Bicycle Mechanics - disassembling the bicycle

i currently bought a mongoose bike, used from this guy. i was teaching myself to learn how to ride last night (i'm 18, and i never rode before. no tease lol) after i totally ate gravel, i realized that my gears sounded weird and jammed a bit while riding. my friend tells me my gear got knockd out and its easy to put back. however, since the bike is kinda old by the looks of it, i wanna take off all the gears and everything, WD40 that baby up and scrub it shiny, and put it back together so it runs like new.

i cant tell you the model i have. it is all red (looks like the previous owner spray painted it all red...maybe stolen???) is has a mongoose badge screwed on the front. thats why i perceive it as old, no decals. i was told it was an 18-speed, but the dial for gears goes from 1 to 7, and on the left has a dial for i'm guessing the front shocks (hard to soft). also, i cant turn it from gear three to 2, its jammed. another reason why i wanna take it all apart and redo everything.

my back brakes are weak so maybe i can tighten it?? i'll post pics when i get home to my camera. as for now, i can only describe it.

personally, i think i was jipped cuz he told me it was a 18 sp, great brakes, year and a half old mongoose, in good condition. of course at that time i cudnt ride it. now i can, taught myself in one night. altho i still cant go straight lol. i paid $40.

anyone can help me?

it would be greatly appreciated.

Bicycles are not complicated, and if you are mechanically inclined you should be able to take it apart if you have the right tools.

If it won't shift and has bad brakes, don't ride it. I don't quite know what "gears knocked out" means. Check the cables carefully. They could either be streched or worn out. This would produce bad ****ing and weak breaking. If they are streched out, you can tighten them. Also, check the brake pads for wear.

Look at this web page:
www.parktools.com

They have lots of good advice and how to instructions.

Count the number of rings on the front and mutiple by the number of gears in the back. That will tell you how many speeds it is.

Good luck

The absolute first thing you do is get an introductory repair manual. If you don't want to buy one see if your local library has something suitable. A good first reference is called "The Bike Book" by Fred Milson. Once you have read it or something similar cover to cover, you will be in a much better position to ask questions and understand the answers.

Otherwise you are going to be nothing but frustrated. You won't know what to ask and no one here will be able to understand what you want.

Check the cables carefully. They could either be streched or worn out. This would produce bad ****ing

I've had some terrible ****ting lately, but I figured it was from drinking too much. I'll check the cables tommorrow.

But seriously, read the Park website before you try anything. Unfortunately, the bike will probly cost another $40 to get running smoothly, that is if you fix it yourself.

I've had some terrible ****ting lately, but I figured it was from drinking too much. I'll check the cables tommorrow.

But seriously, read the Park website before you try anything. Unfortunately, the bike will probly cost another $40 to get running smoothly, that is if you fix it yourself.

It would seem that careless typing has made me say something unintentionally hilarious. Good luck on the bike and thank you moderators.

It would seem that careless typing has made me say something unintentionally hilarious. Good luck on the bike and thank you moderators.
They are pretty unforgiving aren't they? And yes, reading the ***** as it must have been originally typed was pretty funny. :)

They are pretty unforgiving aren't they? And yes, reading the ***** as it must have been originally typed was pretty funny. :)

That is nothing. As a first year grad student I turned in an entire term paper (25 or so pages) that substituted the phrase “experimental design” with “excremental design” at least 10 times. Thank you very much bad American spelling education and spell check. Damn I need to learn to proof read.

i'll get on those books.

here are some pics i just took.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v492/mendozer/2e1d0623.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v492/mendozer/c3c87da8.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v492/mendozer/ba37ffb8.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v492/mendozer/ae3833d4.jpg

Yes. this is an 18 speed one ( Gears are calulated by no. of front chain rings x no of rear cogs )

Wow. This bike is a year and half old in dog years.

My two cents - a bit of WD-40 is not going to get you too far. There are likely going to be a lot of things you need to do make your new friend "run like new". Read up on the web or buy a good book and learn about all the parts. Best bet is to make friends with a local bike mechanic and have him help you make the bike "run like its age". In the meantime, just learn to ride.

Remember, a bike in pieces is not rideable so you should think of this as an ongoing project and work with it in increments. Many of the adjustments will be minor and can be done with tools you may already have. Some will take lots of work with parts that cost more than the $40 you paid for the whole bike.

Chances are, once you have got this bike just the way you want it, you will be ready to buy a new bike. But at least, you will know exactly what you want and how to get it.

Thats a decent bike for learning bike mechanics. As Toki said, when you have messed everything on this bike then fixed it, you will know exactly what you will want on your next bike. Besides books, get a set of metric hex keys, a spoke wrench, a pair of cone wrenches from your local bike shop - none very expensive and will last forever. Sheldon Brown's website also has a lot of useful stuff.

http://sheldonbrown.com/home.html

ok i didnt see anything good on that site lol. i was gunna run to the library (maybe ride??? nah) and get some books on bike repair. i wanted to paint my body and put decals on it. whould this be my first or last incremental project?

First, of all, good luck. Rebuilding a bike is a good project.

Second, DO NOT under any circumstances use WD40 on your bike. It is a dirt magnet. Go to your LBS and buy some decent lube, something by Pedros.

Lithium grease will work on any parts you are screwing together, like pedals, etc. Use the higher priced lube on things like the derailler and the shifters.

i have Lithium grease i use on my car. it made my struts quiet its gotta work on bikes right?

The library should have the following book to get you going on bike repair. They reprint every few years so its technically up to date and most libraries carry it.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1579548830/qid=1142500850/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/103-8976091-0728601?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

Stay away from bicycling magazine though, its sorta lame.