basic maintenance topic demo

[Catrin]

I hesitate to call this actual teaching, but I am going to help a couple of local Orthodox nuns learn the very basics of bike maintenance Friday evening. They know I am no expert, but they are good friends and they asked me to help them.

Here is what I am planning to cover:

Checking tires/airing
Chain cleaning/lubing
Dealing with a dropped chain
How to change a tube/tire

I am confident showing them the above, but is there anything else really basic that I've left off my list?

[Desert Tortoise]

How about brakes? At the very least, how to check they are not rubbing by lightly lifting one end, give a little free spin to see that the tire does not abruptly stop. Personally, I don't know much about fixing brakes but I have done a minor adjustment when my rear brake was sticking. Boy, was that ride a kill-joy. On the upside, it was a great incentive to learn brake adjustment.

[Catrin]

Good thought, and this is something that can be caused if the wheel isn't back on quite right so I can touch on it when we discuss how to take the wheel on and off. I've not learned how to adjust them so I can't/won't go there but I do have a little experience with it from this direction

The nun in question rides a trike, so this will be my first chance to really look at one up close and personal.