10 am to 12am   Saturday, September 18th

Sorry for any inconvenience.

Repost from the Bike Pittsburgh Blog -

Six morning locations available to grab a light bite on your way to work and get your Car Free Fridays discount voucher!

At BikePGH we’re pretty excited about this year’s Bike to Work Day. We’re seeing more organizations and people interested every year in supporting the choice to bike commute.  Now on the heels of Pittsburgh’s 28th ranking as most bike-friendly U.S. city and recognition as a bronze level bicycle-friendly community more Pittsburghers  are trying bike commuting than ever before.

When you bike commute you’d be surprised how many people notice and wonder .  .  .  . mmmmmmm, could I do that too?  It’s a fun way to do something for yourself and your community.  If you’d like to give it a try, but remain a little reluctant check in at work to see if someone wants to “bike pool” with you, and be sure to check out our Bike Commuting 101 Guide.  The guide is a great way to learn about the ins and outs of bike commuting in a fun comic-book style format.  The BikePGH Messageboard is also great place to meet fellow commuters for advice and/or finding a riding buddy.

Biker Breakfasts and Car Free Fridays registrations around town . . .

This year Bike to Work Day and the first Car Free Fridays of 2010 happens on the same day.  Visit the following stations to grab a free bite, receive a voucher for discounts from local businesses, and be entered into a raffle for a bunch of great prizes.

DOWNTOWN (Main Event): 7:30am-10:00am – At Agnes Katz Plaza Downtown on 7th St and Penn Ave, join the Bike Czar Stephen Patchan and BikePGH head honcho Scott Bricker for a biker breakfast.  A bus mounted bike rack will be on display to experience what it’s like to go MULTI-MODAL.  Ted from Ted’s Excellent Bike Repair will be available for minor repairs. The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust and Trek Development Group will be there too, along with Commute Info in celebration of the new Bike Commuter Center.  Only five of twenty-six spots remain available at the new center.   Verde Good Bean and Whole Foods Market will be providing some food and drink.

OAKLAND: CMU – 7:30am-10:00am – If you’re in Oakland be sure to stop by Carnegie Mellon’s biker breakfast at Merson Courtyard just outside the University Center.  Eryn Hughes from Velomuse will be on hand. Eryn’s organization is working to create more bicycling events and activities focused on youth and women. Chris Beech from Thick Bikes will be there to offer minor bike repairs and answer some questions as well.

PITT – 8:00am-10:00am – The University of Pittsburgh and OTMA will host a Bike Appreciation event at Posvar Patio between Hillman Library and Posvar Hall, including free bike inspections and a breakfast.

SOUTH SIDE: 7:30am-10:00am – Be sure to swing by the Southside Works to grab a quick biker breakfast at REI.

EAST LIBERTY: 7:30am-10:00am – Whole Foods Market will host their annual bike commuter welcome station.  Trek of Pittsburgh will be on hand to provide their bicycle expertise.

MOUNT LEBANON: 7:30am-10:00am – In conjunction with Car Free Fridays, the municipality of Mount Lebanon will be hosting a biker breakfast courtesy of the East End Food Coop and Aldo Coffee at the clock on Washington Road in front of the steps to the Mount Lebanon T platform.

A surprise guest has also tentatively agreed to join us at Agnes Katz Plaza downtown, but his identity will remain anonymous until Friday.  We hope to see you there!

Bike to Work Day is a signature event of Great Outdoors Week. Check out all the great events going on!

Single Speed Conversions

Want to strip down your multi-speed bike to one gear?  Learn how to measure and align your chainline, re-spacing your rear hub and dish your rear wheel.

Bottom Bracket

Learn how to measure all aspects of the bottom bracket for compatibility.  We will remove and replace cartridge bottom brackets and re-pack adjustable bottom brackets.

Headsets

Learn how to measure and cut a fork to fit and how to repack and replace both threaded and threadless headsets.

Frames

Learn how to measure and correct bent drop-outs and asymmetrical chainstays and how to recut and re-face bottom bracket shells.

Wheel Building 1

In the first class we will measure hubs and rims to determine spoke length, order class materials (hubs, spokes and rims) and review basic principles of wheel construction to prepare for the second class.  All students will need to either bring their own class materials, order them, or find appropriate used class materials at our shop in preparation for the second class.

Wheel Building 2

In this 3 hour follow-up we will lace up and tension the wheels.  All students will need to either bring their own class materials (hubs, spokes and rims), order them in the first class, or find appropriate used class materials at our shop prior to this class.

