Home Skills & DIY

Bike Tune-Up Basics

Meets Saturdays · 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM · on Zoom Fall 2026 · registration open Free to audit

This class runs in the Fall 2026 session. Registration is open now; lessons, materials, and the class discussion board are posted before it begins.

Your bike squeaks on the Murdock Canal Trail, one brake grabs, and there's a wobble you keep ignoring. Here's the thing, most of that you can fix yourself in your own garage. This class is for casual riders who'd rather handle the small stuff than haul the bike to a shop every time something rubs.

We work hands-on. You bring your bike, flip it over, and fumble through it yourself. By the end you'll adjust brakes, true a wobbly wheel well enough to ride, fix a flat without pinching the tube, and lube a chain without gunking it up.

You'll leave knowing what you can do at home and where the shop is actually worth it.

What you'll learn

Build a basic tool kit worth owning
Remove and reinstall a wheel to fix a flat
Diagnose rim vs disc brakes and adjust them
True a wobbly wheel using the zip-tie method
Clean, lube, and run a full bike tune-up

Lessons

Getting Set Up
What tools you actually need, what you don't, and how to look at your bike before you touch anything.
Fixing a Flat
The most common trailside repair, done so it actually holds when you air it up.
Brakes That Work
Most brakes aren't worn out, they're just dirty or misaligned, and we fix that.
Truing a Wobbly Wheel
You don't need a truing stand to fix a wobble well enough to ride.
Chain and Drivetrain Care
Keeping the chain clean and lubed right, because on our trails less is more.
Putting It All Together
A full basic tune-up start to finish, then out to test whether it held.

Class discussion

The class discussion board opens when the class begins this fall. Auditors and enrolled students ask questions and share work here once the session starts.