Ladies Maintenance Class at Wheelbase Yorkshire

Our Wheelbase Yorkshire store in Ilkley hosted a crash course in bike maintenance for some of the ladies from Ilkley Cycling Club last night. The evening was extremely well attended and will be the first in a series of similar evenings covering everything from fixing punctures to gear setup and adjustment.

The two hour workshop was lead by our Yorkshire mechanic Ben, who has over 20 years of experience working with bikes, and our Ilkley store manager Bernie, who was on hand to answer any questions from the attendees. Ben covered the essentials of bike maintenance as well as looking at the basics of prolonging components and how to avoid roadside failures.

The key points covered in the workshop were:

• Most bikes have problems with breaking due to poor maintenance. Lots of riders can prevent broken chains, punctures and major failures by checking their bike on a regular basis. This starts by cleaning and lubricating the bike. Once the bike is clean you can now start to inspect the bike for brake pad wear, chain wear, tyre wear etc. We looked at a range of products to help clean and to lubricate the bicycle. What to do and what not to do.
• How to fix a chain, what to do and what not to do when you have broken chain and how to spot signs of wear.
• Fixing punctures, tyres and what tools to carry with you when out riding and how to use these tools and when to cut your losses and call in for help.

In the future we are going to roll out a Tuesday evening class for riders to learn more about specific issues. Keep an eye out in-store and on our social media channels.

• Transmission, gear adjustment and cleaning.
• Brakes, disc, rim adjustment and care.
• Punctures, tyres and how to look after your wheels.