Maintenance sessions at Polmont Community Hub
by Morag
Another successful maintenance session at Polmont Community Hub with myself, Morag, and mechanic Neil! On 5th March we were at Polmont Community Hub continuing our series of maintenance classes with the aim of improving the community’s confidence and removing any mechanical barriers that may have prevented them from using their bike. This was the second session out of the three-part maintenance classes we have been running with residents in Polmont. For this session we dove into the technical world of brakes: Neil covered the various types and how to fix them. Some of our participants brought along their own bikes to learn how to fix their own bikes and we provided some spare ones also. The session ran smoothly, and everyone was able to successfully fix brake related issues by the end of the night. It was interesting to see the different types of brakes all the different types of bikes used.
Nigel said that they were, “Loving the classes and is so excited for the final one next week.” These classes are aimed at strengthening Polmont’s community by bringing residents together and teaching them valuable skills. The Community Hub will be donated a ParkTool kit at the end of the three sessions which is to be used as a tool library for the local residents.
We at FEL realise that confidence can be a barrier to cycling, so we hope that these classes give people a confidence boost and inspire people to cycle more and chose a more active lifestyle.
Neil gave the class tips and tricks on how to maintain your brakes and make the most out of them and the class were eager to learn, asking loads of questions about their bikes and different type of brake problems they had/may encounter.
A big thank you to the staff at Polmont Community Hub for providing us with a location to hold these classes and for providing hot drinks and biscuits! Next week is our final session in Polmont and we will be covering gears.
