Workshop and hands on · Beginner to competent home mechanic
Fix your own bicycle
The safety check, the brakes and the punctures, taught with diagrams that move rather than a man in a shed talking at a camera.
- 3modules
- 3.0CPD hours
- 120guided minutes
- Freealways
About this course
Most people who own a bicycle can do almost nothing to it, and pay a shop forty pounds for a job that takes ten minutes and two tools. That is not because bicycle maintenance is hard. It is because it is taught badly, usually by a video of somebody's hands with no explanation of why.
This course teaches the three things that matter most: how to check a bike is safe before you ride it, how to make brakes work properly, and how to fix a puncture so that it stays fixed. Every mechanism is shown as a diagram you step through, so you can see what is actually moving inside the thing you are adjusting.
It is honest about limits. Some jobs belong in a shop, and this course tells you which ones and why, rather than pretending confidence is the same as competence.
What you will be able to do
- Carry out a full M check and decide whether a bike is safe to ride
- Set up and adjust rim brakes, and understand disc brake basics
- Repair a puncture properly, including finding the cause
- Fit a tyre without pinching the tube and seat it safely
- Recognise the jobs that belong with a professional mechanic
Modules
- 1 The M check: find the fault before it finds you 35 min study · 4 min script · 4 question knowledge check
- 2 Brakes: the only part that must never fail 45 min study · 3 min script · 4 question knowledge check
- 3 Punctures: fix it properly, and stop it happening again 40 min study · 4 min script · 4 question knowledge check
Assessment and certificate
A knowledge check on each module and a final assessment at 80 per cent, unlimited attempts.
A free digital certificate with a verification code. It evidences knowledge. It is not a cycle mechanic qualification, and it does not make you insured to work on other people's bicycles commercially.
Questions
Do I need tools to do this course?
Not to learn it. To do the jobs you need a multi tool with allen keys, two tyre levers, a pump with a gauge, and a spare tube. That is under twenty pounds and it covers most of what this course teaches.
Does this qualify me as a bike mechanic?
No. It is a knowledge course with a free certificate. Professional cycle mechanic qualifications are delivered by recognised training providers with assessed practical work, and working on other people's bikes commercially needs insurance.
Is it only about road bikes?
No. The M check applies to any bicycle. The brake module covers rim brakes in detail and the differences that matter with discs, which covers most hybrids, mountain bikes and children's bikes.