From Master Mike:
“Amaze your friends, attract members of the opposite sex, put
people to sleep at parties, finally get to be one of the cool kids.

The possibilities for both nerdiness and Fredness are limited
only by your imagination.

Each participant will be expected to purchase the hubs and rims
to complete one standard, old school, 32 or 36 spoke wheelset
(i.e. front and back wheels). You can use a rear hub with internal
gearing if you want to, but at least 32 spokes. We will also spend
some time singing “The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round”

If you miss a Saturday, or come in too late for that Saturday’s lecture,
you’re pretty much expected to dig out that information for yourself
from books or the internet. There are some handouts with a lot
of the pertinent information on measuring hubs, rims, and calculating
spoke lengths using an online Spoke calculating program.

This is not a cheaper way to get wheels. It is the way you get the
best quality, strongest, and most durable wheels for your bike.

It is also the only way you can get some specific hub and rim combinations.”

Details:
-Start time: 1pm
-Meeting point: SBK (1915 I Street)
-Duration: 3 hours

The distance is approximately 30 miles round trip over the causeway to Davis. There will be a visit to Rominger West winery for their last Saturday wine tasting event.

What to bring:
-Bike that can make the journey
-Water and snacks
-Flat repair kit

Come join us….should be fine weather for long ride.

Wheel truing: The True Is Out There

Saturday, January 21, 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM.

Suggested donation: $5 at the door.

10 seats available; e-mail register@sacbikekitchen.org to preregister.

Instructor: Michael Larmer.

Amaze your friends, entertain at parties, be one of the kewl kids!  At last, the secrets of wheel truing are revealed by one of the initiate. Your instructor has trued (and built and rebuilt) more wheels than he can recall (but at his age, he honestly recalls very little), having been forced by poverty and circumstance to spend the earliest years of his biking life riding around on other people’s cast off junk wheels.

This will be a one session class, and if you have a portable truing stand, it would be nice if you brought it with you.  Also, bring your own wheel or wheels as a practicum, otherwise you will be working on one of the many crappy wheels we have lying around in the shop.

Overhauling your hub

Saturday, January 28, 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM.

Suggested donation: $15 at the door.

4 seats available; e-mail register@sacbikekitchen.org to preregister.

Instructor: Mel Melvin.

Don’t be frightened of the inner workings of your bicycle.  Open that thing up and get greasy!  In this two-hour class you will take apart, clean, and re-pack your front hub.  This simple maintenance procedure will keep your wheels rollin’ smooth and fast.

First off is the Night Brite Bike Parade, Wednesday, December 21. It starts at 7:00 PM on M Street between 40th and 41st, but a few SBK volunteers will be ganging up at Luigi’s Slice at J and 20th at 4:00 for some pre-ride carb loading.  For more information, check out the Facebook event.

Second is the Capitol Cargo Cruise, a benefit for the River City Food Bank. Bring your most cargo-y bike — even if it’s just your polo bike and your back pockets — and help schlep a bunch of canned goods from Edible Pedal at 1712 Liestal Row (the alley behind Old Soul on L) down to the River City Food Bank. There’ll be a first ride around 9:00 AM to collect food from local collection bins and a second ride at 2:00 PM to take the collection down to the food bank. A full itinerary and food bank wish list is up at the ride’s Facebook event.

And of course, if you’d like to lend a hand painting or scrubbing or reorganizing our shop, fire off an e-mail to i...@sacbikekitchen.org and we’ll put your idle hands to good use!

This year, we’ll be closed for the week before and after Christmas. So if you need bike work, pop in to our last shift on Saturday, December 17, or you’ll have to wait until our next shift on Tuesday, January 3.

We’re also hoping to get some work and organization done on the shop over these two weeks, including a special painting day on December 26. E-mail i...@sacbikekitchen.org if you’d like to help swing a hammer, swipe a rag, work a brush, or rearrange the furniture. We’ll find something for you.

