Bike Maintenance Workshop - help

[Clydesdale]

Short story - Local High School does a workshop day for teachers and asked me to do a basic bike maintenance class. I have a little under an hour and most of the people will be very recreational riders at most. They won't be working on their bikes, just watching and listening I think.

I'm thinking...

Tires (checking, inflating, replacing)
Chain maintenance (cleaning and lube)
Brakes - types and adjustment basics
Control - HS and stem checks
Checking cables, Derailleur basics and simple rear adjustment


Identifying problems for shop repair

Basic Tool kit - (If Time)

Very Simple Fit Basics (If time)



What would you add/subtract or do differently?

[AngryScientist]

one thing i would cover is gearing and tire pressure.

anyone over the age of 35 who has not been following along probably thinks that 120 psi in 23c tires and 53/39 gearing is what's normal for road bikes.

doing a hilly ride with tire pressure like that and way overgeared will make most people give up and not want to ride. knowing that there is more reasonable gearing and realistic tire pressures can make riding a lot more manageable/enjoyable for a lot of the recreational cycling population.

[zennmotion]

Short story - Local High School does a workshop day for teachers and asked me to do a basic bike maintenance class. I have a little under an hour and most of the people will be very recreational riders at most. They won't be working on their bikes, just watching and listening I think.

I'm thinking...

Tires (checking, inflating, replacing)
Chain maintenance (cleaning and lube)
Brakes - types and adjustment basics
Control - HS and stem checks
Checking cables, Derailleur basics and simple rear adjustment


Identifying problems for shop repair

Basic Tool kit - (If Time)

Very Simple Fit Basics (If time)



What would you add/subtract or do differently?

As an adult trainer (of the learning kind not the gym rat kind) this looks pretty limited in utility unless it's hands on. The transfer won't stick without immediate practice on their bikes, then it's just entertainment not learning, it'll be forgotten by the end of the day. I would take a few minutes to talk about a sfety checklist (give them the list along with a minimal tool list), bike fit (another handout) and research some good online sources for the other stuff that they can refer to when they're with their bike (another handout with links including PaceLine :)). And for the rest of the session, I would go with a bunch of wheels and punctured tubes and have them all remove, patch and replace a tube. This is the most important skill IMO. They can work in small groups of 2 or 3, your job is to make sure they all get in there, and randomize the groups by counting off so people mix with folks they may not be familiar with. If you have some "expert" tube changers identified in the beginning, spread them out and use them as helpers/trainers so they don't get bored, but make a rule that they let the non experts actually do the work, the experts do the coaching, not doing. Watch the gender dynamic, boyz often take over or "direct", facilitate participation so all the group members are active. That would be a good training session IMO.

[likebikes]

that sounds like a lot for a little under an hour. i'd pick one of those topics instead of all.

[zennmotion]

one thing i would cover is gearing and tire pressure.

anyone over the age of 35 who has not been following along probably thinks that 120 psi in 23c tires and 53/39 gearing is what's normal for road bikes.

doing a hilly ride with tire pressure like that and way overgeared will make most people give up and not want to ride. knowing that there is more reasonable gearing and realistic tire pressures can make riding a lot more manageable/enjoyable for a lot of the recreational cycling population.


I hear you on gearing, but this is one that people don't get until they're on the bike. 80 rpm is a pretty good cadence to start with (not clipped in, loose clothing, newbie riders). So when talking about the gears, use 80 rpm as the benchmark to try hit on varying terrain. So what does 80 rpm feel like? Ask your local spinning instructor!:hello: Or google search "pop music, 80 beats per minute" and there's lists of them. For the session, choose one that will resonate with your group (The Beatles "I'm a Believer" is 80bpm, OK so I'm old...) Put the Beatles or whatever into your pedal mojo and crank up them hills! I'd bring an MP3 to the session and play it during the tube changing part. Learning is like a bike race, to be successful ya gotta make it stick!

[thunderworks]

IMO, punt the discussion of gearing, cadence, etc. Nominally interested recreational cyclist at best, won't retain much or any of it.

I would carefully explain and demonstrate the use of quick releases. I owned a bike shop for years and in my experience, learning to use QR skewers escapes most "non-enthusiasts" and is clearly vital from a safety perspective.

YMMV
R.

