Is there anyone out there who when reading about bicycle mechanics, gets rather frustrated or has been down this path and just feel very frustrated? I swear, when I read about bicycle mechanics to learn more about it, the song that will pop into my head from time to time is that old song, "Dry Bones"
http://youtube.com/watch?v=mVoPG9HtYF8.
There are so many different aspects of a bike, so I try to focus on one aspect, but there are so many different parts and I go from one part to the next and soon enough, it's like I forgot where the heck I came from and oftentimes I am very much lacking in pictures or diagrams. I am primarily using Sheldon Brown's site along with the online manual for my bike ('07 Trek 7.5 FX), but the site is very lacking in diagrams and pictures overall (although it does have some useful pictures) and I don't think the site is going to be upgraded too much anymore.
It probably doesn't help that I don't have the actual bike right in front of me, but I look at close ups online of my bike through the manufacturer's site. I think the best approach may be to take all the literature I can print out that is relevant to what I'm focusing on and head out to the garage, but still, figuring out which parts are which isn't exactly going to be attained by looking at the bike but I'm sure it will help. Throw in for good measure that parts can be called by different names and that sometimes, the names don't exactly fit or seem somewhat random to a newcomer, and it can make it confusing.
Of course I could just come on here and ask individual questions, but I'm trying to win a war and not just a battle and also learn on my own as well but it's sure proving difficult.