots of use. Looks
like it runs $360 on Amazon https://a.co/d/8FHJ9Uv
No sealed bearing units go in this device - no freewheels, cartridge bottom
brackets and headsets, or jockey wheels and idlers.
Cheers,
*Nicole*
On Wed, Jul 12, 2023 at 12:58 PM <
thethinktank-request@lists.bikecollectives.org> wrote:
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Parts Washers (Yellow Bike Project)
Re: Parts Washers (Gregory Ferguson)
Re: Fwd: There's a Fediverse group now, hay un grupo de Fediverse

ahora!
      (Jonathan Rosenbaum)
   4. Re: Parts Washers (cyclista@inventati.org)
   5. Re: Question re community bike shops (Alejandro Manga Tinoco)
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Yellow Bike Project austinyellowbike@gmail.com
To: The Think Tank thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org
Cc:
Bcc:
Date: Wed, 12 Jul 2023 10:08:01 -0500
Subject: [TheThinkTank] Parts Washers
Yellow Bike Project in Austin is investigating the purchase of a parts
washer. Maybe a 15-20 gal capacity with a pump, and possibly a heater. We
currently use donated rags and T-shirts with simple green to hand clean
parts and frames. We do not launder the rags,but  just send them to the
landfill. We are wondering what is the best solution, ecologically and
economically. Advice and recommendations are appreciated. Robert, YB Board
Memebr
Yellow Bike Project | www.austinyellowbike.org
1216 Webberville Rd Austin, TX 78721| 512-524-5299
Schedule Available Online https://austinyellowbike.org/
"Be the change you would like to see in the world." - Gandhi
"Keep Cycling: it is Undoubtedly the Best form of Activism there is."
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Gregory Ferguson gregferg2@gmail.com
To: The Think Tank thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org
Cc: Yellow Bike Project austinyellowbike@gmail.com
Bcc:
Date: Wed, 12 Jul 2023 14:35:03 -0400
Subject: [TheThinkTank] Re: Parts Washers
Hi
Parts washer:
We use a Zep parts washer (Dyna clean model, about $3k) and a harbor
freight one (about $150). The Zep one is clearly better, and it gets the
most use, but I can't say if it's worth the price difference.
The main difference we noticed was when we switched from mineral spirits
to a biodegradable, non toxic degreaser. It's nice to not to have to worry
as much about  proper venting, long gloves, eye protection, etc. But, I'm
sad to say that the healthier stuff does not degrease or clean nearly as
well.
Regs:
We have an arrangement with a car detailer. For fear of scratching
customer cars, they start with new rags and only use them once. So, they
give the used ones to us by the garbage bagfuls. Since the rags are already
recycled, we don't feel so bad about tossing out the ones we get the
grungiest.
Hope this helps,
Greg
Long Island Bike Co-op
On Wed, Jul 12, 2023 at 11:08 AM Yellow Bike Project via TheThinkTank <
thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org> wrote:
...
Yellow Bike Project in Austin is investigating the purchase of a parts
washer. Maybe a 15-20 gal capacity with a pump, and possibly a heater. We
currently use donated rags and T-shirts with simple green to hand clean
parts and frames. We do not launder the rags,but  just send them to the
landfill. We are wondering what is the best solution, ecologically and
economically. Advice and recommendations are appreciated. Robert, YB Board
Memebr
Yellow Bike Project | www.austinyellowbike.org
1216 Webberville Rd Austin, TX 78721| 512-524-5299
Schedule Available Online https://austinyellowbike.org/
"Be the change you would like to see in the world." - Gandhi
"Keep Cycling: it is Undoubtedly the Best form of Activism there is."
_______________________________________________
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To unsubscribe send an email to
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---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Jonathan Rosenbaum bike@bikelover.org
