Activities and Projects

Updated 1-31-24

Recurring Volunteer Activities

What are our various volunteering activities?

Cleaning

Wednesday 12pm-9pm, Thursday 12pm-5pm, Friday 12pm-5pm

  • Stocking the workbenches in the community shop
  • Sweep floors
  • Empty scrap bins into the scrap yard
  • Empty waste bins into the dumpster
  • Wipe down and sanitize surfaces
  • Wash dishes
  • Clean bathrooms
  • Clean anything you like
Final Checks

Wednesday 11am-9pm, Thursday 11am-5pm, Friday 11am-4:30pm, Saturday 1pm-5pm

Prerequisite: Completion of OCBC’s Tune-up class series

  • Perform final checks on other refurbish mechanics’ work
Gardening

Thursday 12pm-5pm, Friday 12pm-5pm

  • Manage co-op’s crop of grapes
  • Tend to the planters in the parking lot
  • Turn compost
  • Manage weeds in parking lot
  • Expand the garden
Parts Sorting

Wednesday 12pm-9pm, Thursday 12pm-5pm, Friday 12pm-5pm

  • Sorting and pricing used tires
  • Sorting components salvaged from bikes
  • Verifying integrity of sorted bins
Picture and Price

Wednesday 12pm-9pm, Thursday 12pm-5pm, Friday 12pm-5pm

  • Take pictures of bikes ready-for-sale
  • Use standardized pricing guidelines to set prices for refurbished bicycles
  • Add bikes to our online catalog
  • Take pictures of other parts and accessories
  • Improve documentation of parts and accessories
Refurbish

Wednesday 11am-9pm, Thursday 11am-5pm, Friday 11am-4:30pm, Saturday 1pm-5pm

Prerequisite: Completion of OCBC’s Tune-up class series

  • Perform repairs and maintenance on bikes marked for refurbishment
  • Tend to rentals in times of particular need
Retail

 Thursday 12pm-5pm, Friday 12pm-5pm, Saturday 12pm-5pm

  • Greet customers
  • Alert staff to appointment arrivals
  • Talk with customers while they wait for service
  • Facilitate test rides
  • Engage in simple tasks, like assembling price tags, in between customers’ arrivals
Salvage

Wednesday 12pm-9pm, Thursday 12pm-5pm, Friday 12pm-5pm

  • Taking parts off bikes marked for salvage
  • Taking parts off handlebars marked for salvage
  • Checking inner tubes and de-tiring wheels
  • Disassembling pedals, brake levers, and other components to save their small parts
Rental Bike Tending

Wednesday 12pm-9pm, Thursday 12pm-5pm, Friday 12pm-4:30pm

  • Assess recently returned rentals for damage
  • Confirm quality of rentals which are said to be “ready-to-go”
  • Perform repairs on rentals flagged for work
Wheel Tending

Wednesday 12pm-9pm, Thursday 12pm-5pm, Friday 12pm-5pm

  • Adjust and true wheels with staff oversight

One-off Volunteer-led Projects

What projects are we undertaking to improve the co-op? Who should you talk to if you’d like to get involved?

Spruce up the Bike Bus

Point of Contact: Jim

The Bike Bus is back and needs:

  • a small bit of fiberglass body work
  • cleaning/re-painting
  • drum brake shoe replacement
  • parking brake adjustment
  • re-accessorizing
  • booster seats
Organize Small Parts

Point of Contact: Jim

We have so many good drawers to neatly and precisely store our bits and bobs, but we need some people to tie it all together.

Seal the Test-Ride Track

Point of Contact: Jim

Our test-ride track needs sealing and painting to keep it useful for our learn-to-ride classes and test rides.

Document our Frames

Point of Contact: Dani

Volunteer leader: James Davidson

We have an abundance of frames which languish up on our walls and we’d like to make good use of them.

 

We are measuring, photographing, labeling, pricing, and listing these frames for sale online. If we have enough interested volunteers, we can take seatpost measurements, tire clearance measurements, and more!

Organize Fluids in Salvage Area

Point of contact: Dani

Our salvage area has hard-to-find bottles of alcohol, tri-flow, and kerosene. Let’s make them more reliable!

Lower the Rental Bikes

Point of Contact: Dani

Volunteer point of contact: Bill Bruml

Our rental bikes are too high and we’d like to lower the hooks they’re hanging on.

Bill Bruml has a carpentry project for anyone who can make some angled cuts and drill 45 degree holes to depth.

Replace Bicycle Stands in Showroom

Point of Contact: Emily

Volunteer Point of Contact: Bill Bruml

There are two different styles of bicycle display in the showroom, but only one of the styles can accommodate all bikes. Help us improve the flexibility of our showroom!

Price Fancy Cranks

Point of Contact: Emily

We have a bunch of cranks in the showroom, but customers don’t have any idea how much they cost. Help us devise and implement a simple pricing model!

Create a Locking Door for our Community Tools

Point of contact: Al

Our tools cabinet is well-stocked, but needs a firm check-in/check-out process. Step one is making a secure door!

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