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  • HandoutHandout 1: Supply & Shopping List — Bike Tune-Up Basics

    Handout 1: Supply & Shopping List — Bike Tune-Up Basics

    Here's the thing, you don't need a shop's worth of tools to keep a bike running. Most of what we'll do in class works with stuff that fits in a shoebox. I've split this into what you actually need to start, and what's nice once you catch the bug. Buy the cheap tier first. Honestly, most people never need the second tier at all.

    Budget Tier — get these before class

    • Tire levers (plastic, set of 2-3). Not a screwdriver. Not a butter knife. People wreck rims and pinch tubes trying to pry with whatever's in the kitchen drawer. Levers run about three bucks. Just get them.
    • Allen key / hex wrench set. Cheap folding set is fine. Most bike bolts are metric hex. If a bolt feels like it's fighting you, stop and check you've got the right size before you round it off. I've rounded off a bolt trying to muscle it with the wrong key and had to drill it out. Not fun.
    • Chain lube (bike-specific, not WD-40). A small bottle lasts forever because you barely need any. Less is more here, we'll talk about why in class.
    • Rag or old towel, a few. For wiping the chain down. You'll go through more rags than you think.
    • Spare tube(s), correct size for your tire. Check the size printed on your tire sidewall before you buy. Bring the old tube or a photo if you're not sure.
    • A patch kit, if you'd rather patch than replace. Either works. I usually just carry both.
    • Basic hand pump or floor pump with a gauge. If you already own a pump, bring it, don't buy a new one for class.
    • Zip ties, a handful. Sounds random. We use them for a wheel-truing trick that'll get you most of the way there without buying a stand.

    That whole list, if you're starting from zero, is maybe 25-30 dollars. Less if you already have some of it lying around the garage.

    Nice-to-Have Tier — only if you're hooked

    • Truing stand. You don't need one to start. I trued my first wheel with zip ties on the fork as a reference point and it worked fine. Buy a stand later if you're doing this often enough to care about precision.
    • Chain tool / chain breaker. Useful once you're replacing chains instead of just cleaning them.
    • Cone wrenches, if you get into hub adjustments. Low key a specialty tool, skip it for now.
    • A real bike-specific degreaser, instead of just wiping with a rag. Nice, not necessary.
    • Digital tire pressure gauge. Most pumps have one built in that's close enough.

    Shopping notes

    Hardware stores up and down the valley carry tire levers, hex sets, and chain lube in the bike aisle, usually near the automotive stuff, which always amuses me. You don't need a specialty bike shop for the budget tier at all.

    If you want an actual bike shop for tube sizing or something odd on an older bike, that's a fine trip, just bring the tire or the old tube with you so you're not guessing.

    Costco and Macey's runs won't help you here, this isn't groceries, but I mention it because half of you will ask.

    One more thing: don't buy new brake pads or a new derailleur before class thinking you need them. Most people's stuff is fine, it's just dirty or out of adjustment. We'll clean and adjust first. If you still need parts after that, I'll tell you exactly what to get.

    Bring your bike, obviously. Bring questions too. See you there.

  • HandoutBike Tune-Up Basics: Cheat Sheet

    Bike Tune-Up Basics: Cheat Sheet

    Quick reference for the stuff we cover in class. Tape this inside the garage door or keep it with your tools. This won't replace doing it with your hands a few times, but it'll get you most of the way there when you're standing over the bike trying to remember what I said.

    ---

    Chain and Lube

    • Clean before you lube. Wipe the chain with a rag first. Lube on a dirty chain just makes grinding paste.
    • A few drops per link, on the inner side, is plenty. Let it sit a minute, then wipe off everything that didn't soak in.
    • Over-lubing is the mistake I see most. A chain dripping in lube collects trail dust like a magnet, especially out on the Murdock in summer. Dry-ish and clean beats wet and gunked, every time.
    • If it squeaks after a ride, it needs lube. If it's black and gritty, it needs a wipe-down before anything else.

