(LCI seminar scholarships are provided in partnership with Safe Routes to School, a program of the City of Fort Collins and the Colorado Dept of Transportation.)

The Fort Collins Bike Co-op is sponsoring a League Cycling Instructor seminar at the Bike Co-op in Fort Collins May 4 – 6, 2012. The coach for the seminar is nationally recognized League Cycling Instructor, Preston Tyree.

League Cycling Instructors are certified by the League of American Bicyclists (LAB) to teach bicycle safety.

According to LAB:

“Becoming a League Cycling Instructor (LCI) certified to teach Smart Cycling is a great way to help cyclists in your community. Certified instructors can teach Smart Cycling classes to children as well as adults. Help bring the joy of safe cycling to others. If you are an experienced cyclist and would like to teach others please consider taking the next step towards certification. Becoming a League member and taking Traffic Skills 101 are prerequisites for a certification seminar. Instructors are trained at seminars held periodically throughout the year.”

To register for the Fort Collins seminar visit the web site of the LAB: http://members.bikeleague.org/members_online/members/calendar_of_events.asp

We are lucky to have Preston Tyree coach this seminar. Preston was the Education Director at the League of American Bicyclists from 2007 through 2011. Before that he was Education Director at Bike Texas from 1997 through 2003 where he implemented the Texas SuperCyclist Project and trained 3,000 teachers to teach bicycle traffic safety in schools.

If you are an experienced cyclist and would like to teach others how to bicycle safely please join us. By becoming a League Cycling Instructor (LCI) you can help Fort Collins become a safer bicycle community and you can help us move toward the Platinum Level Bicycle Friendly Community award.

Space for this seminar is limited to 15.  The Bike Co-op has 8 scholarships available to cover the $200 registration fee for this seminar for local residents who will commit to helping build our safe cycling program in Fort Collins.  Participants must pay the $200 fee and the $35 LAB membership fee themselves.  The $200 registration fee will be reimbursed after the new LCIs assist with at least two Smart Cyclng classes.

For further information contact Rick Price (970-310-5238). Or check the Education Programs on the Bike Co-op web site: http://fcbikecoop.org/programs/education/index.php.

For information about the LCI program at the national level visit: http://www.bikeleague.org/programs/education/

Is at the Co-op, with your name on it. . . The sweetest ride, that is. Here’s how you get your hands on that bike:

Come to the Bike Co-op for our Bike Sale Extravaganza this Saturday. Project bikes (the one with your name on it) will sell from $50 to $150 more or less. Find that bike, make sure the color is your color and the size is yours. We’ll double check to be sure the frame isn’t bent, we’ll price it for you and it’s yours to fix up as the sweetest ride in down (you have to find the cow somewhere else!)

Not a bike mechanic? Can’t fix that bike? That’s what’s so great about the Bike Co-op! Come in during open shop hours:

Sunday 12 – 6 p.m
Wednesday 2 – 5 p.m.
Friday 2 – 5 p.m.

(Come in early and try to be first in line!)

We’ll pair you up with one of our velonteer mechanics who will:
1) Work with you on a complete diagnosis of what needs fixin’;
2) Go over the quick fix details right now and start helping YOU to fix’em;
3) Work into the bigger issues and show you how to fix those as well.

What you pay:
$5/hour for the best open bike shop access in town (including tools, consumables and advice/tech mentoring)
$5, $10 and $15 for parts(as an example) depending on the age, condition and value of used parts (used/patched tubes, for example are $1-2 dollars; two good used tires might cost you $5-10; pedals $3-5; a nice new/used saddle $7; and a rear rack $15)

What you get:

Access to every bike tool you can think of including wheel and frame tools, power tools, drill press,etc.
Access to the largest stock of used parts this side of the front range at bargain basement prices;
Access to industrial parts washer
Access to new parts at comrade prices; some in stock,( basics) others we can order as you need them.
A road ready bike and a bunch of new-found knowledge to go with it!

Saturday, August 21st 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. We’ll be there selling bikes, parts, frames, forks, pedals. . . . for the sweetest ride in town!

(Oh yeah, did we mention? We sell dial-to-fit helmets for $10 US! That’s right – or bring the family and we’ll let you have 3 helmets for $25!)

The moisture and heat this summer have combined to make it a banner year for harvesting bicycles in Fort Collins. The result is:

 We’re holding a Sidewalk Bike Sale Extravaganza Saturday, August 21st from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.! At the Bike Co-op:   331 North College, Fort Collins, CO
 The Co-op will donate 50 kids bikes to Salud Family Clinic August 13;
 We’ll send 450 bicycles off to Ghana in a huge container Sept. 11;

Here’s a preview of inventory on hand and what you can look forward to at the Sale.

Brand new road-ready commuter bikes from KHS and refurbished cruiser and mountain bikes (20-25 bikes). Prices: $150-$400

Most bikes are project bikes for sale “as is.”
So you’re looking at frames, framesets, framesets with complete or incomplete parts groups, and/or with or without wheelsets, (If you’re looking to make the bike “ride ready”, Co-op open shop hours are always a bargain at $5 an hour Wed, Fri and Sunday.)

Vintage/Retro Mountain Bikes (15-20 bikes)
Brands: Gary Fisher, Lots of Diamondbacks, Trek, Jamis, Schwinn
Condition: Good to great condition frames with original paint jobs.
Some bikes are near complete. Most are just frames, or frames with headsets and seatposts. All frames have been inspected for damage and have had the alignment checked. Prices: $25-$150

Road bikes for sale as-is (10-15 bikes)
Brands: Panasonic, Miyata, Peugeot, Raleigh, Cannondale
Condition: Good to great condition frames with original paint jobs.
Most bikes are near complete. Many have complete component groups, but need significant tune-ups, i.e. complete servicing of all bearings.
All frames have been inspected for damage and have had the alignment checked.
Prices: $50-$250

Cruisers and 3-speeds (5-10 bikes)
Brands: Sun, Electra, Free spirit
Condition: Good condition frames with original or new paint jobs. Most bikes are near complete, but may need bearing system maintenance.
Prices: $50-$150

Fixed-gear project frames (10-15 bikes)
Brands: Puegeot, Schwinn, Bridgestone, Motobecane
Condition: Frames and framesets. All are steel frames with horizontal or semi-horizontal dropouts for singlespeed or fixed-gear projects.
Prices: $25-$75

Tour de Fat Frankenbikes
Looking for that frame, extra wheels, or cranks to build your Tour de Fat bike? Check out our $5 parts from our metal recycling bins!

Regular hours: Visit the Co-op web site: http://fcbikecoop.org/calendar.php

Sale: Saturday, Aug. 21 10 a.m. -4 p.m.

The Bike Co-op will offer a modular class in Bicycle Traffic Skills 101 – a Smart Cycling Sampler every Thursday evening beginning  February 25 and running through April 17 (a Saturday, when the Thursday evening classroom skills will be put to the test on a three-hour session on bikes).

Classes begin at 7 p.m. at the Bike Co-op at 331 North College Avenue and run an hour and a half.

(more…)