Update: Bicyclette! On Monday, December 19, will *not* be affected by the shutdown. Saturday, December 17 will still be our last general shift, but we’ll keep our doors open for the special women’s and LGBT shift.

• First, we’d all like to give thanks to Paul, who will be graciously running our Tuesday shift on November 22nd.
• Second, we’d like to give thanks to Vince and the crew behind the Appetite Enhancement Ride, providing the usual scads of food, libations, jams, bikes, camaraderie, and all-around awesomeness at the California Auto Museum on Thanksgiving morning, November 24th.
• Third, we’d like to give thanks to Mel for opening the shop for our normal Saturday shift on November 27th.

And of course, we’d like to give thanks to all of the volunteers, customers, and donors who have supported us over the last five years and counting. It’s very humbling to be a part of such a wonderful organization and bring such a unique service such a grateful community.

SBK Thanksgiving Week Hours:
Tuesday, Nov 22: Open 6pm – 9pm
Wednesday, Nov 23: Closed
Thursday, Nov 24: Closed
Friday, Nov 25 (day shift): Closed
Saturday, Nov 26: Open Noon – 4pm

-SBK

SBK Events

First, the cooler weather is inspiring even those of us who bike through fog and flood to take a break and spend some time indoors.  This means SBK’s public classes are rolling right along.  If you’re a prospective rider looking for tips on how to find a good bike on the Internet, a cyclist looking to start fixing your own flats, or an experienced roadie looking to repack your hub bearings, we’ve got the classes for you!  We’ve covered them here before, so check http://sacbikekitchen.org/2011/10/upcoming-classes/ for dates, details, and registration instructions.

Our monthly Shift Rides are chugging along, too.  This month, one of our Thursday shifts goes on the chopping block.  So Thursday, November 17th, come join us on a fun little ride from our shop.  The ride leaves at 6:00 PM, and like a true collective, we’ll hammer out the destination when we all assemble.  Bring a working bike (’cause we ain’t doin’ no wrenching), lights, and a fun attitude.

Other Events

Looking beyond our ivy-covered walls, the do-goodniks at the Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates are hosting VeloBall, their 20th anniversary party, on Saturday, November 19th, featuring a live auction, silent auction, bar, music, dancing, dinner, and a raging good time.  Check SABA’s web page at http://sacbike.org/veloball/ for tickets.  Word on the street is that they need volunteers to help with the event, too; if you’ve got a hand to lend, volunteer coordinator Larry Robinson will put it to use.

And of course, cooler weather means we can finally start digging that moth-eaten wool out of our closets and start getting ready for the Sacramento Tweed Ride, on Sunday, November 13. Rick Houston’s providing pretty frequent updates over at http://sactotweed.blogspot.com/, including the just-posted ride route, a slick poster, and a tie-in with next year’s NAHBS.

More SBK Events

If you still want your SBK fix, your favorites are still around.  We’re happily hosting our third Bicyclette! on Monday, November 21 at 6:00 PM.  This is a special shop shift open to all women, transgender, queer, femmes, and anyone else who has had gender bias, homophobia, or transphobia impede them from participating in bicycle mechanics.

And, of course, SBK Second Saturday this year is bringing in the big guns; we haven’t had some heavy rock ‘n’ roll in a while, so on November 12th, we’re bringing in 50 Watt Heavy to shake our walls and frighten our neighbors, after an acoustic set from Sherman Baker and an acoustic/rock ‘n’ roll set from Blame the Bishop. All with the same delicious beer you’ve come to expect from us for the last three years.

We’ll also be closed for Thanksgiving, but chances are you’ll see most of the usual suspects out at the Appetite Enhancement Ride.

Finally, a special congratulations to Core volunteers Doug and Emjay.  After years of helping us keep our shop going, we’re pleased as punch to be able to host their wedding this November, as well.  All of us around here wish you two all the best.  Now, we just need to find them a nice tandem…