    Brakes (Rim and Mechanical Disc)

    • Squeeze the lever. Pad should hit the rim (or rotor) square, not at an angle, and not rubbing when you let go.
    • Rubbing on one side, most of the time, is a barrel adjuster problem, not a "buy new brakes" problem. Turn the barrel adjuster at the lever a quarter turn, spin the wheel, check again.
    • Filthy pads and rims cause more brake complaints than worn-out parts. Clean the rim with a rag and some rubbing alcohol before you assume something's broken.
    • Hydraulic discs are outside my lane, honestly. If yours are hydraulic and acting up, that's shop territory. I'll tell you that straight rather than pretend otherwise.

    Wheel Truing (Basic Wobble)

    • Zip-tie a reference point to your fork or frame, close to the rim, so you've got something fixed to check against as the wheel spins. You don't need a truing stand to start.
    • Spin the wheel slowly. Where it rubs the zip-tie or drifts away, that's your wobble.
    • Spoke nipples: tighten on the side the rim is pulling away from, loosen slightly on the side it's rubbing. Quarter turns. Small adjustments, recheck often.
    • This won't be perfect. It'll stop the rub and get you riding. That's the goal.

    Flats

    • Use tire levers, not screwdrivers. Three bucks for a set of plastic ones. Screwdrivers wreck rims and tubes and I say that from experience watching other people do it.
    • Before you air the new tube back up, run your fingers around the inside of the tire to check for whatever caused the flat. Skip this step and you'll be doing it again in the driveway in thirty seconds. Ask me how I know.
    • Slightly inflate the tube before it goes in the tire. Fully flat tubes pinch easier under the lever.

    Bolts and Tools

    • Right tool, gentle first. If you're leaning on it, you've got the wrong size Allen key or the wrong idea entirely.
    • Rounded-off bolts are a pain to fix and usually avoidable. Back off, double check the size, try again.

    What's Actually Shop Work

    You can handle flats, chain care, brake alignment, basic wobbles. That's most of what goes wrong on a normal week.

    Wheel building from scratch, hydraulic brake bleeding, headset rebuilds — that's shop territory, or at least it's mine to hand off. No shame in it. Know your gaps and save the money where you can, spend it where it matters.

  • Worksheet```markdown

    ```markdown # Bike Tune-Up Basics — Handout 3 ## Your Own Bike Checklist

    This is the one I want you to actually keep, not just fill out and lose in a drawer. Bring it back next time you tune your bike, six months from now, and use it again. That's the whole point... catch problems before they turn into a shop bill.

    Work through it top to bottom, on your own bike, right at your station. Ask if something doesn't make sense. I'd rather you flip your bike over and fumble through this than watch me do it clean.

    ---

    1. Tires

    • [ ] Squeeze each tire. Firm, not squishy?
    • [ ] Check the sidewall for the recommended PSI. Written it here: __________
    • [ ] Spin each wheel. Any wobble side to side? Note it: __________
    • [ ] Look for cuts, bulges, or embedded glass/thorns.

    Low key the most common mistake here is people riding around on tires that are way underinflated and just accepting it. Takes two minutes to fix.

    2. Brakes

    • [ ] Squeeze each brake lever. Does it grab before the lever hits the bar?
    • [ ] Check pad wear. Getting thin? Note it: __________
    • [ ] Spin the wheel. Any rubbing on one side?
    • [ ] If rubbing: locate the barrel adjuster, note which way you turned it: __________

    Here's the thing... most brakes people bring me aren't broken. They're dirty or a little out of alignment. Clean and adjust before you buy anything new.

    3. Chain and Drivetrain

    • [ ] Wipe the chain down with a rag. How much gunk came off? __________
    • [ ] Apply lube, one drop per link, on the inside of the chain.
    • [ ] Wipe off the excess. (Yes, wipe it off. Over-lubing is worse than under-lubing, and the dust out on a trail like Murdock Canal will turn extra lube into black paste by the end of your ride.)
    • [ ] Shift through all the gears. Any hesitation or chain skip?

