Bicycle Mechanics - Learning to work on my bike in NYC

I am looking to learn bike repair and maintenance in NYC. I am assembling parts for a project and I think a great way to learn would be to hire a mechanic to spend a day building up the bike with me. Anyone have leads on a good way to do this? Any other suggestions on how to learn?

Be careful if you're going to wander around NYC telling people you want to hire a 'mechanic' - you may be misconstrued!

Download barnet's manual, sheldon brown's articles and park tool instructions. Pick up 3 abandoned bikes from the street or charity shops, take them apart and build up 1 bike from the best parts.

Is this for a SS/fixie project? If so, you'll want to talk to a mechanic who has experience with such beasts. Possibly look for info from courier types for leads on a good wrench.

Otherwise, my recommendation would be to acquire an old bike & learn on that. Start with a tuneup; once you get competent with minor chores, start taking pieces off & reinstalling them. My brother, myself & friends learned much about bikes by doing this (often incorrectly) in our youth. By practicing on a junker you can hopefully avoid doing permanent damage to your project bike. You can also customize your 'lessons' as appropriate for your project bike. i.e. if its a fixie/SS, you don't have to mess with derailers.

Lastly, read. I bought 'Anybody's Bike Book' the author of which I cannot recollect (in fact, title may be Everybody's Bike Book). Its well written, though a little dated. Covers basic concepts well, but does not cover latest & greatest gadgets. What i've seen of the PDF available in this forum is good too.

Good Luck-
Brian

i agree with everyone else. a junker is the way to go. even if you just take it apart, clean it, and put it back together with the same parts that will teach you a lot. you can find bikes for as little as 10 bucks if you comb through the flea markets.