[AngryScientist]

I hear you on gearing, but this is one that people don't get until they're on the bike. 80 rpm is a pretty good cadence to start with (not clipped in, loose clothing, newbie riders). So when talking about the gears, use 80 rpm as the benchmark to try hit on varying terrain. So what does 80 rpm feel like? Ask your local spinning instructor!:hello: Or google search "pop music, 80 beats per minute" and there's lists of them. For the session, choose one that will resonate with your group (The Beatles "I'm a Believer" is 80bpm, OK so I'm old...) Put the Beatles or whatever into your pedal mojo and crank up them hills! I'd bring an MP3 to the session and play it during the tube changing part. Learning is like a bike race, to be successful ya gotta make it stick!

too specific for recreational level cyclists, i would not even mention the word cadence, just the simple fact that shorter gears are easier to get up hills and lower tire pressure is less teeth rattling.

[slowpoke]

IMO, punt the discussion of gearing, cadence, etc. Nominally interested recreational cyclist at best, won't retain much or any of it.

I would carefully explain and demonstrate the use of quick releases. I owned a bike shop for years and in my experience, learning to use QR skewers escapes most "non-enthusiasts" and is clearly vital from a safety perspective.

YMMV
R.

Agree 100%.

- proper QR usage
- replacing a tube/fixing a flat (this can easily take 30 min depending on the group)
- proper locking of your bike (see too many U-locks through the front wheel)

[OldCrank]

Is there any way to ask them what they'd like to hear?

We're in a rarefied zone here. I'm guessing many of these teachers own an underused Target bike. It's been working mostly fine for the 100 miles they've put on in the last decade.

Except that one teacher with a Tarmac who spends too much time on Strava...:eek:

[Clydesdale]

Good catch on the quick release. That's a great idea. So obvious it's non-obvious.

[cmbicycles]

I would say create and go over a pre-ride safety (and/or maintenance) checklist or routine, talk about riding safely with traffic, show them how to fix a flat and take wheels on and off the bike. Provide a list of resources (league of American bicyclists, Park tools website, local cycling groups/shops/rides). Keep it fun and up beat, maybe have a race to see who can adjust and put on a helmet the right way, or get them to ride kids size bikes around an obstacle course. Talk to a local shop about providing some swag to bring them into the shop (if you have a decent one nearby).

An hour is not a lot of time, but you could maybe talk about putting bikes on a bike rack too. If they aren't comfortable fixing anything noticed on the pre-ride checklist, "when in doubt, refer out," meaning look at the park tools website (or similar) or take it to a bike shop. Many specific repair topics would be too technical, IME, for an hour class.

[cadence90]

.... ..

[AngryScientist]

Local High School does a workshop day for teachers and asked me to do a basic bike maintenance class.

can you clarify -

is the workshop for teachers, or presented by teachers for HS students?

[Kontact]

For the majority of people, the biggest problems come from taking off and then trying to reinstall wheels - which often comes as the result of a flat tire.

I would do a demo where I patched a rear tube, then put the nutted and QR rear wheel back in the bike showing how to deal with the chain, getting the rear wheel in square and checking shifting and brake centering afterwards.

That would easily cover an hour and address most home maintenance concerns as you come to them.


I don't think most people riding bikes suffer from overinflated tires. We're the ones that do that. Most bike riders forget to fill their tires at all.

[Clydesdale]

So the workshop is for teachers, who had the option to choose it as one among many. It was billed specifically as basic bike maintenance so I would be changing the premise to talk riding guidelines, etc. It may come up, but I don't think I can do much with it without changing the workshop.

Agree on tires and wheel stuff, but hoping to at least add a couple other things if possible. I'll report back how it goes.

[cadence90]

.... ..

[OtayBW]

I would demonstrate how to properly clamp a top tube in a workstand!!!!! :eek: ;)

[benb]

I'd just spend the entire time on how to change a tire.

See if you can get each participant to change 3 tires so maybe it sticks. That'd require taking a bunch of wheels and recruiting a few of your cyclist friends to help with the hands on part.

The worst thing that seems to happen to casual cyclists around where I live is getting charged $25-30 labor + $10 parts (tube) + taxes for changing the tube in a flat tire at the LBS.

Of course it probably keeps the LBS in business too.

I would totally punt on trying to patch a tube. That's for old super hard core riders who are trying to penny pinch. There is no way patching tubes is worth it for me to save a tiny amount of money ($10?) when I've already spent thousands on cycling. (Plus having very poor luck with patches in the past.)

That's me though. I get about 1 flat every 5000 miles.

[Tim Porter]

I'd try for some catchy theme to get their attention, such as "Five (or three or whatever) Things that can hurt you if you get it wrong". QRs, Stem/Handlebar tightening, etc., etc.