If, like most of us, you're a seasonal cyclist, the bike tune-up is a summer ritual. Funny how after a winter of sitting idle, a machine that's touted as the world's most efficient means of transporation can become so inefficient. Breaks stick, gears skip, tires go flat and the whole thing sqeaks and shimmies like it was special-ordered from, say, the early 1900s.

So you can drop it off at the bike shop along with a pile of money, or you can actually do a lot of the repairs and adjustments yourself, with a little guidance from an expert.

Ken Riess, an instructor with NAIT's Personal Fitness Trainer program, helped us with a series of videos demonstrating the basics of bicycle maintenance. Of course, there are some things only the pros should handle (don't settle, for good enough, for just one example, when fixing your brakes).

But if all your bike needs is tweaking and some TLC, Ken, a seasoned rider and his kids' personal mechanic, can get you back on the saddle quicker than you think.

• Part 1: How to change a flat tire
• Part 2: How to lubricate bike components and adjust the brakes
• Part 3: How to adjust seat height and what do do about poor gear shifting