Handbook

This handbook is the official source of information on how the Bike Kitchen works. Proposed revisions of this handbook must be voted on at a staff meeting.

Mission Statement

The Bike Kitchen teaches people of all ages and backgrounds how to repair bicycles. Through bike repair and bicycle related projects, the Bike Kitchen promotes personal development and provides leadership opportunities. Operating as a cooperative shop, we provide affordable ways to acquire and maintain a bike, offer youth programs, encourage reuse and recycling, and work with community groups to get more people on bikes.

Patrons

Patrons visit the shop during open hours, and must either be members or pay a $5 "day use" fee. No one is turned away for lack of funds.

Membership

Memberships are annual and cost $40-$80 (sliding scale: pay more if you can), though they may be earned by volunteering for six hours. Membership provides:

access to shop and tools during open hours
30% discount on used parts
access to classes

Digging Rights / Earn-a-Bike

For any parts you can find to build one bike, you can purchase "digging rights" for $30 or volunteer for six hours (often called "earn-a-bike"). Guidelines:

you must be a member
includes any parts you can find to build one bike, kept track of with a 'punch sheet'
no guarantee that the BK has all the necessary or desired parts
a person may acquire digging rights only once per year (not once per membership)

It is likely that a patron will not find all of the parts that she needs to complete her bike in the Bike Kitchen parts room. Other parts may be bought from the Bike Kitchen or from other shops / sources.

Bike Storage

Bike Kitchen members may store up to one "project bike" at the Bike Kitchen as long as she makes regular progress on the project. A "project bike" is one that a member is building from parts mostly acquired from the Bike Kitchen. It must be clearly labeled with the member's name, the phone number, and the date of the last day it was worked on. Project bikes will be reclaimed if they are not properly labeled or the latest date is more than two weeks past (in which case the Bike Kitchen will try to reach the patron by phone).

Staff

A Bike Kitchen staff member is a volunteer that makes at least one of the following commitments:

Commits to volunteer during a specific three hour open hours shift every week.
Consistently "floats" at least 9 hours per month at open hours
Consistently takes responsibility for a specific task related to the Bike Kitchen such as website management, membership management, etc.

Prior to becoming staff, the volunteer must fulfill at least one of the above commitments for three consecutive months. To remain staff, the volunteer's commitment must not be interrupted for more than two consecutive months. If a volunteer resumes her commitment after an interruption that exceeds two months, staff benefits will resume six weeks after her staff commitment resumes.

Bike Kitchen Staff enjoy the following benefits:

Free used parts for personal (for your own, non-income-generating) projects
order parts at cost + 15% from wholesale catalogs for personal use
Vote at Staff Meetings
Enroll in Bike Kitchen classes free of charge
A key to the shop to use it during times when the bike kitchen is closed

Mechanics

Bike Kitchen Mechanics are Bike Kitchen Staff members that assist patrons with bike projects during open hours and / or teach classes. The more mechanics we have, the more hours we can open, and the more people we can serve.

As a mechanic, you should strive to keep the tools in the hands of patrons, so they can learn by doing. You should be open to learning, and prepared to ask another mechanic for help. You should also use your discretion to make reasonable decisions in gray situations.

Becoming a Mechanic

To become a Bike Kitchen Mechanic, you should start by volunteering during open hours to get a feel for things. When you're ready, you can enter the Mechanic Apprentice Program.

Mechanic Policies

Mechanics must follow these policies:

make the shop a welcoming space
be respectful of fellow mechanics and patrons
do not engage in sexist, racist, homophobic or any sort of prejudiced behavior
do not work on personal projects while staffing a shift
do not consume alcohol or drugs before or during a shift you are staffing
only eat behind the greeter's desk or in the office

Other Responsibilities

See the Opening / Closing Checklist page for those logistics.

Communication

As an entirely volunteer-run organization, the staff are rarely all together at the same time. We fill this need with the following resources:

This Wiki

The goal of this wiki is to be a central repository of information about running the Bike Kitchen. It will be most useful if staff keep it up-to-date and add things that are missing. See the help page for how to use the wiki.

