Tag Archives: bikes

Aug 10 2014

Reserve Your Playa Bike Now

ginger bike repair

In the never-ending quest to bring convenience to Burners, theme camp Playa Bike Repair steps up. Now you can reserve a bike at Burning Man, and return it to them at the end. They will deal with the transportation and MOOP issues. Makes it a lot easier to come at the last minute and fly into the airport or catch the Burner Express. Reserve your bike here.

This year Playa Bike Repair are bringing a 1000-lb giant bicycle:

art bikeibis.600x400

 

Before Burning Man
We rent and sell Burningman bikes online.
We will transport your bike (any bike!)  from San Francsico to Black Rock CIty!  
Claim your bike at our camp at 9:00 Plaza!
Your online rental or purchase funds Playa Bike Repair!
 
Burning Man Bike RentalsIn Black Rock City 
We run a “Bike Lounge,” with a bar, music, shade, and tools.  
Mechanics drop in. Friendly, nurturing, and supportive, our mechanics would love to help you fix your bike!  
Last year over 3,000 bikes were repaired in our camp (Free!)  
Mechanics, please volunteer!   
 
After Burning Man
We transport and warehouse bikes.  

BIKE RENTALS

$200.00

We have a small quantity of rental bikes.
• Reserve your Burning Man bike online.
• Claim your bicycle at our camp at Burning Man, at 9:00 Plaza. We’re open from Sunday to Sunday, 11 am to 7 pm.
• Return the bicycle before Sunday, September 1 at 7 pm.  (Or at the very latest, 10:00 am on Monday, September 2.)
Pricing
To rent a bike for the entire event, including bike transport to/from the Playa:

 
$150 Tier 1 Bikes 000-099 Sold out
$175 Tier 2 Bikes 100-199 Sold out
$200 Tier 3 Bikes 200-299 Almost sold out.  Hurry!
$225 Tier 4 Bikes 300-399 Available
$250 Tier 5 Bikes 400-500 Available

Common Questions:

What’s the difference between Tiers?
Answer:  The bikes are the same, but the earlier you register the less you pay.

Can I pay for the bike online, and pick it up at your warehouse?  
Answer:  Sorry.  All our bikes are removed from the warehouse at once, loaded into a semi-trailer, then delivered to our Burning Man camp at 9:00 Plaza.  

Your support funds Playa Bike Repair!  Thank you!

They just purchased a brand new fleet of Electra Townies

They just purchased a brand new fleet of Electra Townies – 3 speed with front basket

Aug 4 2014

#1 Crime of the Summer: and Burning Man is an Accessory

bike moop…so says the Reno Gazette Journal, anyway. Bike theft has become a huge problem in Reno this summer, and Burning Man is getting blamed. Bike theft on the Playa has been a big problem for the last few years, too – even Burning Man acknowledges that. Lock up your bikes, people! Just because there is a culture of Gifting, doesn’t mean that there isn’t also a growing culture of Taking and Entitlement. Bike MOOP is also a growing problem, too, with thousands of bikes being abandoned on the Playa every year.

From the RGJ:

 

Police: Reno bike thefts up; suspected Burning Man link

Bike theft is the No. 1 property crime in Reno’s downtown corridor this summer, police say — and Burning Man could be an accessory.

bike-theftSummer temperatures and more people on bikes play a factor in the theft increase, Reno police Sgt. Dan Thompson said. But he said police sources also indicate there could be a link to Burning Man.

“It’s a timing thing,” Thompson said. “The only time we receive this volume each year is (the weeks) prior to the event,” which begins Aug. 25 and lasts for one week.

Bicycling is the main source of transportation at the event, held on the playa about 100 miles north of Reno.

Kevin Campbell, a Reno Bike Project mechanic, said the number of fliers for stolen bikes at the Reno Bike Project have outpaced those in previous years by a significant amount.

“There’s been a large string of bike thefts this year,” Campbell said. “It is actually really bad.”

Campbell attributed the rise in bike theft to more people riding bikes, whether as a result of the city’s emerging bike culture or favorable weather conditions, he said.