    4. Wheel True

    • [ ] Spin the wheel, watch it pass a fixed point (zip-tie on the fork works fine).
    • [ ] Wobble side to side, or up and down?
    • [ ] If side to side: find the spokes at the widest point of the wobble, note them here: __________
    • [ ] Adjust in small quarter-turns. Recheck before doing more.

    You don't need a fancy stand for this. A zip-tie and patience gets you most of the way there.

    5. Bolts and Fasteners

    • [ ] Check seat post clamp, stem bolts, and axle bolts for snugness.
    • [ ] Confirm you're using the right size Allen key or wrench before you turn anything.
    • [ ] If a bolt won't move with gentle pressure, stop. Wrong tool or wrong size. Don't force it.

    I rounded off a bolt once trying to muscle it instead of grabbing the right key. Ended up drilling it out. Right tool, gentle first, always.

    6. Final Check

    • [ ] Both wheels spin freely with no rub.
    • [ ] Brakes stop the bike without excessive lever travel.
    • [ ] Chain runs quiet through all gears.
    • [ ] No loose bolts anywhere you touched today.

    ---

    Notes for later (what to watch, what to buy, what to ask about next time):

    ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________

    ---

    Reminder: hydraulic disc brakes and full wheel builds are outside what I teach well. If your bike's got hydraulic brakes and something's off, that's shop territory. Everything above this line, though, you can own. ```

  • HandoutHandout 4: Troubleshooting Guide — Common Beginner Problems

    Handout 4: Troubleshooting Guide — Common Beginner Problems

    Here's the thing, most bike problems aren't mysterious. Same ten issues show up on almost every bike that comes through my garage. Print this, keep it with your tools, and work down the list before you assume something's actually broken.

    1. Brakes rub on one side Almost always the caliper's off-center, not a bad brake. Loosen the mounting bolt, squeeze the lever to center the caliper, hold it, tighten. That'll get you most of the way there. If it's still rubbing, check the wheel's seated right in the dropouts first, people skip that.

    2. Brakes feel weak or spongy Clean the rim and the pads before you touch anything else. Filthy pads and a greasy rim are low key the most common cause of "my brakes don't work." A rag and some rubbing alcohol fixes more brakes than new parts ever will.

    3. Chain squeaks Needs lube. But go easy, a few drops per link, then wipe the excess off with a rag. Over-lubing is worse than under-lubing, it just collects dust and grinds into a black paste. I learned that one on the Murdock trail the hard way.

    4. Flat tire Find what caused it before you patch or swap the tube. Run your finger inside the tire, carefully, feeling for the thorn or glass sliver still in there. Skip this step and you're fixing the same flat again in twenty minutes.

    5. New tube goes flat again almost immediately You probably pinched it with the tire lever putting the tire back on. Happened to me on the very first flat I ever fixed for my kids, it went flat again in the driveway before I even got the pump put away. Check the whole tire for lever marks before you air it up next time.

    6. Gears skip or won't shift smoothly Nine times out of ten it's the barrel adjuster, that little dial where the cable enters the derailleur. Small turns, quarter turn at a time, test after each one. My daughter figured this out faster than I expected her to.

    7. Wheel wobbles side to side That's a true issue, not a tire issue. You don't need a fancy stand to start, zip-tie a reference point to your fork, spin the wheel, and adjust the spokes where it rubs the zip-tie. Won't be perfect but it'll stop the rub and get you riding.

    8. Bolt won't budge, or you rounded it off already Stop forcing it. Wrong size tool or wrong technique, always. Right tool, gentle first. I rounded a cheap bolt once trying to muscle it and ended up drilling it out, which is a whole afternoon you don't need.

    9. Seat or handlebars slip out of position Usually just under-tightened, not a stripped part. Snug it down more than feels natural, bikes take more torque than people expect. If it still slips after that, the clamp itself might be worn out.

