well, I appreciate the combination of wisdom and humility in these posts.
Thanks to you all!
Nozomi
'Like' Ron. Well said. We find that kids are appreciative of any bike and
we'd like to see more on them no matter where they are from.
Riders who get free bikes many times start progressing toward better built
bikes, because they find joy or utility in it. I think what we do here even
in bike friendly Colorado as market expanding work.
The big brands interested in just selling biles at $750+ could learn from
this IMO.
Scott
Longmont, CO
Recycle recyclebikesforkids@gmail.com wrote:
For three years various WalMart stores have given us bikes which have been
returned or have missing parts when they are assembled. To a kid with little
hope of getting a bike of any kind, a Wal-Mart bike is a treasure. All the
bikes we repair are given free to kids. Last year we gave away 1,603 bikes
many of which were Wal-Mart bikes. It's funny to note that some who would
call Wal-Mart the devil can have their principles compromised for $20.00.
What does it say about a person who makes fun of a child s bike from a
position of authority? Bully comes to mind.
Ron King
Recycle Bikes for Kids
Little Rock, AR
Sent from my iPhone
On Jan 25, 2013, at 8:59 PM, Jason Gendill andwrong@yahoo.com wrote:
I normally only use the ThinkTank as random reading material, but never
chime in.
Community Cycles in Boulder, generally does the same thing with Walmart
bikes. We might keep the seat/pedals/shifters (especially the gripshift mrx
model!) but otherwise we do strip/recycle most of these bikes. The bikes we
put into our recycle trailer go to any number of things; I know we have at
least 2 scrappers that take it for cash, but we also have many artist-types
coming by to take random parts for whatever project they are working on.
I have moved up in Community Cycles, from a volunteer to the head mechanic
to shop manager. And I will never forget a few of the tune-ups I took on as
head mechanic. Normally things we wouldn't touch, but in these instances I
did. I did more than I should have, but that "cheap" wal-mart bike performed
better than it ever would have, and the customer was extremely happy with
it. Sure, BSO's need a little more time and a little more love than most
other bikes, but it is possible. I wonder if wal-mart would donate bikes and
money (the money donation along with the bicycle is HUGE) to other
non-profits so that others could investigate into selling a "lesser bike" to
help fund what we all love to do? Or would other non-profits even want it?
I'd be interested in doing a wal-mart-refurbish thing, but I know it add's
another layer into the already trying world of non profit bike shops...
Jason
Shop Manager
Community Cycles, Boulder
www.communitycycles.org
From: Andrew L breathingplanet@gmail.com
To: Doug Franz doug@coatesvillebikeworks.org; The Think Tank
thethinktank@lists.bikecollectives.org
Sent: Friday, January 25, 2013 6:11 PM
Subject: Re: [TheThinkTank] Deal with the devil!
wow. interesting.
our scrapper George (a local scrapper who brings us random stuff and takes
our scrap steel on a weekly basis - no cash exchanged) gets bikes from
wal-mart from the scrap yard. he reported with confidence that they come to
the scrapyard from Wal-mart by the trailer truck load !!!
the bike he had salvaged was in perfect condition minus being poorly
assembled. the gyro brake was seized (pretty common, as you all know).
he suggested talking to someone there, and i nodded, but placed it pretty
far down on my mental to do list.
we are swamped with bikes... but dont turn anything away. wal-mart
sending a check with the bikes! whoa.
a
On Fri, Jan 25, 2013 at 6:45 PM, Doug Franz
doug@coatesvillebikeworks.org wrote:
The strangest thing happened last night. I was at an open house for
another charity here in Coatesville, talking up our charity because it’s my
job, and I was introduced to the District Manager of Wal*Mart.
I’m not a Wal*Mart fan. I understand they fill a need in society, and
obviously lots of people don’t subscribe to my point of view or else they
wouldn’t be as successful as they are. But for me, I would rather give up
other luxuries to afford the more expensive products at my neighborhood
store than buy them from the Wal*Mart in town. I actually feel some joy
when one of our kids asks me what his Wal*Mart bike is worth, and I answer
“10 cents a pound!”
Anyhow, this woman explained to me that Wal*Mart doesn’t have a system for
handling the bicycles that get returned to them or that arrive with defects
from the manufacturer. She asked me if they could be sent to us as a
donation. I explained to her that we accept bicycle donations, but
typically the Wal*Mart bikes get stripped for parts and recycled. She asked
if they could send them to us anyhow. I pointed out that we incur some
costs in the processing of this material, and if we decide to fix some of
them up there is the costs of the parts. She asked if they could send a
check along with the bikes.
So, we made a deal. Wal*Mart stores in her district will send us bikes
they can’t use, along with $20 per bicycle. We have 35 bikes arriving next
week.
This will be interesting. . . .
Doug Franz, President
<image002.png>
coatesvillebikeworks.org
like us on facebook! http://www.facebook.com/CoatesvilleBikeWorks
doug@coatesvillebikeworks.org
610-383-4349
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Affordable Bikes Re-Cyclery
Ryan Kragerud
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