Workshops – Common Cycle

(Launching) Common Cycle Women’s Focused Events!

In an effort to build community, increase access to knowledge around bicycle repair, and to support more gender diversity within the cycling community and within Common Cycle, we will be hosting women’s-focused bike community events, at Outdoor Adventures (336 Hill St, at the corner of Hill and Division). Of course, we welcome trans women, non-binary, and gender non-conforming folks to attend. Our tentative schedule for the fall is to hold sessions on:

October 11th, 6-8 PM
November 15th, 6-8 PM
December 13th, 6-8 PM

If you have any questions, or would like to be added to the mailing list to receive updates and announcements about women’s focused events, please send us an email at ccwomensprograms@gmail.com. We’ll post more information on topics and other rides or events as they come together.

Thanks!

Registration is open for the Spring Repair Course!

This maintenance course is intended to help train future Common Cycle volunteers by providing some hands-on experience and general knowledge about fixing bicycles. The syllabus is available here.

The course will take place over 6 weeks, on Tuesday evenings starting March 31, 2015 and ending on May 5. We will meet in the Outdoor Adventures Rental Building (“Elbel Building’) at 336 Hill St from 6:30p.m to 8:30 p.m.

The course is capped at 12 students so that everyone will have some time to do hands-on work. No advance knowledge of bike repair is required, just an interest in learning more. Students may bring in their own bikes which we will diagnose as needed and use for demonstration. Since attendance in the class is limited, students are expected to attend every session. All participants are expected to attend at least 2 mobile repair stand events over the Spring/Summer of 2015.

To register, email clark@commoncycle.org to verify that a spot is open. Then you may either donate $25 to Common Cycle or write a 250 word statement about why you would like to take the course.

Schedule Summary:
Week 1 (3/31): Get to know your bike
Week 2 (4/7): Derailleurs
Week 3 (4/14): Brakes
Week 4 (4/21): Wheels [Previously Week 5]
Week 5 (4/28): Headset, Stem, Bars [Previously Week 4]
Week 6 (5/5): BBs, Cranks, Pedals

Winter Repair Workshop – March Date Revised

So as not to conflict with the University of Michigan’s spring break, the final winter repair workshop of the season will now take place on Thursday, March 12 from 6-9 PM at Outdoor Adventures, a delay of one week.

Hope to see you there.

Winter Repair Workshop Launch

Common Cycle will be hosting a monthly repair workshop through March. These will be similar to the Mobile Repair sessions at the Sunday Artisans Market in Kerrytown, and provide those interested with access to space (heated!), tools and volunteers as needed.

Outdoor Adventures (“Elbel Building” next to Elbel Field)
336 Hill St.,
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
Time: 6-9 PM

Workshops will take place on the next two Thursday evenings, then the first Thursday of each month thereafter, all from 6-9 PM. The tentative schedule through the winter will include the following dates:

11/13
11/20
12/4
1/8/15 (delayed by 1 week due to holiday)
2/5/15
~~3/5/15~~ 3/12/15 (delayed by 1 week due to UM Spring Break)

Feel free to drop by to get help preparing your bicycle for the upcoming winter splendor, and to keep it rolling until spring. If you have any questions, please email us at info@commoncycle.org.

OA workshops on hold for the holidays

Our regular workshops at OA will be suspended through the holiday season and begin again in early January. Save up some energy and enthusiasm over the break so we can get to work restoring bikes in the new year!

We’re now accepting donations!

Common Cycle is now accepting bicycle donations to restore over the winter at our OA workshops. These bikes will be given a new life as commuters around Ann Arbor, either sold as a CC fundraiser or used in a pilot bike sharing program! They’ll also be great project for novice mechanics who wish to hone their skills in the off-season. Donations will be handled through the Jackson Rd location of Two Wheel Tango; please call them at 734.769.8401 if you are interested in donating a bike. Thanks to Jimmy and Dennis at TWT for their support!

Winter Bike Commuting Workshops

We’re partnering with Nancy Shore and getDowntown to get you all geared up for winter bike commuting. The workshops are this week Wednesday (5:30-6:30pm) and Thursday (12-1pm) at 301 E. Liberty.

Registration for the workshops is now closed, but getDowntown has a lot of great winter commuting (bike and other) resources you can find in their Conquering the Cold section.

First Workshop at Outdoor Adventures

With our course at Outdoor Adventures and the Mobile Repair Stand packed away until next spring, we’ll be running open workshops at Outdoor Adventures (336 Hill St) on Wednesday nights from 7-9:30 p.m. It runs the same way as in Kerrytown: stop by if you need help, stop by if you want to help.

The first one starts tomorrow, November 2nd. As always, feel free to join the google group for more info about these workshops and other volunteering opportunities.

See you there!

Fall Bike Maintenance Clinics

Your favorite Common Cycle mechanics will be teaching a bike maintenance class this fall! The class starts next wednesday, Sept. 14, at 6 PM (so sign up now!–scroll down to “bike clinic”) and is a collaboration with UM’s Outdoor Adventures Program. The 5-week series will go something like this:

9/14: Basic care, cleaning, and maintenance

9/21: wheels, tires, tubes, and intro to hubs

9/28: Hubs, Bottom Brackets, and Headsets

10/5: Brakes and Derailleurs

10/12: Cranks/chainrings, Handlebars, stems, shifters, levers

There is a fee: $5 per class, or $20 for the whole shebang, but that money will go towards snacks and beverages for an optional post-or-mid-series bike ride (or other activity, depending on weather and folks’ preferences).

Whether you’ve been working on bikes for a while and want to freshen up, or if you’re just starting to get your hands greasy, or if you think (rightly so) that Eric, Sam, Sandy, Ben, and Molly are super cool and you want to learn everything they know…come on out!

Hope to see you next wednesday!

EMU Sunday Workshop

Hi everyone! We’ve been making some progress on getting the many
bikes at EMU up and running, and it’s a great opportunity to practice
your skills. We will be holding another workshop at EMU this Sunday,
April 10th at 3 p.m. The goal will be to get the bikes we started on
last week into ready to ride condition. Email Heather if you’d like to
sign up, or if you’d be willing to help teach.