Training
Maintenance Training (Click for Cycling Training)
Courses are run regularly for groups of up to four trainees, upstairs in our shop in Stirchley. We use Park professional mechanics' tools and stands and all our courses are taught by our experienced staff. The advanced modules are delivered by Cyctech 2 qualified staff. Most importantly, we have tea and coffee making facilities.
We teach on our own training-only bikes, which are clean and in good condition, as we think this is the best way to clearly show you how things work. We are happy for you to discuss the specifics of your own bike with us so you learn the most applicable skills on your course and remember you can work on your own bike at our Tool Club after completing some training.
Unfortunately our training room is up a flight of stairs. However we are committed to making our services accessible, so if you wish to attend and have mobility issues please let us know so that we can arrange training in a way that suits you.
Booking Information
To book a place, email training[at]birminghambikefoundry.org
We ask for a 50% deposit to confirm your place, refundable up to seven days before the course.
Upcoming Courses
January
Friday 27th: Bike Basics, 3pm - 6pm
Saturday 18th: Wheel Building, 11am - 5pm
Friday 24th, Saturday 25th: Home Mechanics, 11am - 5pm each day
March
Saturday 3rd: Bike Basics, 1pm - 4pm
Friday 16th: Wheel Building, 11am - 5pm
Saturday 17th, Saturday 31st: Home Mechanics, 11am - 5pm
An advanced course which includes: measuring hubs and rims to calculate spoke lengths, tangential lacing, tensioning and truing wheels. This course is suitable to those new to wheel building and bike mechanics. Learn a specialist skill in six hours and produce a hand built wheel. The course fee does not include parts so speak with us for available options if you want to take your wheel home. There is no charge for parts if you want to leave the wheel you build with us.
A wheel building course underway.
Our tools and equipment for our training courses are funded by a grant from Midlands Co-operative Society's Community Dividend.
Whatever your learning aims, we can arrange individually tailored sessions that can help you improve your cycling. We offer courses to individuals, small groups and families.
Using the CTSB National Standards, our qualified instructors can teach you how to ride your bike; even if you have no prior experience. If you are already riding and would like to build your confidence on the roads we can teach to safe techniques to negotiate traffic. We can also work with families to help you learn how to ride protectively with younger cyclists and enjoy days out on wheels!
The charge for one-to-one training is £25 an hour. For every additional trainee we charge £5, so a session with one instructor and two learners will be £30 an hour, and so on. Depending on what you want to learn we limit group sizes to between three and eight trainees. Training sessions will normally last one hour.
We can loan you a bike and helmet for an additional £5 fee per session.
All sites used in our sessions are risk assessed prior to training, learners' bikes are checked to ensure they are safe and functioning properly, and all trainers are qualified first aiders and hold valid CRB checks. If you are interested in booking a session, contact training[at]birminghambikefoundry.org