So now that riding is decidedly on the downturn (boo!) I wanted to put out feelers if there is any interest in MCT hosting a beginner bike mechanics/maintenance clinic.
Ideally, covering items like flat tire changing, cleaning/maintaining drivetrains, cabling replacement, derailleur tuneups, torquing parts, brake tuneups (pad wear, caliper setup, caliper centering).
My proposal is that someone “loan” a bike that is in some major need of TLC/tuning and we run through all of the various tasks.
Signup thingy:
[signup type=multiple]
I would be interested in helping to facilitate - I’ve been wrenching for 4 years now and have a bunch of the basic tools.
Also available to help out or host.
My commuter bike is definitely in need of some love. Lots of love. Don’t know if you’d prefer to have a nice bike, but the perks of this one is that you can really wail on it and do whatever you want (and pretty much risk all for the sake of demonstration).
Depending on the turnout I think we might want a few people wrenching on a couple of bikes.
I don’t think 12+ people crowded around 1 bike would be a great learning experience.
Commuter is fine, but I think we should have at least 1 “modern” road bike with newer a newer road groupset just to show how to adjust pads/caliper centering/etc on the modern stuff most people are running these days.
Ok, we’ll my commuter calls being one of the sacrificial lambs!
I would be fine with my road bike getting some attention. I’m sure it needs it.
I don’t have enough room to host a multi-bike type of thing, For a hands on clinic, I think the best would be to borrow the flat’s room or something like that.
And this is the kind of thing that should happen before the snow. Coz nobody wants to work on a frozen bike full of slush.
@lackstein, are you still able to host at your place? ~20 peeps at my place will be awfully crowded but I may be able to manage with some re-arranging.
@Jonathan I like the idea of a hands on thing with lot sof but that might get complicated with lack of tools, etc. I’ll see about using the Flat ASAP. Would you and Riley (@no1inparticular) be able to help out with that? The flat has regular Mon-Tue-Thurs hours so maybe we could get the space for next wed?
-J
Yeah I’m able to host.
This sounds like a good idea for maintenance stuff. I’m also wondering if the MCT bike mechanic experts would be willing to add a bigger project to these noob bike clinics since I have a new frame that needs to have the full 105 10 speed groupset and other pieces installed. If the price is less than a bike shop and it can serve as a MCT clinic, any interest in setting the bike up? I have a garage with 1 bike stand to help host but don’t have all the bike tools.
That sounds cool - frame build-ups are a blast.
On the other hand frame builds are at least an hour if you’re fast and pushing it. And that’s assuming the BB, breaks and derailleurs are already installed, so as a teaching project, I’d assume 4-5 hours.
We’d done a much less hands-on version last fall, I think it was 2 hours, maybe 3 and we basically covered flats, front and rear derailleur adjustments and brakes, maybe changing chains, as well as regular maintenance, and useful tools to have.
Also, if we did it at the flat, we’d have tools. On the other hand, if it’s a beginner oriented clinic, it’s not bad to learn how to use the tools everyone should have, so multi-tool and tire levers, not much else, so tools aren’t that much of an issue. It is real nice having multiple stands though.
I also have a stand, but I’m not that excited about biking with it, so unless someone’s willing to drive it around, I’d leave it at home.
And due to other team commitments, I’m limited to Monday, Wednesday or Friday evenings. Or somewhat week-ends.
I think the time required and volume of information conveyed for a full bike build is prohibitive. Retention would probably be poor too, and most people really don’t need to service their cranks. It’s also something you can’t do without a high-range torque wrench anyway.
I pinged the flat and they will figure out what they can do. ~20 people is turning into a big affair.
Depending on how things go we can always break out to cover more advanced topics.
[signup type=multiple]
Ok. So the flat finally got back to me with some dates:
Dec. 4th, 11th, or 18th are open. I’m thinking 5pm-7ish/8ish. So lets get a semi-official signup thing going. We can always do more than one session if things turn out well. My pref is for the 4th just because everyone gets busy with exams and the snow starts to get gross.
If it’s the 18th I’ll have to skedaddle early to get to Star Wars…
Hi guys. Just seeing this thread now, but given that Rebicycle is an official McGill Cycling sponsor, we can definitely offer our gallery/atelier as a workshop space as well. Its fair bit bigger than the flat, and has at least as many tools. Upside is couches, lots of space, and a huge frame inventory for those looking for a winter bike. Downside is its in the Mile End, but c’mon, get out of that McGill Bubble!
So the ball sort of got dropped on this, flat wasn’t able to confirm for the dates in time.
I’ll push this back to the new year.
@ben_adler Rebicycle sounds like a great idea. Also you guys have beer!