Schedule 2010

Saturday, May 27th  @ 10:00 am -12:00 pm  Single Speed Conversions

Saturday, June 12th  @ 10:00 am -12:00 pm Bottom Brackets

Saturday, June 26th  @ 10:00 am -12:00 pm  Headsets

Saturday, July 10th  @ 10:00 am -12:00 pm  Frames

Saturday, July 24th  @ 10:00 am -12:00 pm  Wheel Building 1

Saturday, Aug 14th  @ 10:00 am -1:00 pm  Wheel Building 2

Saturday, Aug 28th  @ 10:00 am -12:00 pm Single Speed Conversions

Saturday, Sept 11th  @ 10:00 am -12:00 pm  Bottom Brackets

Saturday, Sept 25th  @ 10:00 am -12:00 pm  Headsets

Saturday, Oct 9th  @ 10:00 am -12:00 pm  Frames

Saturday, Oct 23rd  @ 10:00 am -12:00 pm  Wheel Building 1

Saturday, Oct 30th  @ 10:00 am -1:00 pm  Wheel Building 2

Registration and payment

A 2 hour class costs $15 or 2 volunteer hours.  A 3 hours class costs $25 or 3 volunteer hours.

To register for a class, simply go to Free Ride’s Advanced Classes website and pay in Google Checkout or come in and volunteer.  Once you have completed your volunteer hours a staffer will record your registration.

“Ezra Caldwell will be in town to talk about bikes, his cancer experience, and The Assless, the special bike he built while dealing with cancer

Join BRICKS for Young Adults for a ride & talk with Ezra Caldwell, cancer survivor and owner of Fast Boy Cycles on Saturday, March 27.  Fast Boy, a custom frame builder, gained some fame in the bicycle world over past few years with their production of wooden fenders and wooden handlebars, featured in Urban Velo #3.

Several years ago, Ezra was diagnosed with cancer, and his doctors told him he couldn’t ride anymore because of the pressure of sitting on a bike seat.  So he built a bike with no seat.  In a Bikerumor.com post, he said:

Yeah.. the assless is a pretty fun bike.  I built it for myself over the summer after being diagnosed with ass cancer.  They told me I couldn’t ride a bike.  I asked if it would be ok if the bike had no seat.  The doc said, ’so..   what?  you’re just going to stand the whole time?’  ’yeah..  that’s right.’  He just shrugged at me and said, ‘yeah..  that’d be fine.’  So I built an assless bike.

You can read Ezra’s writings in his awesome and inspiring blog, Teaching Cancer to Cry.

The Assless, Fast Boy Cycles

BRICKS for Young Adults is a Pittsburgh based organization that aims to connect Young Adult cancer patients to people and resources that may be useful to them as they undergo treatment and beyond.  They also hope to raise awareness about Young Adult cancers, and impact survival rates through education and activism.

This event is set to coincide with the release of their brand new Cancer Awareness & Resource Guide, the culmination of 6 months of hard work.  In addition to providing practical advice, the booklet also features writings by young adults who were affected by cancer, including a contribution by Ezra.

The ride will start at 1pm at REI in the South Side, and will end (around 3pm) at the Hot Metal Bridge Faith Community on the South Side.  Here Ezra will talk about bikes, his cancer experience, and The Assless, the special bike he built while dealing with cancer.

Event Details:

Saturday, March 27, 2010

• 1pm: Bike Ride – The ride will be social and low key, good for beginners, with an effort to use the trail system.  Meet at REI in the Southside Works

• 3-5pm: Talk featuring Ezra- Ezra will talk about bikes, his cancer experience, and The Assless, the special bike he built while dealing with cancer. Hot Metal Bridge Faith Community, 2700 Jane Street, South Side

This event is FREE, but donations are always welcome.  Attendees will also get a copy of the BRICKS for Young Adults Cancer Awareness & Resource guide, that includes a submission from Ezra.  If you’d like to get a copy of the booklet, or distribute it at your cancer support group/treatment center/etc, please send an email to brickspgh at gmail dot com.”

Sunday Series Classes

Free Ride offers a great beginner’s Adult Basic Bike Mechanics classes on Sunday evenings.  This is a six week course that starts on Sunday March 28th, and continues every Sunday until May 2nd.

