This past week I’ve taken the one week bicycle mechanic class at United Bicycle Institute (UBI) in Portland.  During the class we took apart and re-assembled major subsystems of our bicycles, e.g. wheels, drive train, dérailleurs, brakes, headsets.

Most of these operations I’ve done once or twice, though my normal preference is to take my bicycle to a shop where mechanics have the right tools and more practice.  However, nice to go through all this in the instructor environment.  Helps confidence in getting this stuff right.

It has also helped my work through my spare parts list.  Asking lots of questions of what wears and what experiences folks have.  The class enables one-time discounts from UBI and Seattle Bike Supply so now I have some extra brake pads, chains, cassettes and cables.  While I didn’t disassemble, did get a chance to review the hydraulic disc brakes.  Overall, expect this to be a win (better stopping power and will not grind away at the rim), though if it does fail it would be tougher to do much other than replace.