To: thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org
Cc:
Bcc:
Date: Wed, 12 Jul 2023 18:39:17 -0000
Subject: [TheThinkTank] Re: Fwd: There's a Fediverse group now, hay un
grupo de Fediverse ahora!
There wasn't a delivery issue.  bike@angelyork.com is not a subscribed
user.
-Jonathan
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: cyclista@inventati.org
To: thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org
Cc:
Bcc:
Date: Wed, 12 Jul 2023 19:46:19 +0000
Subject: [TheThinkTank] Re: Parts Washers
Regarding rags and landfills, we had a volunteer for awhile who was into
chemistry, and they were keen on developing a simple process for
cleaning rags whereby they would be agitated in a sealed container
filled with a readily available, affordable, and reusable solvent,
probably gasoline. The solvent was supposed to cause the grease and oils
to settle out, and in combination with the agitation would cause the
particulates to also settle out. The system would have been maintained
by periodically scooping out the sediment.
I think dry cleaning for garments has a similar system, cleaning with a
specialized chemical (as opposed to water and soap) which get reused.
We didn't create a prototype because we hadn't yet imagined a way to dry
the rags without filling some area with fumes, or just in general
offgassing heavily into the ecosystem (which a vent hood would
facilitate). But perhaps a reader out there has an idea to solve for
that and wants to take this idea somewhere.
The general idea was to separate rag "dirt" into a powder/silt that,
being very small in volume, was less of a burden on landfills. I
certainly like the idea in principle.
~cyclista Nicholas
On 2023-07-12 18:35, Gregory Ferguson via TheThinkTank wrote:
...
Hi
Parts washer:
We use a Zep parts washer (Dyna clean model, about $3k) and a harbor
freight one (about $150). The Zep one is clearly better, and it gets
the
most use, but I can't say if it's worth the price difference.
The main difference we noticed was when we switched from mineral
spirits to
a biodegradable, non toxic degreaser. It's nice to not to have to worry
as
much about  proper venting, long gloves, eye protection, etc. But, I'm
sad
to say that the healthier stuff does not degrease or clean nearly as
well.
Regs:
We have an arrangement with a car detailer. For fear of scratching
customer
cars, they start with new rags and only use them once. So, they give
the
used ones to us by the garbage bagfuls. Since the rags are already
recycled, we don't feel so bad about tossing out the ones we get the
grungiest.
Hope this helps,
Greg
Long Island Bike Co-op
On Wed, Jul 12, 2023 at 11:08 AM Yellow Bike Project via TheThinkTank <
thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org> wrote:
...
Yellow Bike Project in Austin is investigating the purchase of a parts
washer. Maybe a 15-20 gal capacity with a pump, and possibly a heater.
We
currently use donated rags and T-shirts with simple green to hand
clean
parts and frames. We do not launder the rags,but  just send them to
the
landfill. We are wondering what is the best solution, ecologically and
economically. Advice and recommendations are appreciated. Robert, YB
Board
Memebr
Yellow Bike Project | www.austinyellowbike.org
1216 Webberville Rd Austin, TX 78721| 512-524-5299
Schedule Available Online https://austinyellowbike.org/
"Be the change you would like to see in the world." - Gandhi
"Keep Cycling: it is Undoubtedly the Best form of Activism there is."
_______________________________________________
TheThinkTank mailing list -- thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org
To unsubscribe send an email to
thethinktank-leave@lists.bikecollectives.org
To view this discussion on the web visit
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...

