I’ve always been intimidated by mechanical difficulties, especially when it came to my bike. I knew the basic working parts of my machine, but the moment something seemed off I would quickly try to get an appointment with my local and trusted bike mechanic. I had an idea of how to change a tire, but the moment any fluids were involved panic would hit me. Over the years I have relied heavily on my amazing group of biker friends when out on the trails, but with some Chilcotin rides in the plans for the upcoming summer I wanted to feel competent and confident on the trails.
The Home Bike Mechanics course was exactly what I was looking for! Whistler Adventure School’s 14 hour Cytech Home Bike Mechanic Course was led by the informative and approachable Chris Clark. His passion for riding and years of mechanic experience, combined with an educational and workplace background in the bike business made him an excellent instructor.
His well rounded view of what it’s like and what it takes to be a professional bike mechanic was hugely helpful when identifying the difference between faults and failures and how to deal with issue that arise. Chris did a phenomenal job sharing his passion and knowledge by breaking down the course over a few evenings.
We started by identifying the two components to being a bike mechanic. The first, being able to work on your bike at home with good tools, no time restrictions, workspace and access to information. The second being on the side of the trail with smaller tools, less access to information and limited time. Determining the difference between a serious problem and something I could fix myself was fundamental to my learning and exactly what I was looking for.
“Having the tools, the knowledge and the time to do the job are crucial. Then you just need time to practice so you can use the skills when you need them” – Chris Clark.
Chris broke down the course by components of the bike: proper fitting, drive train maintenance, break system, shifting, wheels. We went through a methodical approach to getting to know our bikes. I took apart my own bike and made many customized adjustments.
We went through many trailside applications where we had to fix problems with fewer tools in a less than ideal workspace. We went over which issues were within my own control to fix. Things like wearing out or degraded tires, pads and cables or impact related kinked chains or bent rotors. Knowing when, why and how to replace common wear parts. I left the course with a plethora of resources for when I have the time to do my own maintenance, but more importantly, I know what to carry with me on the trails and how to use every piece of gear I bring. Knowing how much torque to use or which fluid is for which part was essential to my learning.
We went through many trailside applications where we had to fix problems with fewer tools in a less than ideal workspace. We went over which issues were within my own control to fix. Things like wearing out or degraded tires, pads and cables or impact related kinked chains or bent rotors. Knowing when, why and how to replace common wear parts. I left the course with a plethora of resources for when I have the time to do my own maintenance, but more importantly, I know what to carry with me on the trails and how to use every piece of gear I bring. Knowing how much torque to use or which fluid is for which part was essential to my learning.