    10. Bike's generally rattly and nobody can find why Check for loose bolts everywhere before you chase a specific noise, rack mounts, bottle cage screws, fender bolts. Ninety percent of "mystery rattle" is something small nobody thought to check.

    A word on tools: use tire levers to get tires off, not screwdrivers. Screwdrivers wreck rims and tubes, and levers cost about three bucks. Just get a set.

    A word on shops: hydraulic disc brakes and building a wheel from a bare hub, that's shop territory, honestly. I don't do those enough to trust my own advice there. Everything above, though, you can handle in your garage with basic tools and a little patience.

  • podcast_scriptClass podcast — episode 1

    Audio coming soon — show notes below.

    JESS: —okay, but did it actually pop again, or are you exaggerating for the podcast?

    RYAN: No, it popped. Thirty seconds, tops. I aired it up, set it down in the driveway, and just... psssst. Flat again.

    JESS: And this was fixing a flat for the first time ever?

    RYAN: First time ever. I'd pinched the tube with the tire lever putting it back in, didn't check, didn't feel around the rim, just went straight to the pump. Jackson watched the whole thing happen and about lost it. Still brings it up.

    JESS: This is Ryan Malone, everybody, welcome to Bike Tune-Up Basics, the podcast that goes with the class, in case you wandered in from a search engine and have no idea what's happening.

    RYAN: Which, honestly, fair.

    JESS: So for people who don't know you yet — you're not a bike shop guy.

    RYAN: No. Cars, mostly, that's my actual trade. I do remote diagnostic work now, which means I stare at a screen a lot and don't get my hands on anything. Bikes kind of filled that hole. My kids needed theirs fixed, I wasn't paying a shop for stuff I already understood better with cars, and it turned out bikes are... simpler. More forgiving. You can mess one up pretty bad and still learn something instead of wrecking a two-thousand-dollar part.

    JESS: And then the neighborhood found out.

    RYAN: That's the thing that actually happened, yeah. Somebody sees you out in the garage with the door open, fixing a flat, and now you're the guy. I don't mind it. It's low key one of my favorite parts of the week, honestly, having somebody wheel a bike up the driveway.

    JESS: So session one — what are people actually walking out with?

    RYAN: The basics that cover, I'd say, ninety percent of what goes wrong with a bike. Chain cleaning, brake alignment, fixing a flat correctly this time...

    JESS: Correctly.

    RYAN: Correctly. We'll go slow on the tube part. And here's the thing, most people think their brakes are worn out when really they're just filthy or knocked out of alignment. You don't need new pads. You need a rag and twenty minutes.

    JESS: Give us one thing right now, though. Something a listener can use tonight, no class required.

    RYAN: Okay. Tire levers, not screwdrivers. If you've got a flat and you're digging through the kitchen drawer for something flat and metal, stop. Plastic tire levers are like three bucks at any store that sells bikes. A screwdriver will gouge your rim or slice your new tube, and then you've made two problems out of one. Just buy the levers. It's the cheapest insurance you'll ever buy for a bike.

    JESS: Three dollars, everybody. Write it down.

    RYAN: That'll get you most of the way there, honestly.

    JESS: Now, is this a "Ryan's kids" class or a "grown adult who wants to stop paying shop fees" class?

    RYAN: Both. Genuinely both. I had a woman, Jennifer, in a group I ride with — I actually tried to teach her to fix her own flat before we headed out one day, and I got about halfway through explaining the tube before my brain wandered off to whether we needed to push back our start time.

    JESS: You just left mid-sentence.

    RYAN: I left mid-sentence. She figured it out fine without me, actually finished before I circled back. I apologized. She said she barely noticed. But that's a real thing about me, I'll own it up front — I trail off sometimes. If I wander off mid-explanation in class, somebody just say my name loud. I want to be reeled back in, I'm not offended.

    JESS: Noted, for the room.

    RYAN: It happens more than I'd like to admit.