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---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Alejandro Manga Tinoco alejandromanga@gmail.com
To: The Think Tank thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org
Cc: "Bike!Bike! Everywhere!" bikebikeeverywhere@gmail.com
Bcc:
Date: Wed, 12 Jul 2023 14:56:13 -0500
Subject: [TheThinkTank] Re: Question re community bike shops
Hi all,
First of all, apologies for some of the links that follow and are in
french.  As Angel stated, the French have a network, L’Heureux Cyclage,
which is very similar to Bike Collectives, but a little more formal: It is
a “association de loi 1901” the French equivalent of a not-for-profit
501(c)(3) organization. Like Bike Collectives / Bike! Bike! It has a
charter of values, and all belonging organizations need to adhere to those
values to become members:
https://www.heureux-cyclage.org/charte.html?lang=fr
The organization grew around the same time as Bike Collectives/Bike!Bike!
but under a French context. It is strongly influenced by French anarchism
and French libertarianism ( equal parts equality and liberty), and some of
the original members are very close to the French freeware movement, the
Framasoft people because of the shared values:
https://framablog.org/2013/12/02/utopie-du-logiciel-libre-sebastien-broca/
https://framablog.org/2009/11/23/logiciel-libre-theories-intelligence-collec...
In fact, the first paid position of the network was for the guy in charge
of running the software for the bike kitchens to allow them to emancipate
themselves from big tech.
I think the big differences between LHC and Bike!Bike! is due to different
cultural, social, political, and economic contexts:

Most funding in France for not-for-profits is public, so there is

a cultural expectation to get money from the different layers of the
government while keeping politically independent.

