OT: Wrenching for homeless

[Tim]

I'm soliciting advice from the group. I volunteered to do some bike repair at an event designed for helping homeless folks here in Tucson. I have always described myself as a "mediocre" mechanic, but in reality, I've built up 3 Rivs and do almost all of my own repairs and my bikes all work just fine, so maybe I'm more than mediocre. But after volunteering I nearly backed out, worried about being ill-prepared, but I sucked it up and am going to do it. Mostly I was/still am, worried about what I may encounter. I talked to Will about this and he felt like flat tires and poorly adjusted brakes/shifters would be the main things needed. I tend to agree. I have a few tires that I was going to sell here but instead I will take them with me and give away and mount, if needed. I'll be in the Bay Area Thursday and am visiting Riv (gotta ride a GBW at Shell Ridge!) and plan on buying 2-3 sets each of brake and shifter cables, plus several patch kits to give away and show them how to patch a tube. The event is March 27th so I plan on going to a few LBS to ask advice as well and perhaps see if they'd be willing to donate anything. I'll bring some lubricant as well. I know most of the bikes will be Huffy-type rides so not too worried about electronic shifting and dick brakes, of which I know absolutely nothing. I know I can't be prepared of every eventuality but is there anything that anyone thinks I've ignored/overlooked? Thanks in advance!

[Kainalu V. -Brooklyn NY]

You might consider buying a bulk roll of brake housing. The cheap stuff works for just about anything (except dick brakes, I'd say they're on their own there), friction shifting is great with it, all manner of brakes of course, and index isn't so terrible with it.
Enjoy!
-Kai

[Patrick Moore]

Hello Tim. Good on ya mate (https://tinyurl.com/Speight-s -- sorry, I like this commercial) for your volunteer intentions. I've been volunteering with a group of cyclists to fix bikes for the homeless at a local homeless services n-f-p (The Rock at Noon on 2nd Street) every last Friday of the month. Ours is a pretty well organized program, since the leader is retired and has a 2nd hobby job at the local Trek Store, from which he gets supplies -- cables, tubes, tires, take-off parts.

If your crowd is anything like ours, be prepared for absolutely trashed bikes of all sorts, from Wallmart POS to middle-range Giants. I've seen 9 speed wheels jammed into 5 speed frames, trashed threads, no-brakes too often to count, brakes mismatched with frames and wheels -- example: Can't keep brake pad from rubbing because mis-matching wheel is offset 3 cm in frame; derailleurs mismatched with cogsets, V-brakes that cannot even when new be properly adjusted on $99 Walmart POS, unspeakably filthy layers of grease, dirt, foodstuffs and who knows what else -- I went out and bought a box of nitrile gloves; very odd BMX thread and axle and component standards (out leader said, "no more BMX), frames hauled in with wheels of the wrong size in the hope that we can install them; and so forth. Most of the recipients are polite, but we do get the crazed and drugged -- a police car is often sitting in the parking lot -- and the complaining -- "Why did you zip tie the housing to the frame?" (because the POS frame has housing stops that kink the housing), "I don't like the way this shifts" -- recipient of a donated, lovely British racing green, classic late '80s Cannondale mtb with Suntour group including lovely friction shifters; but of course, he didn't know he had.

I spend a great deal of time figuring out how to replace shift cables in the mostly-plastic, proprietary Shimano and Grip Shift shifters of various eras, and how to get brakes to work when theys missing return springs; thing like that. You also spend a lot of time replacing tubes (if you can get a gallon of Slime and pump, that will help a great deal).

I figure that if I can get 1 person back on the road with at least 1 semi-working brake, a drivetrain that works at least in a few gears, and 2 non-flat tires, I've done my best for that session.

Good luck, and please report your experience.

On Tue, Mar 3, 2020 at 4:09 PM 'Tim' via RBW Owners Bunch <rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

I'm soliciting advice from the group. I volunteered to do some bike repair at an event designed for helping homeless folks here in Tucson. I have always described myself as a "mediocre" mechanic, but in reality, I've built up 3 Rivs and do almost all of my own repairs and my bikes all work just fine, so maybe I'm more than mediocre. But after volunteering I nearly backed out, worried about being ill-prepared, but I sucked it up and am going to do it. Mostly I was/still am, worried about what I may encounter. I talked to Will about this and he felt like flat tires and poorly adjusted brakes/shifters would be the main things needed. I tend to agree. I have a few tires that I was going to sell here but instead I will take them with me and give away and mount, if needed. I'll be in the Bay Area Thursday and am visiting Riv (gotta ride a GBW at Shell Ridge!) and plan on buying 2-3 sets each of brake and shifter cables, plus several patch kits to give away and show them how to patch a tube. The event is March 27th so I plan on going to a few LBS to ask advice as well and perhaps see if they'd be willing to donate anything. I'll bring some lubricant as well. I know most of the bikes will be Huffy-type rides so not too worried about electronic shifting and dick brakes, of which I know absolutely nothing. I know I can't be prepared of every eventuality but is there anything that anyone thinks I've ignored/overlooked? Thanks in advance!

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Patrick Moore

Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum

[Julian Westerhout]

Tim, 

I do quite a lot of wrenching at our local co-op, which is down the street from a Sally Ann mission and a bit farther from another mission. We get some homeless, and lots of folks who live on the margins. You might be shocked at how bad some of the bikes are, yet they still get ridden miles per day. 

