Maintainance Course

[Sig SilverPrinter]

Anybody done or know of any maintainance courses in London ?
I am a bit cr@p at that sort of thing and figure i should learn how to do things right.

 

[mickle]

I seem to recall someone mentioning that CTUK are running classes now.

 

[robz400]

Do what i do, get home take the part you want to learn about to bits, then attempt to reassemble using guides on the internet.

an entire evening of swearing and beginning to wonder if i'd ever ride my brand new bike again, and i've got perfectly working gears and the knowledge to adjust them.

Then do the same with brakes etc... None of it is particully difficult if you concentrate. and you will cos after all if you've taken your brakes to pieces and you fail to rebuild them, your morning commute will be errr.... exciting

Just stick some music on, make some tea and you'll soon be totally engrossed. if the misses complains you can deflect using the standard 'safety arguement' that i've found works for all things cycle related

 

[Sig SilverPrinter]

. if the misses complains you can deflect using the standard 'safety arguement' that i've found works for all things cycle related

I am the mrs

I don't think I would be very confident taking my bike apart I need someone to show me what to do

 

[robz400]

I am the mrs

Whoops, theres a foot in mouth moment!

you'll be fine, start with something simple and your confidence will grow quickly. If your happy with taking wheels off and putting them back on move onto adjusting the brakes etc,

another way is to look up how to do a simple service, eg oiling the cables etc, you don't have to strip anything but just getting to know all the parts will give you more confidence.

Don't get carried away though i still have a m/cycle that i attempeted to replace the engine in and somehow buggered the electrics and its never worked since

 

[Pedro]

I did one of the CTUK training courses a couple of months ago and found it quite useful. It only cost £5 as I work in the city and the council subsidised it. From what I can remember we went through the following:
Adjusting seat/handlebars so as the bike fits
Fixing a puncture
Changing the brake pads
Replacing the brake & gear cables

The course assumes no prior knowledge (slightly annoying, but there were people who couldn't remove their wheels), but in my opinion you can't go too far wrong for a fiver!

 

[theboytaylor]

+1 @ Pedro

I've recently done both the CTUK Basic and the Intermediate courses and have found them really useful. I'm pretty confident of being able to tackle almost any issue with my bike now, or at least use the knowledge I have gained to be able to have a meaningful conversation about it with the workshop bods at my LBS.

Here's a link:
http://www.cycletraining.co.uk/training/individual_training.php#maintenance

 

[Sig SilverPrinter]

Don't get carried away though i still have a m/cycle that i attempeted to replace the engine in and somehow buggered the electrics and its never worked since

Thats my brothers domain hes forever taking his V-Max to bits and rebuilding/modifying it, the back wheel on it is ridiculously wide.

This is what I worry about doing to my bike that I'll tinker with it and won't know how to put it back.
Are the CTUK courses only in SE16 ?
I am in the borough of havering so east london/essex

 

[fossyant]

Bikes are dead simple mechanical things - A few words of advice - never ever dismantle a mech (other than servicing the jockey wheels) or an STI/Ergo unit - if bust replace it..... same with cartridge BB's - just get a new one !!!

Also get the right tool.... !!!

 

[Maizie]

The CTUK Basic course sounds like exactly what I want...anybody know how easy (or not) it is to get to the location from Liverpool Street station for someone who has never cycled in London and finds the prospect a bit scary? And I've never driven in London, I train, tube and walk the capital, that's it...

Or alternatively, anybody know a similar course in Cambridge? Or anywhere along the Liverpool Street to Cambridge railway line, as I live about halfway along it...?

Edited to add: OK just looked it up on a proper map and it turns out it's only 2.5 miles from Liverpool Street station to the CTUK venue - push comes to shove, I could walk the bike that far

 

[Sig SilverPrinter]

Hi Maizie if we both did it on the same day we could cycle from Liverpool St together I didn't realise it wasn't that far from there

 

[soulful dog]

I hope to try the Edinburgh Cycle Co-Op one sometime next year, and as someone who'd be incredibly nervous about taking any part of my bike to bits in case I couldn't fit it together again, I'd love to hear how you get on with the CTUK course if you go ahead with it.

 

[Headgardener]

Erm! On the subject of maintainance courses does anybody know of any in the Southampton/New Forest area? I don't drive so it would need to be fairly easy to get to.

 

[theboytaylor]

The CTUK Basic course sounds like exactly what I want...

Edited to add: OK just looked it up on a proper map and it turns out it's only 2.5 miles from Liverpool Street station to the CTUK venue - push comes to shove, I could walk the bike that far

I think this will be a fine ride. On a Saturday morning I don't think it would be very busy at all. I used to work nr Liverpool St and I commuted home thru Bermondsey - I would ride south down Bishopsgate, over London Bridge and then east along Tooley St towards Bermondsey.

Go for it!

 

[Maizie]

Hi Maizie if we both did it on the same day we could cycle from Liverpool St together I didn't realise it wasn't that far from there

Ooooh, that would be a nice idea! And I'd at least know a name before I got to the place...(*goes off to look at dates and check the map again*)