Had an extremely insightful experience at day 1 of the intensive maintenance course. With almost no prior experience of fiddling with bikes I now feel much more confident maintaining and fixing it. It’s a bit like finally getting to know an acquaintance you always hang out with but never really figured out.Mike shared very clearly and easily understandable from his fountain of cycling wisdom, Julien was ever present like some sort of bike fairy helping out whenever I was failing to replicate what was shown to me 2 minutes ago.One aspect proved to me that the BBP, also through this course, is the epitome of empowerment. The instructors were patient to answer every question any of the six participants might have, which led to us running over the allocated time but still getting through all of the content. Crucially, when asked along the lines of “What is the best way to do x” or “What is the best kind of part for y”, Mike would consistently provide a summary of the different schools of thought behind each point of view on the matter, together with the respective reasoning, allowing us to decide between different ways of doing things based on our preferences and the provided information.Thanks Mike and Julien, looking forward to day 2.

Course teaching excellent, gave a lot of confidence to tackle things I wouldn’t otherwise. Great depth of knowledge from tutors. Good pace to the course and well equipped workshop. Good value, and good to know course and shops support great initiatives like Earn a Bike. Thanks BBP

An excellent course which covers basics before going into more technical aspects of the drive train. TIM and Shona were knowledgeable and couldn’t have been more helpful. Very useful and love the ethos; I feel better for being a small part of it. I do hope it stays in the beating heart of the city!

Very good first day. I will be booking onto day 2. The course gave a great overview of bike maintenance. The practical segments on brake and gear adjustment, chain fitting and cable fitting were the best parts and even more time spent on these would make the course even better. The student to instructor ratio was excellent. I left with a much improved confidence when it comes to playing with my bike + a toolbox of ideas that will help me make simple adjustments when things go wrong.

Completed the day 2 bike maintenance course today. Really enjoyed it. I learned lots, serviced my rear hub, and replaced my bikes bottom bracket, also fixed an annoying niggle with the drivetrain. Excellent day. Very enthusiastic, helpful and knowledgeable tutor. Couldn’t ask for more. Would certainly recommend to anyone interested. Thanks very much BBP.