I was impressed, 3 hours in Fin’s world of bike maintenance and repair demystified any doubts I had of ever accomplishing technical bike repairs. Mark, Ian, and I (Juliet) arrived at Fin’s warm and toasty workshop where buttered hot-cross buns and drinks were on hand. Although most of us don’t require the vast array of toys (tools) Fin has, we did admire them. Our first impression of his workshop was of order and cleanliness.
Fin began at the beginning (!) with brake pad removal and replacement along with installing a new chain link. As we delved into the chain link repair Fin led us into the gear changing arrangement. He cleverly instructed and demonstrated how to align the rear derailleur and carefully adjust the gear cable to allow the chain to smoothly click up or down to its next cog. I hope I explained this correctly, if not, I’ll take the class again!! He explained, in detail, the actions of a brake lever to the disc brake calliper in relation to the brake’s stopping ability. For Mark, Ian, and I, this was an informative lesson, as we each seemed to have a point of interest in this area.
We then progressed to truing a wheel by adjusting its spokes. Now, if I had Fin’s ‘whatchamadufa’ (tool) which is placed in a vice where the wheel then hooks onto, allowing it to spin freely, would have me truing wheels all day; I loved this task. Ok, so it’s a bit of a no brainer, but I seemed to have a knack for it! Fin covered many other more complex and technically advanced tasks during our morning lesson. However, no matter how complicated the tasks were, Fin explained the mechanics in a direct and concise manor. You could be a complete novice and Fin would have you understanding the more complex aspects of bike mechanic in no time.
I think I can speak for the group; we could have spent all day at Fin’s workshop absorbing his wealth of bike mechanic knowledge. I highly recommend those of all experiences and skills to take the opportunity to attend one of Fin’s classes. You’ll gain hands-on knowledge from an expert (how cool is that), be surrounded by an array of impressive tools, and have a lot of fun with great people.
I just have one question, when’s the next class?
