Bike Shift Lever Testers

Earlier this month I had the pleasure of sending out the first Bike Shift Levers cast with Mold #1 to our project donors who had offered to test them out. Getting them cast in my outdoor foundry was a bit stressful because of all the thunderstorms we’ve had around here, but I managed. I was thrilled to finally assemble these cast versions of the shifter and dropping them in the mail. Of course, I kept one of the batch for myself. It has its share of character, but it's doing a far better job moving my front derailleur than the worn out Deore shifter it replaced.

I gave these wonderful testers just one week to install their shift lever, try it out, and report their findings because I needed to send all the changes in for our soon-to-expire patent pending as well as the design of Mold #2. Since Mold #1 has several flaws in its design, I can’t cast any production shifters until I have Mold #2.

Overall, every test result was positive and each of the testers continues to ride with theirs installed. Some found important needed changes to the base that had been mistakenly increased in size somewhere in the design process. Others suggested potential ways of reducing the aluminum used, but for later versions after this design has been put to the test in the rugged situations it is designed for.

A few of the testers sent along photos. Here is Seth in the midst of installing his shifter:

Don installed his on his lovely steel Bianchi:

 

And Russ took this close up showing some of the character in the shifter he received:

Russ reported that his Bike Shift Lever continues to perform better than the shifter it replaced.

They’re out in the world, shifting away! More to come, especially with the expected arrival of Mold #2 next week!

Sue

Kickstarting Cures for Ailing Organizations

If you’ve ever run a crowdfunding campaign, you’ll know why I've been so distracted these last few weeks getting ready for this!

We've launched a Kickstarter.com campaign to raise funds for publishing our next book, Cures for Ailing Organizations. I know it sounds a bit off topic, but really it isn’t. This book is written for anyone who knows the heartbreak of watching a great organization die. Unfortunately, that includes lots of bicycle organizations.

I wrote this book from my 40 years of experience working for nonprofits and social enterprises in the fields of animal rights, environment, special populations, and, of course, bicycle advocacy. I shaped it around my emergency medical response training because organizations are surprisingly like living organisms. And like organisms they can be revived to thrive once again.

The book is complete. Now we need your help to make it available to organizations around the world. Funding through Kickstarter is meant to cover the costs of final layout, print and ebook publication, and worldwide distribution.

Kickstarter operates on an all-or-nothing basis. If the funding goal is not reached in August, we will receive nothing and will not have the means to publish this book. Every pledge counts toward that goal. The Kickstarter campaign will last only through August.

Secure your early copy by contributing today at Kickstarter.com by searching “Cures for Ailing Organizations.” You can also go directly to the campaign with this link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/604592896/cures-for-ailing-organizations

Another way you can help is to forward the link to your friends. Emailing it, posting it to Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn groups would be a huge boost for the campaign because the more it spreads the more likely we are to connect with the people who care about a book like this.

We’ve only got one month to reach the goal!

Thanks in advance for all your help!

How Low-Income Commuters View Cycling

This article in today’s CityLab issue covers some very interesting topics. I found even more good points in the comments section including several that emphasized access to affordable, durable bikes as an important

part of the solution.

I bristled a bit while reading the article because it focuses on a survey taken in areas of DC where a majority of residents happen to be African American. The authors use generalities like “Our study showed that African Americans were statistically more likely...” Statements like this are easily taken out of context and promote improper perceptions. Even some of the comments make the assumption that the topic is about “people of color” rather than people living in or near poverty.

Poverty is not based on ethnicity or skin color even if racism sometimes contributes to poverty. We must be vigilant about keeping these descriptions distinct lest we contribute to racism.

Even so, the article and the survey it covers raise some important issues. If we can get past the unintentional inequality of the writing, it does offer some thought provoking material. 

Blog discovery: Invisible Cyclist

I just received a forwarded blog post from a colleague that caused a rescheduling of my morning tasks as I eagerly read through their past posts. The blog is called "Invisible Cyclist," which immediately caught my attention because of my adoration of the article of a similar name, which I highlighted back in May with my post "'Invisible Riders,' a Timeless Article."

I was surprised that I'd never heard of the Invisible Cyclist blog, as it seems to align very nicely with One Street's work for equitable street design as well as the topic of this blog. But scrolling through their previous posts I could see why it had stayed a bit invisible itself--only one post per year in 2012 and 2013. Now I see four posts in the past month. Looks like they might be kicking in!

The blog is indeed inspired by that wonderful article. They focus on street design so far, so not a lot about providing bikes yet. Still, take a look and enjoy their thought process as they and their readers grapple with the many barriers to bicycling for marginalized people.

Appropriate Bicycles

In Defying Poverty with Bicycles I explain why bikes designed for sport and fitted with complex parts are not appropriate for bicycle programs meant to help people who are struggling in poverty.