French anarchism/libertarianism is slightly different from the

American version.

There is a bigger emphasis on degrowth ( no one drives to a

kitchen in France, most people don’t own cars, and most radical kitchens
are opposed even to electric bikes, and people shame you(me) for flying
even though both my research and organizing require for me to do so.
Clavettes ( Cotters): Because of questions of values and political
outlook, the network aims at decentralizing and encouraging local
cooperation. The clavettes are the local networks of kitchens, the
strongest ones are in Lyon, Greater, Paris, and Grenoble ( which is kind of
the mecca of French kitchens). Clavettes are very useful because they
shared issues, they are better at spreading ( the French use the word
*essaimer,* which would translate to swarming, as the bees do), sharing
resources, and mobilizing together.
There also working groups for specific issues: gender stuff, race stuff,
coop employees, and low-density territories. For some of these issues, the
network has produced guides ( often financed by the French government and
the territorial agencies).
https://www.heureux-cyclage.org/guides.html?lang=fr
@Geoffrey:
Like the Bike Collective, LHC is decentralized, and volunteer-run. The way
I see it is that it runs on the heart, which means that it works better
with a small group of committed and motivated people, the downside is that
some stuff doesn’t happen because nobody takes the wheel for annoying tasks
that need to happen. Also, like in the US, burnout is prevalent ( I have
talked with many people about this, on both sides of the ocean, both for my
research and because they are my friends and allies). There are many
academic publications on the subject (See Adonia Lugo Bicycle/Race) and
currently there are some efforts to document the issue of cycling and
trauma.
Geoffroy Pleyers in the early 2000s studied the alter-globalization
movement and split them into what he called the way of the reason, those
that were into policy-making and invading spaces of power, and those of the
way of subjectivity ( those who were in the ground, close to the people
mobilizing) for me the bike movement has both, and both LHC and bike
collectives are of the latter kind. The issue is that each form of
mobilization has its limits ( and a fair share of unsolvable problems, like
how to get more volunteers, how to reach people and resources without
selling out, how to keep true to our values while reaching out most
people…).
https://www.academia.edu/44702177/Alter_globalization_Becoming_actors_in_the...
.
@Luke:
The French network also has a list like this one, except that only members
can access it, and it is not as easy to handle as this one ( kudos to all
the people involved in making this so easy, thanks!)
https://sympa.heureux-cyclage.org/info/rayons
The other thing is that French radical people are very private, and most
of them dislike high-tech and even cell phones… The pandemic changed that a
little bit as it forced people to have online meetings, but still, there is
resistance towards online stuff. The other thing is language, for creative
language is also very important for the network ( for instance the name of
the network is a pun, which translates into happy cycling, but it also
reads like “le recyclage” /recycling).
The last thing I want to say is that collectives that run with the heart,
need face-to-face spaces to keep alive. To strengthen the bonds of people,
and to have those liminal spaces where new ideas flourish, I hope
Bike!Bike! gets to meet in person soon, and I hope those people who live
close to each other get to meet each other to share together.
PS:
I have written about bike kitchens both in French and in English, here are
a couple of links:
https://theconversation.com/bike-kitchens-the-community-run-repair-workshops...
https://medium.com/anthropocene2050/les-ateliers-dautor%C3%A9paration-du-v%C...
Alejandro
On Tue, 11 Jul 2023 at 21:59, Bike!Bike! Everywhere! via TheThinkTank <
thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org> wrote:
...
forwarding another message that bounced...
============ Forwarded message ============
From: angel york bike@angelyork.com
To: "The Think Tank"thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org
Cc: "Luke Box"lukebox@gmail.com
Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2023 02:57:27 -0700
Subject: Re: [TheThinkTank] Re: Question re community bike shops
============ Forwarded message ============
Hi all,
I have a migraine right now, so maybe I missed something.  Anyone who
wants to is welcome to start anything they want.  Anyone who wants to be
involved in existing or new projects is encouraged to do so. Email
bikebikeeverywhere@gmail.com.
I'll do a brief overview of existing and potential ways to communicate
with this community.  This has also turned into an impromtu update, it is
not a complete update. I didn't run it past the tech and planning teams.
*Active volunteer groups*: There's the planning team (english/spanish)
for Bike!Bike! Everywhere! (the online conference) and the tech team
(currently english/technobabble).  There was also intercambio/language
exchange for a few months after B!B!E!2022, that was a lot of fun.  Right
now, the planning team communicates over email and now also WhatsApp and
the tech team communicates by email.  Both groups have recurring video
meetings.
*Social media:*
There is no form of social media that's going to work for everyone.
Anti-capitalism is important but so is intersectionality.  If we care about
DEIB https://www.inclusionhub.com/articles/what-is-dei, and we do,
sometimes we have to reach people where they are.

