Women's Bike Workshop... any good?

A guest post from Katriel Costello (owner of a Trek Navigator) 

When you hear Mal, chief mechanic at the Mud Dock, talk about bikes you wonder if there’s anyone in Bristol who knows more about two-wheelers than him. And, if there is, just imagine the perfect cycling mean machine they’d be capable of building if they teamed up.

Navigator 2.0

We were here to learn all we could from Mal – at Mud Dock Cycleworks’ Bike-Fixing Babes Workshop. Upwards of 40 women came, their bikes congesting Mud Dock’s bike hoops and available railing space, and this on a rainy Friday night.

Every kind of cyclist was there, from commuters to road tourers to town cyclists, each with a different range of knowledge about their bike’s mechanics. Mud Dock workshops were pitched perfectly down the middle, allowing for all levels: from those who have never changed an inner tube to those who adjust their rear derailleurs just for fun.

There was a certain amount of trepidation about spending an evening with an expert, but when the workshop started off with the not-exactly-rocket-science but often overlooked fact that taking a brush and warm water to your bike regularly is key to good maintenance, we visibly relaxed.

A simple household brush and a bucket of water is key to keeping gears and brakes lasting longer. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? Yet a straw poll revealed that almost none of us clean our bikes regularly.

Mal and his obliging assistant, James, showed us how to take off a back wheel, the easy way to take off a tyre, how to stop gears making that annoying rattle and how to get up close and personal with your transmission.

Handy tips and hints came thick and fast: pump up your tyres regularly, every day if you’re doing a long commute, and after you’ve oiled your chain (that’s assuming you do), wipe off the excess from the outside – else it acts as a magnet to those bits of grit and dirt from the road.

Mal’s love of bikes is obvious and he loves to share his knowledge – it came as no surprise to hear that he’s been dismantling bikes in his bedroom since he was 12 (though let’s hope he’s not still doing that now).

So when you see a woman on a shining, gleaming bicycle in Bristol you’ll know she’s been to see Mal at the Mud Dock…

Keep updated on the the next Women's Workshop.