How did you learn all you know about road bikes?

rossbarney2003

I was wondering because I have been cycling my road bike for a wee while now and am still getting into the swing of things (I keep starting and stopping due to uni). I get so frustrated that I still don't understand much about road bikes. I'm wanting to know more about road bikes eg what all the parts are called, whats good, whats bad, what I should be doing to look after the bike etc. I hate it when I go into my LBS and I don't understand a word they say....:(

I want to know as much as I can


Can anybody help me out on this matter?

CanterburyTailwind

Spend lots and lots of misspent hours on these forums...

I'm a relative newbie myself, but have got a fair grip on the basics. If you have any particular questions, let me know and I (or other posters) will try and answer them.

rossbarney2003

I have spent a lot of time on this forum too, but I still haven't really learned much....maybe its just me lol.

I would ask you questions, but I have no idea where to start! :P


I'm wanting to know all the technical mumbo-jumbo about road bikes (gears, breaks, etc)

LeighB

This site by the late Sheldon Brown is full of good info.
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/

rossbarney2003

LeighB wrote:

This site by the late Sheldon Brown is full of good info.
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/

Ooh thanks soo much, that site does look kinda promising

fossyant

Club cyclist - that's how I found things out, plus I'd always looked after my cheap racer as a kid, and luckily, I'm fairly practical, so picked it up.

At 22 I put my best bike together - had the frame built for me, and wheels made, then sourced all the parts and put it together - the only thing the frame builder did was put the headset in - no way was I going to chip the paint on a newly painted bike..... :?

BreeHucker

Road bikes are relativley simple compared to say, a downhill or freeride bike so i was just wondering how someone could not have a fairly good mechanical knowledge of them? its not as if you have to worry about hydraulics or setting rebound or compression?

dennisn

Read as much as you can about bikes.

Dennis Noward

Richrd2205

As others have said, hanging around here will do you no harm!
However, like everything, just hanging around won't teach you too much...
Work out what you don't know & read appropriate threads, read lots of forums, follow all the links, ask when you don't understand, ignore anyone who says that Sh**mano equipment is OK & in no time (well, a few years), you'll be more confident!
Also finding like minds, be that in a club or elsewhere will do no harm.
Oh, & cakestop might not be the best place for finding out about the difference between English & Italian bottom brackets
Learning is a journey that takes time & should be enjoyable. As a cyclist, enjoying the journey is key, rather than simply wanting to be at the end point. I've applied this to my learning about bikes & am happier for it,

Bronzie

Got given a copy of "Richard's Bicycle Book" when I was about 8 - spent hours stripping bikes down, re-assembling and then keeping all the "leftovers" in a jam jar until I could work out wtf they had come from. :oops:

Still have the book in the garage, dog-eared, grease-stained and heavily thumbed as it is............but the pages on cotter pins are now a little redundant I fear.

System_1

Go here: http://www.jimlangley.net/wrench/bicycleparts.html That will get you started on the names for all the parts. As for then finding out how to fit or fix those parts, there's nothing better than www.parktool.com/repair That's how I learned enough to build my own bike two years ago and I've never had to pay for a service since.

Random Vince

age of 10, took my bike apart (much to my mum's dismay) in the garage to see how it works

been taking appart, fixing etc my bikes since, recently started building them myself from parts, reaching a head in "restoring" my road bike which was bought by my dad in the 60's, sold to my uncle who did what could be termed as XC on it before sitting it in a shed for 20 years or more

on the road

Read a good book

rossbarney2003

on the road wrote:

Read a good book

Any books you would suggest reading?

redddraggon

rossbarney2003 wrote:

on the road wrote:

Read a good book

Any books you would suggest reading?

Zinn and the Art of Road Bike Maintenance

I also spend a bit of time looking at site like wiggle and CRC - teaches you a bit about components.

term1te

Trial and error, like Random Vince, I just like taking things apart. I've spent many hours in cold torch lit sheds with improvised tools and piles of bike bits. I hate not knowing how something works, it's a good job the cat was always faster than me! I think I caught it from my grandfather, as a child I spent most summers in his shed surrounded by bits of every mechanical or electrical devise known to man, very few of them worked, but they were all "useful".

heavymental

Well, if you build a bike from scratch that will help alot. I bought a frame second hand and then put everything on it so each component required me to decide what I wanted and give some thought to it. I found myself asking all kinds of questions on here (knowhow...not cakestop ) and I learnt alot when it came to assembling it. Also, if you read lots of threads on here then it'll all pop back into your head when it comes time to think about a problem yourself. For example, you'll be thinking about what cassette you need and suddenly you'll remember all kinds of snippets on the subject you've read in the past.

vermooten

Term1te wrote:

Trial and error

+1

Reading gives a good grounding to understand this stuff, but there's nothing like trying it out and learning from your mistakes to really understand the technical side. I've been stranded many times by chains being too short, things not being greased properly etc but have learnt loads. The Know How forum people are extremely generous with their knowledge all the zillions of times I've got stuck with something.

Doing it should give you confidence to try more repairs, too.

rossbarney2003

I have always wanted to try the trial and error way, but money is my main concern......:(

geoff_ss

I've always been surrounded by practical people. My earliest memories (1940s) are of taking old radio sets to bits and, later, making my own. It probably helped that there was a very large well-equipped workshop available.

I was a very keen motorcyclist for years and rebuilt/restored vintage bikes as well as maintaining my own. After that, push bikes are trivial and reveal their operation simply by examination of the components. My wife often insists on doing her own maintenance as well - so it can't be that hard :?

Frame building/repair and re-enamelling are the only things I haven't had a go at myself. If you're reasonably mechanically minded a bit of study and spanner wielding will reap rewards.

Geoff

on the road

rossbarney2003 wrote:

on the road wrote:

Read a good book

Any books you would suggest reading?

Actually the book I used is out of print now, I think. It's called "Bicycle Maintenance And Repair", half the stuff in it isn't relevant anymore, but it's still useful to have. If you can find it then it's worth having, the ISBN number is 0-87857-896-X.

STI levers and A-headsets weren't around when the book was printed.