If you want to learn the basics to bicycle maintenance then a number of free courses and workshops exist in London. They can help you reduce the cost of your bicycle maintenance by completing basic tasks such as replacing brake pads.
Below is a list of the free maintenance workshops and classes I’m aware of. Please do add any more you know of in the comments below and we can build a complete list.
Free bicycle maintenance workshops
Tower Hamlets Wheelers – Held once a month, the workshop gives you a chance to bring in your bike and have free assistance from volunteers for any repairs you need.
Hackney Cyclists Workshops – Diagnose any problems with your bike and get stuck in to the repairs with the help from maintenance professionals. It is free to use however donations are well received.
Islington Cycle Action Group – This open workshop runs on the fourth Wednesday of every month. There is a £1 contribution towards the facility.
Free bicycle maintenance courses
Evans Cycles – Covering punctures, brakes, gears and cleaning your bike, the free Evans Cycles classes are a good place to get your hands greasy. Update: I’ve been informed by a kind reader that Evans now charge £15 for their hour long classes.
Wandsworth Council Bicycle Maintenance Class – A free course for the residents of Wandsworth.
Cycle Confident Westminster & Newham – This is an excellent free bicycle maintenance course that lasts around 4-5 hours. You cover some of the basics and get to perform repairs on your bike.
Cycle Training UK – This company runs many of the cycle training sessions for councils. Most of them are subsidised and cost around £10.
SkyRides – As part of the SkyRides there are a number of free classes.
Lewisham Bicycle Maintenance Course – Basic course on looking after your bike. Costs £10 for local residents.
Dr Bike Kensington & Chelsea – The guys behind the excellent Bike Minded campaign also run occassional Dr Bike sessions – keep an eye on their site for the latest dates or drop them a quick email.
Bicycle collectives
Another thing to look out for if you want to maintain your bike yourself but don’t have the space are bicycle collectives such as newly launched London Bike Kitchen. These are essentially open DIY workshops where you can bring in your own bike. They usually have some kind of yearly fee or a fee depending on the amount of time you use the facilities for.
http://www.walthamforest.gov.uk/index/rubbish-recycling/recycling/recycling-bikes.htm
Public drop-in sessions
Third and fourth Saturday of the month: 11am-3pm
Members of the public can attend these sessions to learn how to work on their own bikes with the assistance of a bike mechanic.
Basic/intermediate bike maintenance training provided every third Saturday of each month (booking necessary)
Thanks Vicki for adding this in for people.
Can I book? 🙂
The Tower Hamlets Wheelers meet once a Month, not twice, on the Third Saturday of the Month.
I am glad to see Waltham Forest have sorted out their schedule. It used to have a crazy pattern!
Thank you – have updated the post!
We also do free classes roughly once a month – next sessions this Tuesday 13th at 7pm and 8pm -please let us know if you’d like to come. Basic information on looking after your bike and a free cup of tea or coffee – what more could you want? Sessions at Blue Door Bicycles, Central Hill, Crystal Palace. Telephone 0208 670 9767.
David – thanks for adding your course to the list. I’m sure people nearby will appreciate this service.
Just been on the Cycle training course from Cycle Training UK.
Even though my course was not subsidiesed – paid £65 – it was a great 8 hours spent on learning the basics of how to fix/prevent bike failures!
Has saved me a huge amount of money for long-term as basics such as brake adjustment, replacing brakes cables and chain maintenance won’t have me going in to my local bike shop for servicing/repairs.
Sounds good Russell – that’s one of the biggest benefits of taking these courses – you save a lot of money down the line on repairs you can now complete yourself.
hi,
anything similar in wandsworth?
thank you in advance
Haringey Smarter Travel now run twice-monthly basic maintenance courses, free if you live, work or study in Haringey. Details & bookings at:
http://www.cyclinginstructor.com/bike_maintenance
i found your appendage very useful
Hi, someone drove into my bike, thankfully slowly, then drove off, leaving me with a wonky front wheel. Where could i get this fixed cheaply in clapham/brixton? Will halfords do it for me? It’s one of their cheap bikes or what will be the cheapest place?
Thank you so much for your advice!
You can see a list of London bike shops here: http://www.lfgss.com/shops.html
Or if you have an iPhone get the free London cyclist app here: http://bit.ly/ldncyclistapp
I’m sure Halfords could help, as could any local bike shop.
The MacbBeth Centre is part for Hammersmith Adult education program and is offering a Level 2 City and Guilds qualification on Bicycle Mechanics.
By the end of it you will be able to strip down and bike to the frame and rebuild it with in 3 hours as well as being able to build your own wheels. This will open many doors for you in this growing profitable green industry. It’s not only a job or a skill, it’s passion!
If you want to know more
http://www.hfals.co.uk/course-information-721
It’s the most reasonable priced in London or perhaps free depending on your income circumstances.
The starting date has been pushed back so make your move quickly before other people wake up to the new year
Cycle Surgery offer free ‘ABC Workshop’ sessions for an hour on the last Wednesday of each month across the various stores in and out of London. Best to check with whichever store you wish to go to for spaces/availability.
https://www.cyclesurgery.com/
There’s the London Bike Hub over in Greenford, west London too, if your budget can stretch to some of our classes (listed here: http://www.londonbikehub.com/maintenance-lessons/) Most cost £25, though we’re starting to look at the possibility of some free classes for next year.
For more advanced lessons, we offer a two-day Park Tool School course, one on hydraulic brakes (one manufacturer covered per class), and another on wheel-building.
+1 for Diego’s Level 2 City and Guilds course – good course, well taught by nice people, and very reasonable cost.
Regards, Jon (LBH workshop manager).
Hello
Can anybody help?
I am looking to do a simple bike mechanics course is south London or near West Norwood?
I bumped into the strawberry blond (reddish) haired lovely guy that worked in Brixton cycles for years and he is running a mechanic / maintenance course with a friend around Kennington but I can not find the details anywhere?????
Please if anyone has details can the forward to yasappleby@hotmail.com or send a reply.
Thank you.
Hello I’m looking for a bike serving course around the bromley/ orpington area