    JESS: Okay, last thing — what's next session, so people know what to bring or brace for?

    RYAN: Next time we're doing chains and cleaning, and I've got strong feelings about lube, which I will absolutely bore everyone with. Short version, less is more. People over-lube constantly, thinking more grease means less friction, and then you ride the Murdock trail once and your chain looks like it rolled through wet cement.

    JESS: The Murdock Canal Trail, his personal test track.

    RYAN: It's flat, it's close, it tells you the truth about whether a repair actually held. If something's gonna fail, it fails there before it fails somewhere inconvenient. Anyway. Bring your bike next time if you've got one that needs love. If not, we've got loaners.

    JESS: Perfect. Thanks, Ryan.

    RYAN: Yeah, thanks for having me... again, it's your podcast, I don't know why I'm thanking you like a guest.

  • podcast_scriptClass podcast — episode 2

    Audio coming soon — show notes below.

    JESS: ...and then it just goes flat again, right there in the driveway, thirty seconds later.

    RYAN: Yeah, that was the tube. I'd pinched it with the lever and didn't check before I aired it up. Classic mistake.

    JESS: This is the story you're leading with?

    RYAN: It's a good one. Jackson thought it was the funniest thing he'd seen all week. He still brings it up.

    JESS: Okay, for people just joining us, this is episode two of the Bike Tune-Up Basics podcast, I'm Jess, I run the class podcasts here at Community Learning, and this is Ryan, who teaches the class.

    RYAN: Hey.

    JESS: We're talking flats today, that's session two coming up. But you wanted to tell the pinched tube story first.

    RYAN: Because it's low key the most common mistake people make and nobody tells them. You get your tire lever in there, you're prying the tire off the rim, and if you're not careful the tip of that lever catches the tube underneath and pinches it. Little hole. You won't see it. You put the tube back in, air it up, and...

    JESS: Flat again.

    RYAN: Flat again. Thirty seconds, in my case. Very embarrassing in front of your kids.

    JESS: So what's the fix.

    RYAN: Couple things. One, use actual tire levers, the cheap plastic ones, three bucks for a pack. Not a screwdriver, not a butter knife, I've heard of people using butter knives.

    JESS: Please tell me that's not a real anecdote you're saving.

    RYAN: No comment. Two, when you're getting the tube back in, kind of walk your fingers around and tuck it in gently instead of shoving it in one spot. And three, this is the one people skip, before you fully air it up, give it a few pumps and just run your hand around the whole tire feeling for anything weird. A little bit of air in there, you can feel a pinch before it becomes a blowout.

    JESS: That's the practical tip, right there. Somebody listening who's never coming to the class could do that tonight.

    RYAN: That'll get you most of the way there. Honestly most flat fixes fail not because people don't know how to patch a tube, it's because of stuff like this. Little process things nobody mentions.

    JESS: Okay, so, session two coming up, that's the hands-on flat class. What are we actually doing.

    RYAN: Everybody brings a wheel, or a whole bike if you can haul it, and we take a tire off, inspect it, patch or swap the tube, and get it back on and aired up correctly. I want people to leave knowing they can do this on the shoulder of the Murdock trail without calling somebody.

    JESS: Is that a real scenario for you.

    RYAN: That's most of my rides. The Murdock's my loop, flat, close, good for testing whether a fix actually held. If something's gonna fail on a bike I just worked on, it fails there, and I get to deal with it on the spot instead of guessing in the garage.

    JESS: So you're basically road-testing your own work with actual road hazards.

    RYAN: That's the whole point of it. And look, if you get a flat out there and you don't know how to fix it, you're walking a bike a long way. Point of the mountain to the trailhead is not a fun walk pushing a bike with a flat tire.

    JESS: Noted. Okay, before we wrap, give me one more thing people should know before next session.

    RYAN: Bring your own tube if you've got one, even if you're not sure it's the right size, we can figure that out together. And don't stress about doing it perfectly. First one's gonna be clumsy. That's fine. I still remember my first one going flat immediately, and that guy's teaching the class now.