Sport bikes are fragile, using materials like carbon fiber and lightweight metals that crumble under hard daily use. Their geometry and short wheelbases are designed for quick maneuvers, not transport and certainly not carrying loads. Any shocks, fancy brakes, and other racing gadgets break under hard use leaving such bikes useless.

Steel framed bikes with long wheelbases, durable and replaceable parts, racks and fenders are the basic idea of appropriate bikes for people who depend on them for their daily needs. As an example, here’s a photo of a wonderful Czechoslovakian-made bike I rode around Europe last summer:

 What are your thoughts about appropriate bicycles? Do you know of affordable cargo bikes? Have you had good luck retrofitting sport bikes to become transportation bikes? Please offer your experiences and ideas in the comments box.

Bike Charity Pitfalls

My post in May titled “Are Bike Kitchens Elitist by Choice?” got several comments including a concern about privileged people providing bikes to people they see as different from themselves. This concern was not part of my original post, but it is a major hot button for me. So I was glad to see this reader make the leap, which has inspired this post.

 

Do an internet search for bike charities and you will find pages of links to programs that claim to provide bicycles to people who otherwise could never buy their own bike. I grimace just at the list! Many send used bikes into developing countries to be given away free. Others invite “the needy” to come to their door and ask for a bicycle handout.

First I have to say that charity is a good thing. No matter how much I criticize charity-based programs, the human tendency toward helping others is something we all must be proud of. There are times when any of us can fall into so much trouble that the only way out is to accept a helping hand.

Problems arise when this kindness morphs into believing we are better than those we serve. Once this separation occurs in a bicycle program, its leaders will make small, but important decisions that begin to do harm rather than good.

Developing countries see the worst of this harm as massive nonprofits fight each other for charity funding that often ends up in the hands of warlords and corrupt dealers. These organizations are so caught in meeting promised goals, they miss the bigger picture—the local businesses that shut down when charity goods flood the market, the disgrace they pile onto communities and whole countries by publishing only photos of people suffering, and the ravenous consumption of funding just to continue the charade.

I recommend two books that do a good job of revealing this horrendous state of charity. One is Dead Aid by Dambisa Moyo, an economist from Zambia. The other is The Crisis Caravan by Linda Polman, a journalist from the Netherlands who lays out countless abominations caused by charity nonprofits.

It would be easy to look at these offenses as detached from bike charity programs. But we can’t ignore the flooding of free bicycles into developing countries. We also cannot ignore the undertone of disgrace when those who receive a free bike are treated as incapable of purchasing a bicycle like anyone else.

I understand that many of the people who are in need of a bicycle are in terrible situations and may be seeking a helping hand. These charity offenses would not be occurring if this were not the case. The challenge comes in seeing each of these people as our equal, looking them in the eye and asking how they would like to take part in the program. Make them feel welcome and valued. Show them that their expertise in surviving their hardships can help the program better serve their neighbors.

When addressed with respect like this, many people who come for a free bike will still simply take the bike and leave. Living in poverty is relentless stress that leaves little time to get involved in a bike program. But by respecting and valuing everyone who comes to the program, you will find that some will take you up on your offer. Even those who walk or ride away will benefit from being treated with respect and some will return to take part when their schedules allow.

If you have a bike charity or are giving away bikes through your program, at least look at making this change. Invite everyone who comes in for a bike to take part in your program, even in the smallest way, perhaps just through offering ideas.

Better yet, stop giving bikes away! Put a proper price on every bike and part you provide. Make that price similar to bike shops in your area and ensure that each sale will not only cover your cost of that bike or part, but the overhead it took to sell it. Ask for donations and grants to help subsidize purchases by people who can prove to you that they truly cannot pay full price.

By putting price tags on your bikes and parts, not only are you showing their true value, you will be showing respect to everyone who comes to your program. They are simply fellow humans looking for a bike. Your equal. Your subsidy program can help them make the purchase, but in the end they will be buying a bike just like anyone else. Our book, Defying Poverty with Bicycles, covers the details for setting up a successful subsidy program.

I realize this is a controversial topic, especially for anyone who has spent a lot of time and energy giving away bikes. I’d love to hear your thoughts and criticisms. I’d also love to see comments from anyone who has made a smooth transition from a bike charity to a more egalitarian program that engages even the most impoverished people. Even more exciting would be to hear from bike programs that have engaged bike recipients in leadership positions for their program.

Prescribing Bicycles for Poor People

I came across this recent article from the Atlantic that starts off with a model program prescribing a bike share membership to poor patients in bad health. It was an easy leap for me to imagine a social bike business taking the place of the bike share membership 

 

The article is also packed with interesting statistics about many of the factors that contribute to the entrapment of poverty. While I am always skeptical of studies done by affluent academics about people they have little contact with, their findings are worth pondering.

Give it a read and don't miss the comments at the bottom—some revealing banter that demonstrates the wide range of perceptions of poverty.