Bicycle Repair & Maintenance for Beginners: Tires, Brakes, Gears and Chains
A set of 52 short, shop-floor demonstrations from a working bike mechanic, covering flat tire repair, wheel removal, brake and shifter cable work, derailleur adjustment, chain care, cranks, headsets and basic tools. It suits new cyclists who want to handle common roadside and home fixes themselves. Lessons are 1-4 minutes each, so it works as a quick reference more than a deep course.
Lessons by Howcast on YouTubeCurated by YodaHut. These lessons are hosted on YouTube and produced by their original creators, who are not affiliated with YodaHut. You still earn YodaCoins, keep your streak and track progress here.
What You'll Learn
- Find and patch a punctured tube, or replace the tube, and remove and refit a tire
- Take off and remount front and rear wheels, and recognize when a wheel needs spokes replaced or a shop visit
- Adjust squeaky or too-tight brakes and replace brake cables and housing
- Replace shifter cables and adjust front and rear derailleurs, including the L-screw and B-screw, to fix poor shifting
- Size, remove, install and lubricate a chain, and tell a freewheel from a cassette
- Assemble a basic repair kit, identify common shop tools, and run a home tune-up and cleaning routine
Prerequisites
- No prior experience needed
- Access to a bike and a few basic tools (Allen keys, tire levers) to follow along
Course Curriculum
- 1Dealing with a Flat Tire3:12
- 2Patching a Bike Tube2:22
- 3Checking Whether a Tire Is Worn1:37
- 4Removing an Old Tire and Tube2:27
- 5Fitting a New Tire and Tube3:18
- 6Replacing a Bike Tube3:37
- 7Removing a Bike Tire2:26
- 8Installing a Bike Tire3:18
- 9Maintaining Bike Wheels2:47
- 10Three Emergency Wheel Repair Tricks2:52
- 11Replacing a Front Wheel2:25
- 12Replacing a Rear Wheel2:37
- 13Maintaining Bike Rims2:36
- 14Replacing Spokes3:29
- 15Eight Tips About Bike Frames2:39
- 16Replacing Handlebars3:29
- 17Adjusting a Threadless Headset3:07
- 18Adjusting a Threaded Headset3:15
- 19Wrapping Handlebars3:31
- 20Removing an Old Chain2:39
- 21Sizing a Bike Chain3:01
- 22Securing an Installed Chain1:42
- 23Maintaining a Bike Chain3:40
- 24Removing and Installing Pedals3:38
- 25Installing a Cruiser-Style Saddle3:12
- 26Installing a Road Bike Saddle3:06
- 27Adjusting a Squeaky Brake3:02
- 28Adjusting Too-Tight Brakes1:59
- 29Removing Brake Cables and Housing2:58
- 30Installing Brake Cables and Housing2:48
- 31Removing Shifting Cables and Housing2:28
- 32Installing Shifting Cables and Housing3:36
- 33Fixing a Poorly Shifting Bike3:31
- 34Freewheels: Identifying and Adjusting2:39
- 35Cassettes: Identifying and Adjusting3:33
- 36Four Tips About Cranksets1:42
- 37Removing a Crankset2:50
- 38Installing a Crankset2:21
- 39Adjusting Gears and Derailleurs3:51
- 40Adjusting the L-Screw3:10
- 41Adjusting the B-Screw3:03
- 42Replacing a Rear Derailleur2:02
- 43Do All Bike Parts Fit All Bikes?1:11
- 44Cleaning a Bike3:05
- 45Doing a Bike Tune-Up3:31
- 46Ten Tips on Bike Safety and Laws3:27
- 47Eight Tips on Bike Locks3:36
- 48Nine Things for Your Repair Kit2:20
- 49Bike Tools, Part 13:23
- 50Bike Tools, Part 22:37
- 51Bike Tools, Part 33:26
- 52Meet the Instructor: Brendon Nicholas1:41
About the Instructor
Howcast
YouTube creator
The lessons in this course were produced by Howcast and are published on YouTube. YodaHut selected and sequenced them into this course; we did not make them, and Howcast is not affiliated with YodaHut.
Visit the channel on YouTube
- 52 lessons
- 2h 30m of video
- Earns YodaCoins & streaks
- Timestamped notes
- Free — hosted on YouTube
No certificate is issued for Library courses.