Learning the Mechanics

bfreeman0

Intro
Well recently I had an incident with my bikes wheel (ball?) bearings, and what happened was the wheel just became stuck and almost had someone crash into the back of me.
Message
So what I really want to know is it relatively easy to learn how to diagnose and fix a problem? At the moment my dad is the one fixing my bike, as he is a bit obsessed with fixing things, but I really want to be able to do things for myself.
I would also like to know of some links to useful pages that have good starting information, as the problem with this site is that you get swamped with information that has loads of technical jargon.
P.S. The bold italic text is a bit of a bit now, after doing ICT for a couple of years, you end up bolding and making headings italic lol.

wordnumb

www.parktool.com / www.sheldonbrown.com are two of the best how-to websites frequently recommended by folkes around here. Also, there's the search facility, ^ up there somewhere, because someone has usually asked the same question previously. Using specific manufacturer names & model numbers helps.

A lot of bike problems come down to a bit of trial and error. Everything is adjustable, it's a case of learning where things ought to be positioned, what you're setting the bike up to do, and being systematic. With experience fixes become obvious.

bungalistic

Best way to learn is by doing and/or watching other do it. If your dad is good at fixing your problems then ask him to watch you as you do it, that way you will learn how to.

As said most problems are very easy to fix and the more you play around with bike settings the easier it becomes to diagnose and fox problems.

junglist_matty

Bikes are fairly easy to setup once you've had a few years of tinkering about... I just bought stuff and fitted it myself, then set it up using manuals and learning about how each different adjustment made a difference.

Most of the adjustments I made was to V-Brakes but they're pretty much history these days!

bfreeman0

thanks all

RichardSalisbury

Start small and build up. Chances are, if your dad is handy, you will at least have learnt how to be practical over the years... I know I learnt more skills from my dad than anywhere else.

Start by doing the small things, replacing pads, chains, cassettes etc... then build up over time. Always good to look on places like this in the "know how" section for a step by step guide on the job you are attempting.

Can be frustrating at times, but after a few years fettling my own bikes, I have pretty much done every job out there.

Good luck!