Intermediate Bike Maintenance

All participants must be 16+ to attend this course. If the attendee is between 16 and 18 and will not be accompanied by an adult, please contact us before you book.

Our Intermediate course is suitable for those who have already attended our Basic Bike Maintenance course or otherwise know the basics about their bike e.g. can carry out a general check, remove/replace a wheel, repair a puncture and clean and lubricate in the right places. We encourage you to bring your own bike along.

We will be adding more dates soon, so please check back if you can't find a date and time that works for you.

We will provide examples of different brake types and discuss the differences in their mechanisms. The tutor will demonstrate how to remove, replace and align brake pads; how to centre your brakes; how to adjust cable tension; and how to replace cables. You will then have the opportunity to practise some of these tasks on your own bike. For those of you with hydraulic disc brakes, we will look at the similarities and differences to rim brakes, how to adjust and centre your brakes and how to replace pads. We’ll talk through the principles of bleeding hydraulic disc brakes (but this is not a practical brake bleeding session).

We will then look at how gears work and discuss common problems. The tutor will demonstrate how and where to check for wear and tear including whether the chain/cassette is worn and what condition the cables and housing are in, followed by how to replace the chain, cassette and cables. We will cover how and where to inspect the components for damage, how to set the limit screws, how to correctly set the position of a front mech and how to index your gears by adjusting the cable tension. There will then be the opportunity for you to spend time practising some of these skills on your own bike.

Please note that certain components, including those for electric bikes, hub gears, internal cable routing, and electronic shifting, are beyond the scope of the course / time available, but we will be able to provide an alternative bike to practice the course activities on when required.

There will be a 30 minute break for lunch. Please bring a packed lunch as there are not many local lunch options.

This session will take place indoors inside the Leeds Bike Mill workshop.

You will each have your own workstand and set of tools . We will provide nitrile gloves or barrier cream, and aprons. Toilet and handwashing facilities are available. You will be on your feet for quite a bit of the day but there are stools available if you prefer to sit down whilst watching demonstrations.

If you use reading glasses we recommend bringing these along as some of the work is very close up and detailed.

Please bear in mind that in winter our workshop can get very cold. We do our best to heat the space but we recommend wearing multiple layersfor comfort.

Please remember to:

• wear clothes you don't mind getting mucky and make sure you have a warm layer if the weather is cold
• wear footwear suitable for a workshop (no open-toed sandals)
• bring your own bike (or let us know if you wish to use one of ours)

The course will take place at Leeds Bike Mill's workshop. Check our website for help with directions. Please aim to arrive ten minutes before so that we can start on time.

There is free car parking outside the workshop, which is available on a first come first served basis; unfortunately we cannot reserve car parking for our students.

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