JoeTBM 

Just throwing an idea out there, are there others interested in a thread sharing information on the purchase of parts & tooling for volunteer and charity bike shops?

This could be great prices on bulk buys, super deals, etc.?

If so would it best in this sub-forum or somewhere maybe in the classifieds?

RustySpokeTech

If you make a decision on the best venue drop me a note. I volunteer at the Rusty Spoke in Phoenix. We don't carry a lot of new stock, but we do buy a fair amount of inner tubes (which we often sell at a loss). So something like that may appeal to the powers that be at my shop.

JoeTBM 

I'll throw this one out there as we buy these items wholesale

100 pairs of handlebar grips
US $174.80 / lot (100 Pair) shipped via UPS from china
Black and other color choices
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1977...dcd44c4dH2pq2b
Nice rubber, easily cut to work with twist shifters



Same vendor also has wholesale lots of 50 combo cable locks
US $159.60 / lot (50 pieces)
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1789...5c1ddd8eBTQGwV


Delivery is about 2 weeks lead time. We have purchased several lots of both from this vendor and they are very reliable and responsive.

JoeTBM 

No sure why they would sell them at a loss, when we do sell them we mark them up 25% over cost. We also have a tube patching party about every 1-2weeks
I used to get 26x1.9-2.125 at about $3 each bulk purchases and have a fair amount new in stock, now the best deals I can find is the bikesmiths @about $5.00/each bulk lot of 10 on ebay
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_dmd...cat=6822797016

Or this one for a lot of 50 @ 189.99, about $3.80 each shipped
https://www.ebay.com/itm/22419868533...UAAOSwR5lgPo6d

Alibec

rusty spoke is a great place, we used to go there pretty often

louky

I would love to see this topic as a forum or subforum.

louky

I wonder about seats; some of my donor bikes have seats with varying degrees of rattiness. Is there a good source for inexpensive seats? When your organization sends these bikes back out, how pristine are they?

JoeTBM 

We actually get a pretty good supply of new seats that are takeoffs from two of our LBS's.
on top of that we are supplied with vinyl remnants from a local car reupholster and recover seats, mostly the larger ones where we can remove the springs/bars and use a pneumatic staple gun with stainless steel staples to secure the new cover.
just about all bikes sent out have a proper looking seat.
We do purchase some seats but that is only when we find an exceptional deal. The public, through our Facebook page and other forums have also supplied us with a number of donated seats/saddles.
last our volunteers also scour the thrift shops and online (Facebook Marketplace) for folks selling seat and persuade the sellers to donate them to our mission.

albrt 

I posted asking whether there is any interest in a co-op forum - it's in the Forum Suggestions & User Assistance forum at the bottom of the root Bike Forum page. That forum does not seem to get much regular traffic, so if anyone is interested please stop by and comment.

A thread here might be OK, but I suspect there are enough different co-op topics that a single thread would get cumbersome.

primesuspect

Sounds about right

JoeTBM 

We have moved to another supplier in China on Alibaba and after three successful orders, we are now dealing directly with him. Orders must be in bulk (Minimum order quantities, etc.) and best pricing is to ship by sea but will do by air if a rush.. Here are some sample costs to us (including shipping by sea

Grips .38/Pr
Cables .30/cable
Locks 2.03/each
ferrules .01/each
brake pads .38/pair
kickstands 2.10-2.35/each
reflectors .25/each
Chains 1.55-3.00/each
Tubes 2.20/each

louky

Joe:

Good hearing from you! I did buy a few things from Ali Express, but the price difference wasn't enough to wean me from Amazon and I wasn't crazy about their website. I am paying about $1 each for grips and cables. It would be great to get a better price on the brake pads and chains as I would be more likely to change them out. I am still operating by myself (with Denise helping me pick bikes up and take them to the donation site). I am probably averaging 2-3 bikes per week. I am not buying as many bikes as I was 6 months ago and getting somewhat more donations. I still get some parts at the co-op but their prices are unstable, sometimes very good, and sometimes not much less than Amazon.

I have been doing a little more chain salvaging. Many of the donations I get are pretty rough and often need servicing on the rear wheel bearing and freewheel. If the rest of the bike is OK and doesn't require a lot of parts, I take the chain off and run it through my ultrasonic and also put the freewheel in the ultrasonic. I usually take the tires off so I can check the rims strip (many of these are rotten/broken). This step leads me to fixing what tubes I can and make sure the valve stem is straight when I reassemble. These bikes lead a rough life as they live outside, and the folks who receive the donated bikes have no way to maintain them. I am now seeing "rotating donations", getting bikes back that I fixed last year. The charity will give them a "new" bike and take the non-working bike back to be re-repaired.

I got a bike as a donation last week that has a transmission that was new to me and led me to some research. It is a Schwinn World Tourist with a freewheel on the crank. I haven't gotten into it yet.

Almost all the box store bikes I get need the bearings adjusted on the wheels. Seems like half of them are actually too tight. What do you think causes this? I can understand them getting loose from wear, but I can't figure out why they would get tight.

Ray