Where to find a good bicycle-DIY/maintenance course

Astuaryking
Astuaryking Posts: 2
edited December 2016 in Workshop
Hello out there,

I suspect this is a pretty basic question for a lot of people on bikeradar, but does anyone know where I can find a good bicycle maintenance course? I live in Switzerland but travel around the UK and Europe a lot for business and also in search of sportives. I'm an OK rider, preferring road and a bit of gravel (I have a GT Grade 105), but one thing I don't know anything about is bike maintenance. Not so much the really simple stuff, but more issues like: how to mend and replace a broken spoke; how to readjust the spec of a bike to the specifics of a granfondo or sportive or day off-road in the mud or gravel; or even relatively simple stuff like understanding the benefit of intsalling a really good stem or bottom bracket or set of hubs. I'm bascially a bike novice in set-up terms, yet so few cycling mags or forums do pieces on how to set up and run a bike and maintain it oneself. Where do I start? And where do I go then?

Comments

  • giropaul
    giropaul Posts: 414
    Maybe start with your local bike shop, I know that several around here do basic maintenance events.
  • Tashman
    Tashman Posts: 3,400
    GCN tutorials on Youtube have been good for bits I've done
  • arthur_scrimshaw
    arthur_scrimshaw Posts: 2,596
    Buy the Park tools blue book, or go on their website for tutorials

    http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help
  • Sutton_Rider
    Sutton_Rider Posts: 493
    The Bike Inn at Spalding Lincolnshire. http://www.bike-inn.co.uk/training_dates.asp
  • The Rookie
    The Rookie Posts: 27,812
    Strip and rebuild your bike, jobs learnt!
    Currently riding a Whyte T130C, X0 drivetrain, Magura Trail brakes converted to mixed wheel size (homebuilt wheels) with 140mm Fox 34 Rhythm and RP23 suspension. 12.2Kg.
  • neil h
    neil h Posts: 499
    The Rookie wrote:
    Strip and rebuild your bike, jobs learnt!

    Pretty much this, I learnt the bulk of what I know about bikes through the Internet and building a bike from scratch.
  • Man Of Lard
    Man Of Lard Posts: 903
    Arthur Scrimshaw wrote:
    Buy the Park tools blue book, or go on their website for tutorials

    http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help

    The Rookie wrote:
    Strip and rebuild your bike, jobs learnt!

    Those.
  • SME
    SME Posts: 348
    Man Of Lard wrote:
    Arthur Scrimshaw wrote:
    Buy the Park tools blue book, or go on their website for tutorials

    http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help

    The Rookie wrote:
    Strip and rebuild your bike, jobs learnt!

    Those.

    Yep, seconded (or third'ed?).
    I've learnt bike maintenance by doing all the jobs as they need doing and finding out how to do them. You may have to buy some specialist tools for some jobs, but if you stay cycling you'll end up using them again... and again... !

    My son recently wanted to upgrade to 10speed Tiagra from his old 7speed freewheel set-up for the absolute cheapest way possible. I ended up re-building his back wheel with a suitable hub in it. So anything is possible.

    If you want courses (maybe just a confidence builder?), I've just received an e-mail from Evans Cycles re. a Silver service... Whilst browsing this I noticed they do a 'Fixit' course - haven't delved into it, but it may be worth considering.

    Steve
  • CiB
    CiB Posts: 6,098
    Man Of Lard wrote:
    Arthur Scrimshaw wrote:
    Buy the Park tools blue book, or go on their website for tutorials

    http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help

    The Rookie wrote:
    Strip and rebuild your bike, jobs learnt!

    Those.
    Yup, this. There's virtually nothing on a bike that isn't the simplest piece of engineering known to man; simple levers, ratchets, threaded bars, cogs driven by chains. The odd bit might need a special tool but they cost a tenner from a shop, and are easy to use.

    Stripping cleaning and rebuilding a bike is the best way to demystify it all and learn how easy it all is.

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