Campbell denied seeing a link between Burning Man and bike theft in Reno, and Burning Man spokesman Jim Graham agreed.

“This is the first I’ve heard of it,” Graham said.

YellowBikesThe Yellow Bike Program, a community bike program providing free-rental use, has been in existence for years to prevent bike theft at Burning Man, and the festival acknowledges the crime is an issue on the playa.

To catch bike thieves in Reno, the downtown enforcement team plants high-end bikes in the downtown district under officer surveillance.

“In year’s past, it has been successful,” Thompson said.

However, no one has taken the bait this year, Thompson said.

Using the right lock, most often a U-lock mounted to a sturdy base, ideally a bike rack, is the best way to combat theft, Campbell and Thompson said.

“Always lock your bike,” Campbell said. “Even if you are just running quickly inside a store, you don’t want to leave the bike unlocked. It takes less than 30 seconds to steal a bike.”

Thompson said people should also keep a record of their bike’s serial number.

 

Feb 7 2014

Here’s a Way You Can Make a Difference from Burning Man [Update]

We’ve been contacted by Loop Cycles, an organization that wants to donate Burner bikes to Africa once they’ve had a full Playa workout. Delivering nobility through mobility:

LOOP_Bike_02-1024x682My name is Lily and myself and some fellow Australian Burner friends have started an organisation this year called LOOP Cycles. We are supplying Custom designed bikes for Burning Man ordered online, that are picked up in Reno, and then returned to us after Burning Man. We then donate them to Namibia, Africa where they are re-cycled and re-purposed as a means of mobility.

Here is our website: www.loopcycles.org

We are very excited about the potential of this project and the positive impact it can make in Namibia. We also feel that it a is very unique way for Burners to extend the Burning Man way of GIFTING beyond the vicinity of Black Rock City…We want people to be able to personally make a difference 1 bike at a time!

  • LOOP CYCLES  

+1 310 893 4096

We’re happy to promote anything Burners can create out of Burning Man that makes a difference in the world, Loop Cycles probably doesn’t have tens of millions of dollars in their budget, but this initiative seems like it could be more impactful to someone’s life than a $150 scarf. Just sayin’…

[Update … Lily from Loop Cycles has visited us and explained further 2/7/14 7:26pm]

Hi guys. just a little more information about the project. Loop Cycles is not just ‘shipping these bikes off to Africa on a whim thinking we are saving the world. We have partnered up with an Organisation called Bicycles For Humanity who are an established grassroots movement and have been supplying bikes to developing countries for 7 years. If you check out their website (http://bicycles-for-humanity.org/) you can see the work that they have provided for the communities throughout Africa, not only providing mobility to healthcare workers, students and empowering females, but turning the containers into bike workshops. With tools, spare parts and comprehensive training material on bicycle maintenance it is designed to empower people and their communities with transportation and the means to maintain it. Nigel who runs the Namibia chapter lives there and works with these people all year round. He has developed an understanding of the needs of the community, and is working with them to improve their health and lives, not just dumping a whole lot of bikes on their door step as a token gesture. Hope this bit of information is helpful in understanding our goals at Loop Cycles and why we think this is a good idea.

…and in regards to the issue around bikes getting trashed, we have specifically designed this bike for its 2 lives. Firstly we have custom designed features of the bike to survive its duration in Black Rock City and endure the playa dust, and secondly we have worked very closely with LEKKER bikes and Bicycles For Humanity to design a bike that will also withstand the conditions of the kalahari desert. Luckily these two lives have similar needs…big thick tyres, limited amount of superfluous parts that can easily break, and no gears, single speed with back pedelling breaks. Also the bike has a steel frame as a key feature, allowing the community bike workshops in Namibia to easily weld extra parts onto the bikes, (eg. a day bed to carry patients) depending on the specific use of that bike. And with the Namibian communities receiving multiple of the same bike allows them to familiarize themselves with the parts, and easily fix anything that might be broken. Most bikes you buy for Burning Man are not designed for the desert, that’s why they are trashed by the end. But we have spent the time to make sure ours is!