When it comes to fixes, flats, and worn/missing brake pads are the number one "urgent" repairs -- so pads for sidepull and V brakes, plus perhaps canti pads, plus 26 and 27" tubes. Lube and a pump. 

Don't let your desire for full function get in the way of getting folks rolling-- especially if there's good turnout. Generally accept that having one working brake is far better than none, and an out of true wheel that still rolls without jamming into the frame still gets folks going. 

Don't stress out over your abilities -- whatever you can offer is a gift. Smile, engage with the riders, and have fun. It is some of the most rewarding and in some ways the most frustrating activities in my life -- but well worth it. 

Julian Westerhout

Bloomington, Il 

[kim young]

tim- i used to work on lots of bikes with homeless people when I lived  in Tucson. (IMHO:) don’t worry - you are more than qualified.  People are just so happy to have any kind of assist with their bikes at all.

Is it just you doing the bike part of the event?I could put you in touch with some local people who could help.

kim 

On Tue, Mar 3, 2020 at 4:09 PM 'Tim' via RBW Owners Bunch <rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

I'm soliciting advice from the group. I volunteered to do some bike repair at an event designed for helping homeless folks here in Tucson. I have always described myself as a "mediocre" mechanic, but in reality, I've built up 3 Rivs and do almost all of my own repairs and my bikes all work just fine, so maybe I'm more than mediocre. But after volunteering I nearly backed out, worried about being ill-prepared, but I sucked it up and am going to do it. Mostly I was/still am, worried about what I may encounter. I talked to Will about this and he felt like flat tires and poorly adjusted brakes/shifters would be the main things needed. I tend to agree. I have a few tires that I was going to sell here but instead I will take them with me and give away and mount, if needed. I'll be in the Bay Area Thursday and am visiting Riv (gotta ride a GBW at Shell Ridge!) and plan on buying 2-3 sets each of brake and shifter cables, plus several patch kits to give away and show them how to patch a tube. The event is March 27th so I plan on going to a few LBS to ask advice as well and perhaps see if they'd be willing to donate anything. I'll bring some lubricant as well. I know most of the bikes will be Huffy-type rides so not too worried about electronic shifting and dick brakes, of which I know absolutely nothing. I know I can't be prepared of every eventuality but is there anything that anyone thinks I've ignored/overlooked? Thanks in advance!

[Tim]

Kim,

Thanks so much! Yes, it's just me at this time. It's a 3 hour event, from 9am-12pm on a Friday. It would be great if you could put me in contact with someone. I just moved there last summer and do all of my riding alone. Also, Tucson is a fantastic place to ride!

[kim young]

Right on tim. It’s nice you are enjoying your new location and helping w. that event.

There are people who would crew for it. I am sure you could manage but will be better if you have some backup.

I will put out an email.

(think I’m on the main thread here. I will

write you directly for details.)

On Wed, Mar 4, 2020 at 9:09 PM 'Tim' via RBW Owners Bunch <rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

Kim,

Thanks so much! Yes, it's just me at this time. It's a 3 hour event, from 9am-12pm on a Friday. It would be great if you could put me in contact with someone. I just moved there last summer and do all of my riding alone. Also, Tucson is a fantastic place to ride!

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[Tim]

UPDATE: I got home from a ride/hike on Friday to find an email letting me know that the homeless event has been canceled. They were adamant earlier in the week about the show going on but, alas, it is not to be. I want to thank those who chipped in their advice and eased my apprehension. I'd also especially like to thank Kim/flowerfang, for her help. She reached out to me through PM. She used to live here in Tucson and, in fact, founded an organization called BICAS (bicycle inter community art and salvage), which is a non-profit doing great community bicycle work here. She also sent an email to many of her friends here and I had some help coming to the event. I'd also like to thank Grant and Rivendell as well. I was in the Bay Area last week and visited. I bought a few things for the event and they, through my protests, threw in a few things as well. And then Grant put the homeless event on his Blahg. It makes me so grateful that I didn't back out. When you put yourself out there, the universe responds. I'll post an update for when the event gets rescheduled. Thanks all!

[kim young]

What a good story about ‘putting yourself out there’. 

thank you Tim!

On Sun, Mar 15, 2020 at 9:49 AM 'Tim' via RBW Owners Bunch <rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

UPDATE: I got home from a ride/hike on Friday to find an email letting me know that the homeless event has been canceled. They were adamant earlier in the week about the show going on but, alas, it is not to be. I want to thank those who chipped in their advice and eased my apprehension. I'd also especially like to thank Kim/flowerfang, for her help. She reached out to me through PM. She used to live here in Tucson and, in fact, founded an organization called BICAS (bicycle inter community art and salvage), which is a non-profit doing great community bicycle work here. She also sent an email to many of her friends here and I had some help coming to the event. I'd also like to thank Grant and Rivendell as well. I was in the Bay Area last week and visited. I bought a few things for the event and they, through my protests, threw in a few things as well. And then Grant put the homeless event on his Blahg. It makes me so grateful that I didn't back out. When you put yourself out there, the universe responds. I'll post an update for when the event gets rescheduled. Thanks all!

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