**Please Note No Classes Will Be Held On March 23**
Adult Bicycle Education Series
Sunday Afternoons March 9th - April 13th
Followed by our new Sunday Open Lab and drop in hours from 2-6 PM Sign Up Here
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The Objective of this Class series is to give students ages 18 and up a greater understanding of their own bicycle with plenty of time to grasp the material covered in the class.
- We feel that one of the most important aspects of learning about bicycle maintenance is using the correct terminology to describe tools and bicycle components. Throughout
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Each 2 hour class will focus on each system of the bicycle in much greater depth than our regular weekly drop in program allows.
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During this class there will be no customers, energetic kids or loud music distracting you from your project.
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Classes will be no larger than 9 students at a time with no more than 3 students per instructor.
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Students that participate in all 5 Classes will have completely overhauled and tuned their own bicycle. Most bike shops would charge you at least $50.00 to do this! Why not learn to do it yourself!? You will feel more confident about riding your bicycle if you know how to spot potential problems before they arise!
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While we do recommend taking advantage of the entire 5 class series, it is possible to pick and choose classes and not fall behind the rest of the class. If you have scheduling issues and have to miss a class you can sign up for that class during the next series.
Curriculum:
The class series will be divided into units that cover each major system on a bicycle.
1. Sunday March 9th: Tires, Tubes, Hubs and Front Wheels
In this first class we will begin by learning to check for signs of wear and decide when it is time to change-out a tire. We will talk about the different tire styles, the benefits and drawbacks to certain tires, the correct way to change an inner tube and how to fix a flat.
We will then learn about the inner workings of the front hub. We will cover techniques for spoting signs of wear and how to judge when the hub needs to be adjusted or serviced. We will demonstrate how to take a front hub apart, check the different pieces for damage, and learn how to “repack” fresh grease and bearings. Learn how to adjust your hub properly for the longevity of the wheel and for smooth, friction-free rolling!
2. Sunday March 16th: Drive trains
We will learn about the different components that make up our “drive train”. We will learn how to disassemble it, how to properly care for it, how to look, listen, and feel for wear and decide when it is time to replace part or all of it. We will learn about cassettes and freewheels (discussing their advantages and disadvantages), chain rings and chains. We will also have the opportunity to repack our rear hubs (building on our knowledge gained during week 1) since we will be removing the rear gear cluster. Get the most out of your pedal power by treating your drive train right!
3. SundayMarch 30th: Shifters and Gears
In this class we will demystify the sometimes intimidating shifter and derailleur. We will cover shifter cables and cable housing and how to properly install them.We will learn to identify, different types of derailleurs and how they are installed and tuned. We will discuss different shifters types, friction and indexed shifting. Eliminate all the skipping, popping and frustration that your shifting systems can give you!
4. Sunday April 6th: Bottom Brackets and Headsets (and stems and handlebars)
We will learn how to know when a bottom bracket and/or headset needs to be adjusted and when it needs to be overhauled. Well We will learn how to take these systems apart and how to service and reinstall them. We will discuss both the older and newer industry standards for bottom brackets and headsets. We will also briefly talk about stems and handlebars, when and how one or both should be swapped out for a different set-up.What is a bottom bracket and a headset you ask?? These are arguably the most important systems on a bicycle so don’t miss this class!
5. Sunday April 13th: Brakes
Here we will learn about the different brakes, how to adjust them, when it is time to replace brake pads and how to replace old cables and cable housing. We will also discuss ways to trouble shoot “mushy” brakes, “squeaky” brakes, and brakes that just don’t work well. Stop rolling through red lights because of improperly adjusted brakes. Tell the bike when to stop not the other way around!
Sign Up Here
Components we will not cover in this class series:
Cottered cranks
Disc brakes
Drum brakes
Internal geared hubs (Sturmey archer, nexus, etc)