Free Ride’s popular Adult Sunday Class Series is accepting students for the next session, starting this Sunday, May 10, and running through June 14.

This basic mechanic’s course is six weeks long, giving each student 12 hours of class time and walks students through the various systems of the bike.  They aim to teach you how to look at the bike and try to vision how to find the problem.  For the Sunday Class, you must sign up for the full six weeks.

If you can’t commit to the six week course, check out their Monday “drop-in” classes.  The topics vary, and you can pick and choose which classes you want to attend.

The schedule and cost for the classes is available on Free Ride’s website.

Here’s a basic rundown of the six week course:

Week 1 – Tubes, tires and flats In this intro to the course we will discuss tube and tire selection and sizing, and have a thorough exercise in patching a flat.

Week 2 – Hubs and bearings An introduction to cup and cone bearing systems.  We will disassemble, clean and reassemble the hub of a wheel.

Week 3 – Wheel truing How to prepare your wheel and make spoke nipple adjustment to make a lateral true and straighten the rim of your wheel.

Week 4 – The Drivetrain (chains, chainrings, cranks, bottom brackets) Learn how to remove, clean and fit a chain, how to remove cranks and replace a chainwheel or a bottom bracket.

Week 5 – Brakes, cables and housings Learn how to replace your cables and housings and how to make the basic adjustments to make your brakes work better.

Week 6 – Derailleurs Demystify one of the more complex components of your bicycle by learning its basic adjustments.