Dan Smith

Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia that anyone can edit. Recently someone started an article entitled "Bicycle mechanic."

You can read the article in its current state here .

When originally created, the article was not much more than a dictionary definition, and was proposed for deletion. I don't think it's going to be deleted, but it could definitely use some well-informed work. I know very little about bicycles or bicycle mechanics, so I quickly tossed in some stuff from the New York State Department of Labor and some stuff on bicycle mechanic schools I've heard of. It's just a start, just something to bulk up the article.

But I'd really, really like to invite readers of this forum to help out with the article.

If you aren't familiar with Wikipedia, well, all you need to do is click "edit this page" and an editing box will come up and you can change the text in an article any way you like. You don't even need to create an account. Oddly enough, this works surprisingly well, mostly because other editors keep an eye on the article and usually can protect it from vandalism or gross bias.

(Please do not waste time critiquing the article here. If you think something in it should be changed, don't tell me to change it... just be bold and go right into Wikipedia and change it yourself).

Be aware that Wikipedia really likes people to cite sources, and hates people trying to use Wikipedia to promote commercial enterprises. I tossed in UBI and Barnett's Bicycle Institute and Park Tool Company mostly in order to say something, and because I honestly believe these are well-known sources of bicycle training (and of course I'm not connected with any of them).

Thanks in advance for anyone who cares to help.

aerodave

I like the idea of a Bicycle Mechanics Wiki...but Wikipedia may not be where it belongs. It's possibly my favorite site on the Internet, so that's why I worry about its purity.

Certain types of content just don't belong in Wikipedia, including how-tos, commercial endorsements, etc. Check out #8 in this list for the Wikipedia community's take on Instruction Manuals.

However, it would be entirely fitting to create a Wikibook out of the material. I'd be happy to help.

aerodave

Nevermind...I misunderstood the intention. I thought it was supposed to be about bicycle repair. The activity, not the profession. I should have read the article =P.

juicemouse

Not to threadjack, but there appears to already be a bicycle repair Wikibook. Looks like it could use some serious help too.

https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Bicycle_repair