    JESS: Low bar, very achievable.

    RYAN: Honestly, that's kind of the whole philosophy.

    JESS: Alright, that's session two, flats and tubes, hands-on, bring a wheel if you've got one. Ryan, thanks for wandering through this with me.

    RYAN: Anytime. Reel me back in if I start talking about the truing stand again, I know I do that.

    JESS: Noted for episode three. See everybody next session.

  • podcast_scriptClass podcast — episode 3

    Audio coming soon — show notes below.

    JESS: —okay but that's the part I want you to say again on mic, because I was standing right there and I still didn't fully get it.

    RYAN: Which part.

    JESS: The barrel adjuster thing. You did it in like four seconds.

    RYAN: Oh, yeah. Okay. So low key the most common brake problem people bring me isn't a broken part. It's just misaligned or dirty. And the barrel adjuster is this little threaded piece where your cable goes into the brake. You twist it, it lengthens or shortens the cable housing a hair, and that changes how close your pads sit to the rim. That's it. No new parts, no shop trip.

    JESS: See, when you say it like that it sounds obvious.

    RYAN: It kind of is, honestly. That's the thing I keep trying to get across. People think their brakes are broken and mostly they're just filthy or off by a couple millimeters.

    JESS: Okay, tell the actual story though. The Jocelyn one.

    RYAN: Right, so. Jocelyn's brakes were grabbing on one side, rubbing the whole time she pedaled, you could hear it from the kitchen. I sat her down, walked her through the barrel adjuster, showed her which way to turn it, all that. She nods along, seems like she's with me.

    JESS: But.

    RYAN: But next time it happened, she didn't ask me. Just went out to the garage and fixed it herself. I didn't even know until I noticed the bike wasn't making the noise anymore.

    JESS: That's kind of a big deal though, right? As a teaching moment.

    RYAN: It's low key the best compliment you can get. I was quietly pleased about that for a couple days. Didn't say anything to her about it. Just... good, she doesn't need me for this one anymore.

    JESS: Okay, that's the anecdote. Now give me something people can actually go do tonight. Somebody's listening to this in their car, they're not even signed up for the class.

    RYAN: Sure. Here's the thing... if your brakes are rubbing or grabbing, before you buy anything, before you take it anywhere, just clean the rim and the pads first. Rubbing alcohol, rag, get all the grime off both surfaces. You'd be amazed how much of what feels like a broken brake is just brake dust and road grit built up on there. Do that, then check if it's still rubbing. If it's not, you just saved yourself a shop visit.

    JESS: And if it's still rubbing after that.

    RYAN: Then it's probably the barrel adjuster, or the wheel's sitting a little crooked in the dropouts. But clean it first. That'll get you most of the way there on its own most of the time.

    JESS: I like that it's basically free.

    RYAN: That's the whole philosophy, honestly. Rag and some alcohol versus forty bucks on parts you didn't need.

    JESS: Okay so next session... we're doing wheels?

    RYAN: Wheels, yeah. Truing a wobble. And I'll be upfront, I don't use a truing stand for most of this. I zip-tie a little reference point onto the fork and true it by feel against that. It's not the pro way. Bike shop guys would probably wince at me saying that out loud.

    JESS: You're saying that out loud though.

    RYAN: I am. Because it works. It's not perfect, but it stops the wobble and stops your brake pad from rubbing on one side every rotation, which is usually what people actually notice. You can buy the fancy stand later if you catch the bug. I did, eventually. Bought one off a marketplace listing, drove clear up past the point of the mountain to grab it.

    JESS: And?

    RYAN: It was warped. Used it for a year anyway.

    JESS: Of course you did.

    RYAN: Thrifty before I'm picky. That's next week though, bring whatever bike's got the worst wobble in your garage. We'll fix it or we'll at least make it better than it was.

    JESS: Perfect. See everyone then.

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