Staff Meetings

Staff Meetings (aka Mechanics' Meetings) are held on the last Sunday of every other month, usually at 7pm. These meetings are vital to the development and success of the shop. At the meetings, we discuss and vote on various issues related to the shop, and establish the shift schedule for the next two months.

Staff Email List

Many important discussions and policy decisions are made over the staff email list. It is crucial that staff read email on the list and stay up-to-date.

Parts

Stocking New Parts

The Bike Kitchen stocks new parts when:

members frequently have to leave the shop to buy parts to complete projects they are working on at the bike kitchen (such as seat binder bolts)
the new part will let us reuse parts that are incomplete and the used part cannot be easily found at the shop (such as a barrel adjuster)

New parts are of basic but durable quality. The goal of stocking new parts is to encourage people to reuse the parts that we already have at the bike kitchen, and to ensure a positive experience for members. Like used parts, new parts are sold only to people who use them at the Bike Kitchen.

See the Minimal Inventory page for basic parts we should keep on hand.

Special Ordering Parts

See the Special Order Protocol page.

Used Parts

Prices are always subject to the discretion of the mechanics on duty. The price list near the cash register offers a guide of prices which reflects the range in quality of used parts. Mechanics should offer a ~30% reduction on prices for members.

No part leaves the shop unless it is on a bike. We are not trying to supply the universe with used parts; we're helping people build and repair bikes.

No BK frame leaves the shop. All BK frames are for EAB/digging rights projects and should be built up as complete bikes before leaving the shop. A frame or partial bike that is walking out the door should throw up a red warning flag -- please confirm that the patron brought in the frame that they are leaving with.

Trades

It is the Bike Kitchen's policy not to trade parts because:

it can drain our stock of useful parts for our patrons
we could be accepting stolen parts in exchange for legitimate parts
it can eat into our used part sales, a portion of our income

Handling Money

Please see the Specific Financial Protocols section

Greeters

During open hours, it is immensely helpful to have a greeter who welcomes people, describes how the shop operates, collects money, operates the register, and signs patrons in. Being a greeter is an excellent way to regularly contribute to the Bike Kitchen that does not require mechanical expertise. The greeter may be a volunteer working towards a membership or digging rights, or may be fulfilling the staff requirement of volunteering consistently.

Volunteers

We often have a steady stream of people coming in asking to volunteer, whether to put hours towards a membership or digging rights or just to help out. Determine what their skills and interests are, and consider assigning them a task from the Task List so they can become more engaged with the shop and community.

Volunteers with specific skills (i.e., web design, graphics, event organizing, fund raising, woodworking, etc.) are encouraged to contribute using those specific skills. Volunteers with quality bike mechanic experience are encouraged to become volunteer mechanics. Regular volunteers are often needed to greet, wrench, and perform the many mundane tasks that keep the shop going. When a volunteer commits to working consistently at the Bike Kitchen, she can become staff.

Classes

The Bike Kitchen usually holds a monthly class of some kind, often of one of the following types (though we encourage new classes):

Classes are an important part of the Bike Kitcen's mission and income. See the Classes page for more information.

Open Hours

See the staff schedule for the current open hours, which are reevaluated at each staff meeting. Each open hour shift must have a shift leader, at least two supporting mechanics, and a committed greeter. New open hour shifts can be launched if the shop is available and these roles are filled.

WTF Night

Women, trans/genderqueer, femmes (WTF) night is geared towards patrons who have had gender be a barrier to learning mechanics or do not feel as comfortable around the somewhat male-dominated atmosphere of the shop during regular hours. See the staff schedule for the current WTF hours.

Past Handbook Versions

Here are past versions of this Handbook:

Title	Date	Download
BK Handbook Draft 02	21 March 2007	pdf doc odt
BK Handbook Draft 01	28 January 2007	pdf doc odt
BK Handbook Draft 00		pdf doc odt