The Spoke Curriculum - Session 1

Games

Description

Start with a game to gauge existing knowledge and interests.

Details

Identify bike parts; ?? (Kris, Mat et al are probably better to figure out what would be best here)

Content

Primary Content

Instructor Notes

TBD

This is an offline activity. The instructor should ask questions based on the level of the the class, starting at the very basics (how does the bike tire work?) and becoming more challenging if the students can handle it (what do the bottom bracket, headset, and hubs all have in common?), but still relevant (or at least interesting). The goal is to gauge existing knowledge and interest, as well as to hint at interesting learning possibilities for the next few weeks, without discouraging anyone. It should also serve as an icebreaker and introduce students to each other, hopefully in a non-competitive way.

Overview of bike

Description

Cursory: just awareness of the parts of the bike, and similarities in mechanics

Details

Show some cutaway cross-sections of hubs, tires, etc., to show innards without going into details. Demonstrate why it's interesting, and encourage excitement for learning later.

Content

Primary Content

Instructor Notes

"The bicycle is made of a few main components. The frame is the main tubes of the bicycle: commonly in a classic diamond design. The fork holds the front wheel in its dropouts, and the stem clamps onto the fork and the handlebars. The saddle attaches to the seatpost. The rear wheel attaches to the rear dropouts. The pedals attach to the cranks, which are attached to the bottom bracket. The chain runs around the cogs and the chainring, and derailleurs push it from side to side. The word ""wheel"" refers to the entire assembly of tire, tube, rim, spokes, hub, and cogs. They all turn on the axle of the wheel. The key parts that allow the wheel to turn are the ball bearings, which are sandwiched between a ""cup"" that holds the bearings, and a ""cone"" that rests against the inside of the bearings. [1] (Pass around a physical cutaway, similar to: <img src="http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/aa423/curtis_odom/MONARK-01.jpg">) Both wheels, the bottom bracket, pedals, and the headset all use this same basic mechanism to rotate. We will learn how to service wheel hubs and bottom brackets, and possibly headsets too, but the procedures are usually very similar."

Show a bottom bracket when talking about them, since it's not apparent what that is or how the cranks attach to it. Showing a cutaway hub, with caged bearings showing, as well as a separate, loose cup & cone assembly is very helpful to demonstrate hubs.