People made an account for instagram for a past B!B!, Tijuana I

think, so B!B!E! planners use it to post event announcements, to reach
   people where they are.

There's a really old facebook group with a lot of people in it, so

the B!B!E! planners have a stub of a facebook account to be able to
   interact with the people there.

There's a discord room, it's not active but it's there.
At 9:07 a.m. this morning I submitted a request to create a

Mastodon account because I suspect some of our community is on Mastodon.
   My plan was to create a guppy group after checking with the planning and/or
   tech teams, just a stub so people could use it if they want. Sounds like
   there's interest.
*Websites and various accounts*: bikebike.org and bikecollectives.org
are both community resources.  Anyone who wants to post an event to
bikebike.org can do so, you just have to email
bikebikeeverywhere@gmail.com and we will connect you with a login to
create an event.  We are aware that the front page of bikecollectives.org
needs an overhaul, it is actively on the to do list to update it with an
organized overview of resources that are available to all, switch out the
picture, that sort of thing.
*Fact check: *Technically the bike collectives network isn't a
non-profit. We're run by anarchy.  B!B!E! has a non-profit fiscal host.
That's OCF.  They handle the money.  Their values align well with the
values of our community and they have been just fantastic to work with and
we're lucky to have them and the open collective software.
Speaking of money, we're still all volunteer-run.  Translators and
interpreters get a stipend which is paid by B!B!E! attendees, and we have
several generous recurring donors covering tech infrastructure expenses.
*Tech: *At the last tech meeting, we finished putting together a major
update of what we've been working on.  Nothing particularly visible, mostly
a lot of deferred maintenance type stuff - getting the existing tech like
this mailing list and the wiki and bikebike.org updated and onto a
hosting provider that meets our needs better.  Once that is done, we'd like
to see what new stuff we can implement to meet some of the needs you are
describing.  It's slow going, because we have approximately 1.6 techie
volunteers (between the three active people on the tech team) working on
all of it.  We're waiting on the translation to Spanish before posting that
update.  Should be up some time this month.
*B!B!E! Planning: *Due to various illnesses, this year's planning team
is just getting warmed up this past month or so.  They'll be putting out an
announcement with an update and a request for B!B!E! and tech volunteers
probably some time in the next month or so.
*Communications: *B!B! in person regional and international events,
B!B!E! virtual events, the websites, this email list, the wiki, the social
media accounts, *all of these resources are about finding and connecting
with each other.  * We are run by whoever puts love into it.  That's all
of us!
Anyone who wants to is welcome to start anything they want.  Anyone who
wants to be involved in existing or new projects is encouraged to do so.
Email bikebikeeverywhere@gmail.com.
*Back to the original question,* "a case where community bike shops have
united together to form some kind of federation or coalition ?" I think the
French ones did that, not sure if it's the scale you're looking for though:
https://www.heureux-cyclage.org/La-carte-de-L-Heureux-Cyclage-le.html?lang=e...
<3 Angel
On Sun, Jul 9, 2023 at 11:02 PM Luke Box via TheThinkTank <
thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org> wrote:
...
This community (The Bicycle Collective) is the largest global network of
non-profit/do good bicycle shops. There is a maintained wiki with a whole
bunch of really great resources and most of the email discussions here are
archived and searchable online. They've also been very involved in
organizing BikeBike in real life, and virtually.
It sounds like what you're seeking (similar to myself) is
somewhere/something with more/easier engagement and conversation. In your
case, maybe regionally. In my case, I just want folks to interact with from
anywhere, that are doing similar work than me. Call it a federation or
coalition or whatever. Personally, I just want somewhere where there is
active discussion about "how do y'all do this at your shop", "get a load of
this shit" etc. I think we all have similar enough goals that there doesn't
need to be 'an organization'.
ThinkCollective organizers/managers/founders have been hesitant to
develop or encourage discussions in this regard, outside of this
space/network. Point being, using alternative services provided by
for-profit companies and corporations create
accessibility/ownership barriers, defies the 'collective fundamentals' that
the network was founded on and directly interfere with some anti-capitalist
notions that they've busted their ass to not be a part of. They're a
non-profit that maintain all their own servers and rely on open-source
software and services to operate and organize volunteer translators to
translate a lot of their resources. If you're reading this, you owe them a
huge thank you. Thanks y'all. This bike co-op stuff has changed my life,
for real.
I've deleted a bit of this email where I had written about alternative
ways to communicate outside the Bike Collective Network, out of respect.
I love and fully support the fundamentals and efforts made by Bike
Collective to create a self sustaining and accessible trove of information
and discussion. I (as well as others) would really love(need?) a 'living
online space' where co-op organizers/volunteers/managers/board members/
etc. can help each other and communicate. This email listserv and the
archives are not it.
People want an app on their phone that is easy to use and looks good
where they can send short form text messages, and create threads and
channels/rooms and direct replies and send pictures and videos and stupid
gifs. Younger generations of adults who are now managing/developing
non-profit bicycles cooperative are not going to search an online archive
or use a wiki. This discussion exists there, and it keeps happening due to
this fact. People organize and communicate online much differently now,
than they did when this network was founded. I hate the means by which this
comes, but it's not going to change how people behave.
Anyone is welcome to reply to me if you're interested in an alternative
space to organize/chat outside of this network. It sucks to
fork/branch/divide efforts made here, but it's going to happen if not
managed internally. I've had a chat with BikeCollective organizers, and
they have done a whole bunch of work to organize this email listserv
archive but it seems they are not interested/don't have the
time/space/money to maintain any more than what exists here.
On Sun, Jul 9, 2023 at 11:16 AM Geoffrey B via TheThinkTank <
thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org> wrote:
...
It has happened several times in Toronto. I'd say the opposite is
beneficial.  When a group gets too big, they lose something.
It happens every few decades. Groups lose faith and merge, but it never
ends well.
My group lost a lot of its integrity when they focused on the massive
rent due every month. We all worked for the landlord and not the community.
Mandates get lost, and members leave from burnout.
The smaller the operation, the better. Especially in a city like
Montreal.
On Sun, Jul 9, 2023, 2:13 a.m. Emory Shaw via TheThinkTank <
thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org> wrote:
...
HI all,
I'm just doing a bit of research and I figured this would be a good
place to ask a question: does anyone know of a case where community bike
shops have united together to form some kind of federation or coalition ?
Many cities are dotted with such shops that tend to share a similar social
mission: are there any examples of cities or regions where they have come
together to better address shared challenges (re volunteers, suppliers,
financing etc.)? It would be great to get some insight on this, as there
are talks of doing this kind of thing in the city I'm in (Montreal). I'm
curious to know if and how other places might have succeeded or not at
achieving this. Any thoughts or leads would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Emory
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Re: Parts Washers (Bike Saviours)

Nicole Muratore

Eric Brozell

Kevin Dwyer

Eric Brozell

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