bike mechanic school, week one

(This is the first of four posts; you can see the second here, the third here, the fourth here.)

 I'm writing this post (and the last two, and probably some later ones) from Ashland Oregon, home of the United Bicycle Institute, where I'm taking their two-week course in Professional Repair and Shop Operation. I've been mechanic-ing around on bikes for years, mostly self-taught, and I had this idea that it would be a good idea to get some real, official training on it, so coming to a school has been a "bucket list" thing, with which The Excellent Wife (TEW) decided to go along.

She did all the research, and found a place to stay, and set up the flights, and yadda yadda, and the next thing you know, I'm registered for the course, and we're planning to stay in Ashland. 

(Well, there's a bit more to it than that. I found out that a sort of a local bicycling-biz rival went to either this course or a competing one, and told me he didn't pass the final. And now, of course, I GOTTA pass the final, so I can gloat insufferably about it.)

Ashland itself is kind of a hippie refuge plopped into the southern Oregon mountains, an island of new-wave, woo-woo, too-much-money radicalism in the deep red heart of rural Oregon farming and logging country. There's a food cooperative whose properties cover about a full block in the city, lots of Tarot reading and moon jewelry, and a bike co-op where you can buy a beater for not-a-lotta-money, and, if you're a student at the school, you can sell it back at the end of the class for half what you paid for it. So that's what TEW and I did.

It'll only cost $47.50 after I sell it back to 'em.

School started on the Monday. There are some in the group; like me, who are taking this because we just want to (in some cases, guys - we're all guys, in this class - have known about the school for years, and are only able to get to take it now, because they've retired from an earlier career); others are currently working in the bike industry. Closer to Oregon, the certification has a certain reputation, and shops look for mechanics who have it.

The instructors, however, point out that this is a trade school, and are all business. The first part of the first day is given to introductions and basic shop skills and tool knowledge, and then we're into servicing hubs; we have to break down a loose-ball hub and rebuild it. I'm pretty good at setting the preload in these hubs, but I don't generally open them up, and when I did these, I made a stupid mistake switching balls between the front and rear. By the time I learned my mistake, I'd wasted a lot of time, and barely completed the assignment by the end of the day. Certain tasks have to be signed off each day, or be made up, and I did NOT want to have my first day marred by a missed assignment! (It turned out that for the next couple of days, I'd be shaken by my bad experience on the first day...)

But done is done; and my bench partner and I were able to complete by the end of the day; this task, and the others assigned. I've learned about the bearings, but I've also learned about having more discipline in my shop practice, and maybe not to have two tasks going, where I might get confused between them!

Most of the students are reasonable friendly, but we're still deciding how comfortable we are with each other.

I'm almost certainly the oldest at 68, and my bad back was acting up; I was initially seated where I could not see the screen where the projections are, and stood with my cane to see; my seat was later moved, and a bench stool was offered. I initially refused, but today we're doing wheels. There will be a lot of standing, and I might decide that my frailty deserves compensation, and get the stool.

My birthday is on the 6th, and two other students have birthdays. I initially thought I'd pop for a cake on Monday, but the school administrator may be making other plans; more news on that as it happens.

Tuesday:

It turned out one of the instructors' wife made us muffins for our birthday! 

Today was wheels day. I'd done research on the school, including looking up experiences of people who'd attended. I found a few (not many, and none of which I've been able to find since), and several talked about how hard doing the wheels in a single day was. I've built wheels, but I'm not good at it; I'm slow and I make mistakes I have to go back and fix. At the school, the time is limited, and the tolerances expected are demanding. Further, the school instructors and administrators know that the wheels are particularly hard for students; they set the wheels for day 2, and the final wheels aren't "due" until day eight (of ten), which allows for two late nights to work on them.

The technique they teach, though, is straightforward and repeatable. I got the wheel laced immediately. When I was tightening it up, however, it went way out of true in about every way possible. But managing that is also built into the technique - including taking breaks and going to do something else (in this case, work on the other wheel).

It didn't help that I'd had such trouble with my hub the previous day; it also didn't help that one of my fellow students didn't even get both wheels laced by the end of the day. I was worried; I didn't want to wash out on day two.

But I got 'em. I had two acceptable wheels by the end of the day, and then had them broken down and parts in the bins before I left (admittedly, in the allowed overtime at the end of the day, but still; I was done). A few other students were also done, but most were still toiling away at their truing stands when I left.

I got through wheels day. I am MUCH more relieved and confident, and likely to enjoy this class much more now. (My back and foot hurt a LOT after this, though; it turns out, in addition to the scoliosis I knew I have, I also likely have plantar fasciitis.)

Wednesday:

Today was much easier for me. We were talking about rim brake systems, and I've got a lot of experience with those. We learned a technique, new to me, for mounting road caliper brakes. I like the way I do it better, but having another technique is never a waste.

Students here are allowed a discount from a certain tool manufacturer, Abbey Tools, and from QBP, Quality Bike Products, the largest wholesaler in the US bike industry. We can get a really good discount on products from both... but everything I get, I've either got to ship back, or get into my luggage, so I'm satisfying myself with one specialty tool from Abbey and a few small things I might not buy for myself from QBP. Neither the New Brunswick Bike Exchange nor Ramblin' Wrench has the credit history or the size to have an account at QBP, so this is a bit of a missed opportunity, alas...

Thursday:

Today was for hub brakes. We touched on coaster brakes, drum brakes, and roller brakes, and  set up and adjusted a cable disk brake, but spent most of the day on fluid disk brakes and flushing the systems. 

That bench partner above was so patient and helpful to the geezer in the beat-up tan blazer! Gabe, I'm in your debt. But the process is easier than it looks, if you have the system set up. (I'd done one at the Bike Exchange that didn't work out, and I now have reason to believe that the problem wasn't my technique, but a problem in the brake system.)

Friday:

Friday was cranks, bottom brackets, and bearings. I've done a lot of these, but I had another chance to do a loose ball bearing fitting (MUCH better this time!! ... and I may be the only person in the class who's actually worked on them in a bottom bracket), and to do press-fit bearings. These have been removed and installed so many times that I'm sure they're looser than most, but the mounting is mostly in having the tools, and setting them up right. The Excellent Wife (TEW)'s bike has 'em, and they're of a type that probably should have been serviced already, so I'll go see to that. (And it's a reason to buy some new tools!!)

The school is across the railroad tracks from several things you'd like to do at lunch (like get to the Ashland Food Cooperative), and the follow-the-streets route goes a long way around. I'd seen in the classroom that there was a shortcut across the tracks, but couldn't figure out where it started. I overheard other students talking about it today, and got the info and tried it... but part of it is overgrown, and doesn't make good going for a guy who walks with a cane sometimes. So I'm stickin' to the streets.