Middle School Bike maintenance class ideas.
09-20-21, 12:30 PM
#26
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Starting point for me would be volunteers bring their own bikes in that are attending the class. Even among seasoned adult riders, so many have horrible brake and shift adjustments. Be it the pads and derailleur adjustments themselves or the ergonomic reaches and positions of the levers on the bars.
With that, #1 would be stopping. Setup the levers to the user's finger reach. Then square away the pad/rim clearance and toe of the pads. Then move on to "moving" forward. Safety of the RD and FD limit screws.
One tool though for this that almost no joe bike person or even seasoned racer often ever owns that is gold is the "third hand" or "fourth hand" set of cable pullers. Which is probably why so many bikes have such lazy brake pull and somewhat vague shifting even on nicer bikes.
Otherwise...........changing a tube with just the roadside tube, levers, and hand pump. An essential skill many even seasoned weak handed roadies can't seem to do.
With that, #1 would be stopping. Setup the levers to the user's finger reach. Then square away the pad/rim clearance and toe of the pads. Then move on to "moving" forward. Safety of the RD and FD limit screws.
One tool though for this that almost no joe bike person or even seasoned racer often ever owns that is gold is the "third hand" or "fourth hand" set of cable pullers. Which is probably why so many bikes have such lazy brake pull and somewhat vague shifting even on nicer bikes.
Otherwise...........changing a tube with just the roadside tube, levers, and hand pump. An essential skill many even seasoned weak handed roadies can't seem to do.
10-26-21, 03:40 PM
#28
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To follow up on this (yes, I am moving at governmental agency speed), I sent the following to the PD in response to a question they asked.
So, it isn't dead yet. I liked the BSA link that was included and can see using parts 1 - 6 in the class.
The use will be for a short bicycle maintenance class. It is expected to cover flat repair, brake and derailleur adjustment, chain repair, and the like.
We will review the 10 Steps for Safe Cycling and the cycling Statutes published by KDOT. However, the bulk of the time will be devoted to maintenance and roadside repairs.
This is a class that meets for 1/2 hour per day, four days a week for two weeks. That is a total of four hours of instruction time, this time includes any setup and tear-down. The class will be repeated several times, with different student groups, and all sessions will end in May.
I will be able to provide a single maintenance stand, a wheel truing jig, and some tools. If the class is deemed to be popular, next year, I will seek grants for improving the equipment. If you are aware of existing grants that would be applicable, I would appreciate any information.
A rough outline of the course content is as follows:
We will review the 10 Steps for Safe Cycling and the cycling Statutes published by KDOT. However, the bulk of the time will be devoted to maintenance and roadside repairs.
This is a class that meets for 1/2 hour per day, four days a week for two weeks. That is a total of four hours of instruction time, this time includes any setup and tear-down. The class will be repeated several times, with different student groups, and all sessions will end in May.
I will be able to provide a single maintenance stand, a wheel truing jig, and some tools. If the class is deemed to be popular, next year, I will seek grants for improving the equipment. If you are aware of existing grants that would be applicable, I would appreciate any information.
A rough outline of the course content is as follows:
- bike elements overview
- naming the parts of the bicycle
- tools and basic pre-ride check
- tyre inflation
- seat height
- brake check
- how derailleurs work
- how to use gears
- How to adjust derailleurs
- derailleur cable maintenance
- wheels, tires
- how to remove tyre and tube
- patching tyres and tubes
- Spoke replacement
- minimal wheel truing
- brakes overview
- Types of brakes
- simple cable adjustment
- Safety and accessories
- proper helmet fit
- light placement
- locking strategies
- Review of KDOT safety documents
Likes For Robert C:
10-27-21, 05:57 PM
#29
Senior Member
Sounds like great idea. If you work with the local Scouts, you could have more time at den/pack meetings, and they could get their merit badges.
Good luck.
Good luck.
10-27-21, 06:28 PM
#30
Junior Member
Do you get to keep the class in one room? Maybe a dedicated area? Perhaps a project bike that through the course hubs, headset, tire changing, shifting adjustments, could be gone through on top of a course. That's how Auto Shop worked for me. Aside from lectures and tests, we had project cars that had to be done or be towed by the end of the year. Security and tool lock-up will need looked at.
Last edited by Greg R; 10-27-21 at 06:32 PM.
10-29-21, 08:53 PM
#31
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I am involved with our school district's bike safety program, We have a fleet of 37 bikes, 130 helmets, work stand, tools, etc, and a cargo trailer to haul them. We have 1 hour a day for a two week session. We teach in the fall and spring at five elementary schools, usually 5th graders. My point is: We teach them how to ride safely on our city streets. There are usually 2-4 kids a session that don't know how to ride a bike. These are the kids I usually work with. By the end of 2 weeks they can ride well enough to do the graduation ride; the ride covers all aspects of city riding: traffic signals, a busy highway, intersections stop signs and right of way, signalling , and left and right turns. Helmet and bike fitting is the first session.
The above posts have a lot of good ideas. Get some volunteers to help, and you can get more accomplished in a short time. The League of American Bicyclists might also have some useful information. If you do any riding with the kids, you might want to check on liability responsibility when off school property. We have been struggling with this question since we started the program.
The above posts have a lot of good ideas. Get some volunteers to help, and you can get more accomplished in a short time. The League of American Bicyclists might also have some useful information. If you do any riding with the kids, you might want to check on liability responsibility when off school property. We have been struggling with this question since we started the program.
Last edited by Doug64; 10-30-21 at 10:53 AM.
