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All,
This post has all of the details related to this year’s (next week’s!)
bike build … read on if you’re interested in helping out with this
worthwhile effort …
When:
Wednesday evening, April 23rd, 2008, 5pm ‘til … (maybe
April 24th if we don’t get done)
Where: Space Center
warehouse, 38th & Memorial, 7057 E 38th
St. ( see map at
bottom of email )
What:
300 new Trek bikes, 3 different styles (20”, 24” and 26” inch
wheel sizes), hand brakes on all, multiple gears on bikes with 24” and
26” wheels.
What you can bring:
A good attitude, a helping attitude, a flexible attitude, enthusiasm, patience,
and a few tools … more about this below.
Why?: To provide an opportunity for 300 4th, 5th
and 6th graders to be exposed to cycling, get some cycling
education, and earn a new bike! |
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What We’ll Provide:
·
Space
to work
·
Food
and liquid refreshment
·
Shop
towels and hand cleaner
·
Light
grease for seat tube, pedal threads, handlebar stem
·
Chain
lube
We have 100,000 square feet of
working room, complete with lights (last year’s bike builders can tell
you about working in low light conditions provided by generator in a damp old
warehouse). We’ll also provide pizza and drinks to fuel your
efforts.
What to wear?: Dress casually, the warehouse we’ll be working in is
not likely to be air conditioned. I’d recommend shorts and a cool
shirt and shoes that cover your toes (in case you drop something …
ouch!).
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What to bring:
Yourself, your buddy/partner/spouse, a chair to relax in when time permits …
Tools: Here’s the list of tools Adam
Vanderburg suggested for each assembly team (so not
everyone has to have tools) …
Note that you should label your tools so
that they can find their way back to you if any become misplaced!
-
work
stand
-
10
& 15mm open-end wrenches
-
4, 5 ,
6 mm allen wrenches
-
15 mm
pedal wrench
-
small
to medium size cross-point (Phillips) screwdriver
-
tire
pump
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Optional tools, if you’ve gott’em – this list is also from Adam, but I’m thinkin’
these may be needed only in small numbers for “special” cases where
a bike is in poorer condition than most or needs special attention. But
it won’t hurt to see if you have these and bring them in case we have a need
for them:
-
cable
cutters
-
tire
levers
-
box
knife
-
large
standard screwdriver
-
32mm
bottom bracket wrench
-
multi-size
spoke wrench
-
rubber
mallet
-
chain
tool
-
medium
& large crescent wrench
- cone
wrenches
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How:
We’ll work in small teams again this year as we did last. Groups of
three to four seemed to work well. With a single work stand, three folks
can work without getting in one another’s way and keep a good workflow
going.
Basic
Assembly Steps – following are
the basic steps that will be required for each bike, to give you an idea of how
much mechanical skill may be required (not a great deal!) … and we may
elect to have the cable adjustments done by a separate group with most folks
doing just the main assembly steps …
-
Unbox
bike & verify all parts are present (we only “misplaced” one
set of pedals last year!)
-
Attach
seat and insert seat post (seat may already be attached)
-
Mount
front wheel; bolt on, not quick release (rear wheel will already be in place
with chain on; wheels will already have tubes and tires on)
-
Attach
handlebar and stem
-
Attach
pedals
-
Attach
reflectors
-
Air
tires
-
Lube
chain
-
Run
brake and derailleur cables
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We may
elect to reserve the following steps for a group of folks with a bit more
assembly experience than most of us …
·
Tension
and adjust brake and derailleur cables
·
Center
brake pads
·
Adjust
derailleur limit screws
… none of this is rocket science,
so you don’t need to be a “pro” to help us out.
Note, however, that the
“final” step in the assembly process will be for a bonafide bicycle
mechanic to give each bike a once-over. So there will be someone to catch
any major mistakes we may have made.
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