Bike Maintenance

Although I've almost always had a bike I've never maintained one myself.  My dad, when I was younger, and, latterly, bike shops were tasked with this.  I always have some basic tools and know the sequence to deal with punctures but I have never actually had to do it myself.  I think that is due to a combination of my being a fairweather cyclist, i.e. not cycling huge distances in all conditions, and having regular bike maintenance. 

My dad is great at regularly checking through our bikes to make sure they are running well.  He still makes a point of checking my bike whenever he is visiting.  Since leaving home I have gotten into the habit of taking my bike to a bike shop at regular intervals for maintenance.  It does cost but if I am to use it on the road then it needs to be in shape for that purpose.  I thought it would be too difficult to do it myself.  I read books on the subject but with manual tasks- getting the right tension, the right torque, the correct alignment, knowing what things should sound like, etc- there is an advantage to being shown.  With life being so busy it was easier to let someone else deal with it than learn myself.

Recently, I  attended a free bike maintenance workshop at Evans Cycle.  The workshop occurs one evening every two months.  It caught my eye as it was run at a convenient time- 8 to 10 p.m. in the shop near me- one evening during the week.   It takes 2 hours and you practice on your own bike.  There are two instructors to a maximum of 6 learners (there were only 3 of us at the course) and you are taken through basic bike maintenance.  I enjoyed it a lot and learned a lot.  The instructors were friendly, knowledgeable and didn't push anyone to purchase anything on the night.  

I also benefited from the experience of my fellow learners.  One of them had had an accident recently and because he didn't check his bike properly after the event he had a second accident soon after when a misaligned part caught his wheel spokes while he was changing gears.  The instructors went through his problem and a list of things to check if we were to have an accident on our bikes.  

I enjoyed being on the workshop and am now confident to tackle a few things myself.  Its worth checking it out if you need some help looking after your bike.