Park Tool School
Park Tool School Cycle maintenance Classes
Bicycles are really fairly simple things, but they have their maintenance idiosyncrasies and they're often expensive. Which is enough to put a lot of people off trying to mend their own bikes. The Park Tool School is designed to change that by demystifying bike maintenance and taking pupils through the fundamentals of spannering.
It's a course designed by Park Tool, and taught in the UK by a limited number of accredited workshops including Cyclefleet Ltd.
Cyclefleet makes no attempt to shatter any bike mechanic stereotypes - the first thing that happens is that you get a mug of tea and a biscuit. It's a good opportunity to meet the rest of the group and instructors Andrew and Chris.
The format of the course is fairly straightforward. The various elements are introduced verbally, with the instructor explaining what the bits are and any issues to note. That's followed by practical demonstrations and then hands-on practice by the students.
The School covers all of the fundamentals including tyres, tubes, drive train, hubs, bottom bracket, headset, pedals, wheel truing, brake and gear adjustment, stem, bars, cleaning and lubrication. It's a two-day course, so if you're not local to South Buckinghamshire, you'll need to find somewhere to stay – Cyclefleet can point you in the right direction. It's a good idea to stay nearby, as the days are pretty long in order to cover all of the material. There are plenty of breaks programmed in, though, giving you a chance to consolidate what you've learnt and ask any further questions.
You'll get the most from the course if you have a reasonable idea of what all the bits of your bike are called and what they do but don't really know where to start when it comes to tuning, repairing or replacing them.
As an added bonus, everyone gets a copy of the Park Tool School Student Manual, a handy 146-page spiral-bound tome that contains details of everything in the course as a useful reference when you're back in your shed without a highly-qualified instructor within hailing distance.
The Park Tool School costs £255 + VAT and 2009 bookings are now being taken. That might sound like quite a lot of money, but if you paid a shop mechanic for the number of hours in the course it'd cost you a lot more. You won't have to do all that many jobs yourself for it to save you money. A couple of services, the odd bottom bracket swap, some upgrades and a couple of retrued wheels would probably cover it. And you'll be in a position to head off some mechanicals before they get expensive, too...
So all in all, it's a very good thing if you can spare the time. You will come away wanting to own several hundred pounds' worth of Park tools, though. You have been warned.
Further details at www.cyclefleet.com or call Cyclefleet on 01494 868607.