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 On Tuesday, March 3, 2020 at 5:09:06 PM UTC-6, Tim 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! -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/a5b295ef-203b-4790-8783-c47fe8238fc9%40googlegroups.com.
