Bike Smart Bicycle Commuting Class 2/1/12

Tampa Bay Bike Co-Op — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 21:18:47 +0000

Ever wanted to learn the ins and outs of commuting by bike? Get more comfortable traversing Bay Area roads on two wheels by coming out to a workshop by Bike Smart Tampa Bay and the Tampa Bay Bike Co-op. The goal is to increase awareness about bicycle safety and teach bike riders about a variety of topics, including:

bicycle laws
lane positioning
route selection
nutrition
dealing with cargo and clothing
bike parking
foul weather riding

Each participant will receive a set of bicycle lights and reflective gear for night riding. The workshop will be held on Wednesday, February 1st from 7:30-9:00 pm at the Co-op. Class size is limited to 12 people. RSVP at bikesmartclass@gmail.com or by calling 813-974-9215.

Holiday Hours!

Tampa Bay Bike Co-Op — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 20:45:17 +0000

We are only open two days a week yet shop days seem to land on a disproportionate amount of holidays. We actually looked at a calendar this season to see when we might be closed this holiday season. With the exception of the day after christmas, our holiday hours will be free of any closings. If you’ve got friends or family in town and want to show them what a community bike shop looks like, bring them in!

Thanksgiving-ish, Wednesday November 23rd: OPEN!

It’s the day before Thanksgiving. While it’s not an official holiday, it’s traditionally recognized by bringing your favorite teaching mechanic a tasty meal.

Christmas-ish, Monday December 26: CLOSED!

Christmas falls on a Sunday and we are going to take the following day off. The day after Christmas is a far better day to ride bikes than work on them.

New Years Eve/Day-ish Monday Jan 2:

New years day falls on a Sunday. On Monday, we will be turning wrenches and breaking new years resolutions.

It’s Cyclocross Season!

Tampa Bay Bike Co-Op — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 18:33:20 +0000

The daily highs are starting to creep down to the low 80′s which means it’s WINTER! …which means IT”S CYCLOCROSS SEASON! We will be set up at Tampa’s only official cx race, Kelbycross, on Sunday the 27th, joining in on the fun and helping out where we can.

If you’ve never heard of the sport, it’s a competition involving road bike l00k-a-likes with knobby tires run around a short course(1 mile-ish) peppered with sections of dirt, asphalt, sand and short (18″) hurdles. For 30-45 minutes per race, participants do laps on the course- all bent on exhausting themselves while having a great time . If you just want to come out and watch, giving the riders positive (or extremely negative) re-enforcement is a pretty great way to spend a couple hours.

Do you have more questions or want to set up your mountain bike or old hybrid for your first race? Come see us tonight at 6 or Wednesday at 7! We’ll talk “cross” with you or help you fix whatever bike problem you can throw at us.

In the spirit of the season, we would really like to build up some cyclocross-ready bikes to make it easier for someone to get into the sport. To that end, we will have a tent at the race, collecting old mountain or hybrid bikes and parts to build for intrepid soon to be cyclocross racers.

If you have parts or frames that you are not using any more, we would love to re-purpose them! As an added bonus, if you bring them straight to the bike co-op we will give you a FREE FLIER for the kelby cross race.

See you tonight!

2nd Annual Labor Day cookout!

Tampa Bay Bike Co-Op — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 15:43:57 +0000

We are going to be working on bikes anyways, we may as well keep the tradition going and heat up the grill! There will be food for meaties and veggies alike so bring a bike, an appetite or both. We’ll see you at 6!

Note: Since our mechanics will mostly be involved with the technical side of both grilling and eating, the help provided will be limited to basic maintenance issues (like changing brake pads or simple cable adjustments). If you need help with more major work we will be fully prepared on Wednesday. If you have major work and don’t need help, we will have the stands open the the tools out.

Co-op Closed Tomorrow, August 17th

Tampa Bay Bike Co-Op — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 17:43:27 +0000

We’ll be closed tomorrow, August 17th in honor of David Horst’s 30th birthday. If you know him you know how hard he’s worked to keep the co-op alive, and we thought he deserved a night off. Swing by Fly Bar that night if you’d like to give him your well wishes. Thanks!

Monday is July 4th!

Tampa Bay Bike Co-Op — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 15:07:02 +0000

and we’re going to be riding bikes, but not-so-much working on them. We’ll see you at 7 on Wednesday!

Shop closed for Memorial Day

Tampa Bay Bike Co-Op — Mon, 30 May 2011 13:10:16 +0000

We know some of you want to do bike work today, but most of you don’t. We are closed today in observance of Memorial Day.

We’ll be open again on Wednesday, June 1st. See you then!

Co-op closed Wednesday 5/18 for Ride of Silence

Tampa Bay Bike Co-Op — Wed, 18 May 2011 14:22:21 +0000

We sent this to our email list and our facebook page but forgot to update it here.
The co-op will be closed this Wednesday, May 18, 2011 so staff may participate in the Ride of Silence. We encourage you to join us to remember fallen cyclists and show your support.

Tampa Ride of Silence (Downtown)
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
6:30 p.m.
Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park

Tampa Ride of Silence (USF)
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
6:30 p.m.
USF Tampa Botanical Gardens
Helmets and lights are required for the ride.

More details about The Ride of Silence can be found here on their website

Wednesday hours and Tampa Criterium this Saturday

Tampa Bay Bike Co-Op — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 03:05:58 +0000

Just wanted to bring two things to everyones attention:

First, thanks to some new volunteer support, the co-op is now officially open again on Wednesdays from 7-9:30 p.m. We hope that the additional night will better serve our members, friends and hopefully some new folks. We still need a couple extra hands, so contact us or stop on by.

Also, this upcoming Saturday, March 26, is the Third Annual Cigar City Brewing Criterium from 10-8 or so in downtown Tampa. If you’ve never seen amateur and semi-pro bike racing, you should really make an effort to swing by. The co-op will be talking with folks and doing minor repairs throughout the day. If you would like to volunteer and help out, please reply to our email address and let us know your coming. If you’ve been wanting to find out what the co-op is really all about, stop on by our tent in Gaslight Park. The TBBC has been a part of the crit since its inception, and it’s been a fun time every year. More details can be found at http://www.tampacrit.com

Hope to see everyone soon.

Get out and ride your bike!

You want Wednesdays and we want Wednesdays

Tampa Bay Bike Co-Op — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 19:12:29 +0000

Wednesday shop hours were suspended several months back due to little or no attendance. Recently we’ve been getting requests to open the shop again on Wednesdays.

We have a senior staff member/mechanic who can be there, and all we need is a small volunteer commitment to make it happen. We need a minimum of 4 volunteers to commit to one Wednesday a month from 6 to 9:30 p.m. Even more hands would be better, but we need a minimum of two people to keep the shop open for safety (and sanity) reasons.

You don’t have to be a mechanic to volunteer, just a positive attitude and a willingness to learn while helping clients. If you are an automysophobiac, this may not be the job for you. Raise your hand, drop us an email, get ready for some fun and help your fellow cyclists.