The course is designed to give students the basic knowledge that they need to move onto more complex repairs and systems. Since each class follows in a logical succession, it is recommended that you attend every class.  Bring yourself, a willingness to learn, and a pen and paper if you want to take notes. You may also bring in your own bicycle to work on (it’s a good chance to tune it up), but your bicycle must be similar to the course material (simply ask the instructor).  Class size is limited and it usually fills up.  It is first come first serve.

There are two class times to choose from:
A: 5 pm – 7 pm
B: 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm

Cost is $75 for all 6 classes.

CLICK HERE to find out how to register
Here’s the course schedule:

Week 1 – Sunday, March 28th
Week 2 – Sunday, April 4th
Week 3 – Sunday, April 11th
Week 4 – Sunday, April 18th
Week 5 – Sunday, April 25th
Week 6 – Sunday, May 2nd

The course is six weeks, giving each student 12 hours of class time.

• Week 1 – Tubes, tires and flats – In this intro to the course we will discuss tube and tire selection and sizing, and have a thorough exercise in patching a flat

• Week 2 – Hubs and bearings – An introduction to cup and cone bearing systems. We will disassemble, clean and reassemble the hub of a wheel.

• Week 3 – Wheel truing – How to prepare your wheel and make spoke nipple adjustment to make a lateral true and straighten the rim of your wheel.

• Week 4 – The Drivetrain (chains, chainrings, cranks, bottom brackets) – Learn how to remove, clean and fit a chain, how to remove cranks and replace a chainwheel or a bottom bracket.

• Week 5 – Brakes, cables and housings – Learn how to replace your cables and housings and how to make the basic adjustments to make your brakes work better.

• Week 6 – Derailleurs – Demystify one of the more complex components of your bicycle by learning its basic adjustments.

Drop-In Classes

We offer the same 6 classes individually on Sunday afternoons, Monday nights (and for women and transgendered folks only, on the 1st, 3rd and 5th Wednesday nights)  This is good for those folks who need to learn how to make a specific repair, like adjusting brakes or trueing a wheel.

Sundays @ 2:00 pm

Mondays @ 6:30 pm

and the 1st, 3rd and 5th Wednesday @ 6:30 pm (for women and transgendered folks only!)

Check out the schedule or the calendar to see what courses are offer on these days.

Take one class or take all six. Cost is $15 or 2 volunteer hours for each class.  Volunteer hours must be completed prior to class attendance. No enrollment is necessary. Just show up.

The word is, they have had a great response from the community so far. They are setting a plan with the Assistant Superintendent of the school district to get bike education happening in the evenings. Excitement is building and their first bike donations are coming in.

Read more in an article in the Meadville Tribune Review, “Community push on to take up riding”

Our shop is colllllllld in the winter, so we’re cutting back our hours for a little while until it warms up again. Here’s the scoop:

On Dec 13th we will start a new schedule where we’ll be hosting open shop from 1pm-5pm ONLY on Saturdays. We won’t be open any other day, unless we let you know. We may have a one or two women’s/trans nights, a clean-up day here or there – stay tuned!

We’ll let the world know when we fully open again (probably March!).

*** ¡muy importante! ** We will NOT be open Saturday, Dec. 26th! **

Come check us out on Saturdays!

Love,

Free Ride

Love, Free Ride

In order to get those bikes shiny and rideable we need your help! We will be having two special days to fix the bikes:

Wednesday, November 18th, 6 PM to 10 PM
Sunday, November 22nd, 12 PM to 4 PM

Please show up during any of these times and we’ll put you to work. Although having mechanic experience helps, it is not necessary.  We still need people to help clean the bikes, pump tires etc. Snacks will be provided.  If you can’t make these dates, and do have mechanical skills feel free to stop in during regular Free Ride hours this week and next week to help fix these bikes.  Also, if you have a truck and are willing to help transport the bikes, please contact Scott at ssssscott@gmail.com.

We are still working on contacting organizations would would like to help distribute these bikes.  In the past they have gone to organizations like the Pittsburgh Refugee Center, the Housing Authority, and Tree of Hope.  If you know of an interested partnering organization please let us know.

Thanks,
Free Ride Collective Council

Please pass this on!

From bikepgh.org: “BikeFest is Pittsburgh’s biggest cycling event for cyclists by cyclists. It’s BikePGH’s annual celebration of bicycling, showcasing Pittsburgh in all of its uniqueness and beauty. It is not an organized event, but a framework for volunteers and organizations to organize bicycle-themed events.”