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@dancing james
I spent the day today doing the intermediate course.
It started out with chain assembly and breaking. The correct use of a chain tool, how to ensure that you don't push the pins all the way out and how to put it back together and remove sticky links. Also covered in great detail were powerlinks etc.
Installation of new deraillieurs was covered and because it was asked for a review of indexing and limit screws as a number of the participants had not done the basics. Bottom brackets and crankset removal and installation were also covered and this included a little history lesson on the progression and different types of cranksets.
The afternoon moved on to bearings, wheels, bbs, hubs and headsets. These have always been a little mysterious to me and now I would feel confident stripping bearings down, cleaning and re greasing before setting them back up with adequate tension.
The final section was wheel truing, adjusting and replacing spokes.
The two days I have spent have been wonderfully informative. When I think of all the time I have spent on the mechanics section here along with the park tools website and watching YouTube tutorials, I have spent many hours but these two days have been much more instructive. The great thing is also to learn how to do these things when not under pressure and having a whole load of wheels and parts for you to practice upon before doing it on your own bike.
Much of my learning curve previously has been during times of minor crisis when my bikes have developed problems, some of my attempts to repair have been less than successful and incurred costly mistakes.
Most of the course has covered things I have done for myself, but I now feel much more confident.
The courses are worth it, when you consider the cost of servicing a bike, in two days you can learn to do it yourself and get access to the right parts and tools.
Effectively the course pays for itself and then you can use the savings to start investing in your own tool kit.