VitaminWater

...So yeah, basically, I grew up skateboarding. I was never into bikes. I had no interest at all. I had my skateboard.

About a year, year and a half ago I got on someone's fixed gear, rode it around for about 10 minutes, and instantly knew I wanted one. There was something different about it. It wasn't just a bike.

So, maybe within a week, I got what looked like a good deal on a Bianchi. I liked the thing. I rode it around. I had fun.

But, recently, I don't know what happened....but I have become addicted. I can't stay off the thing. I look forward to waking up and going to work, so I can ride in. At work, can't wait to leave, so I can ride home. Then I get home, and try to figure out another reason to go right back out.

So, here I am, addicted to my bike. But the problem here, and the point of this thread, is that I know NOTHING about bikes.
I don't really have any friends who are into them. The people riding these things around my city (NYC/Brooklyn) just seem too cool for school.
I do know that I have a decent entry level fixed gear bike. I do know that the more I ride this thing, the more I am going to maybe want to upgrade, repair, fine tune, etc.

True a wheel? I don't know!!! Bottom bracket? How the HELL do you get that thing out? Threadless headset?? GAH!!!

So I know the best way to learn about things is just to do it. Tinker. Take apart and put back together.
That kinda scares me when it comes to a bicycle that I am going to be trusting to safely move me in and out of traffic and up and down hills.

What can a person, like me, do? Are there, I dunno, maybe bicycle repair classes that can show me what's what, what to do, what NOT to do?
Are Deep V's and Chris King headsets really worth the money? I don't know these things, and I don't know how to learn these things. No one really around me to learn from.
I feel soo....old, lost!
As opposed to, say, growing up skateboarding I KNOW that Independent trucks = good, Z-Rollers = joke.
I know what a kingpin is for. Bottom bracket, not so much.

So, if you read all of this....I'm sorry, I guess I really don't have a POINT to the thread.
I'm just confused, but love riding this damn thing!

tepr

get deep-vs and risers, then it will all make sense

VitaminWater

Well shoot, now I feel like an idiot.
I should have glanced at the stickies up there and noticed the...
*RESOURCE THREAD: Single Speed and Fixed Gear* (read this first!)"
...and maybe spent some time in there first.

My apologies.

this1time

ha! z-rollers! don't give away your age now....

bad news hughes

1.have fun riding.
2. there are better wheels than deep v's

VitaminWater

Of course I was using Deep V's and Chris King headsets as examples, because they seem to be on all the real "fancy" looking, color coordinated bikes out there.

The point isn't about brands and looks and stuff like that. I really only brought that up to make the analogy between what I know about skateboarding, and what I know about bicycles.
The point is, yes, I wanna (and will) have fun riding. But I also want to become knowledgeable about what I am riding. I wanna fix my own bike, and replace parts on my own bike, and feel confident about it.

bad news hughes

where in nyc do you live? there are a couple of cool shops that can help when you need parts, and otherwise help you as questions arise. also check out www.sheldonbrown.com, there is a wealth of information there that could answer a lot of your questions

VitaminWater

I'm in Brooklyn (south).

Been looking at SheldonBrown for a while now. I mean, basically, I guess what I'm really saying is....I can learn everything from reading forums, reading sheldon brown, etc, but I still wouldn't feel REALLY comfortable swapping out, say, my cranks, by myself.
You know?...I mean, some of these things you just want to make SURE you are doing correctly, what with it being so important to your own safety.

I'm not AS clueless as my first post might make me out to be. I do know what a bottom bracket is for and what it does. I know how a bike works.
It's just a new world for me. And I never really like to half ass things. If I am really gonna continue to ride thins thing day in and day out, I want to become knowledgeable and confident.

VitaminWater

And also:
"2. there are better wheels than deep v's"

Something simple like that. What really makes a wheel good? These are things that I don't know yet.
(And I'm not asking you to explain...the info is out there...I will find it)
I know sizes and hardness in a skateboard wheel, and when and why you might want a certain size and hardness.

I just look forward to knowing about bikes.

I guess this is more about me thinking out loud (in a thread), and also wanting to introduce myself to the board. And wasting time while watching baseball.

deathhare

Sounds like you need to read my guide for new jacks

beerslave801

hey Vitamin, you are not alone, I too am a fellow skater still skate and its still my 1st love, but I feel your passion for these fixed gear bikes, I too am fairly new to them, and luckily I work with a bunch of bike mechainics so I can learn from them. There has to be some skaters there who ride fixed and know whats up, stay away from the cool color coorinated man-a-pri wearing cool guys with attitudes they will steer you wrong.

brooklyn_bike

check out recycle bicycle in dumbo. they have workshops sometimes and volunteer nights on wednesday. it'll let you get your hands dirty and learn some things while helping out. also free of charge: the freegan's workshop in bed-stuy and time's up in LES. i was totally clueless about bikes two years ago and since then i've disassembled and built up 7 different bikes for myself and friends. buy a basic bike tool kit and maybe a decent 80s (maybe japanese) bike for cheap on CL and go to town. sheldon brown and park tools will get you a very long way...

Sinn

Ummm...

1. Join the club.
2. Search the forums by topic and read.

VitaminWater

Brooklyn_Bike, thanks, that stuff sounds like exactly the sort of thing I am looking for.

this1time

my friend swears by zinn and the art of road bike maintenance. don't know if that will help but, i've known others that have built complete bikes with that by their side.

zoeglassjd

Sticky it.

brett jerk

I got into bikes in a similar way. I went to France for a semester and brought a bike with me so that I could commute around and I fell sooooo in love with biking (I'd had the bike for a few years and only ridden it before I left when my bike mechanic friend would make me ride to the shoreline with him).

The best recommendation I can give you is to get a beater bike. Ride it all the time and work on it all the time, do all your own repairs, but DON'T be afraid to go into a bike shop and ask questions, any decent one will understand your love of bikes and your wont to work on them. Buy tools and parts from a decent shop and they'll have no problems looking out for you and answering some of your questions without charging you.

That being said, the bike I brought to France was a crappy mtb and it was falling apart. I didn't really speak the language for the first part of the time I was there, so I literally had to figure out everything with my bike, because I didn't even know how to ask about food in a grocery let alone bike parts. I came home and I built my next bike (my fixed gear) from the ground up. I suffered through a lot of crap with that, had to ride my ****ty mtb a few times because I screwed up installing things and I didn't have enough time to fix whatever before class/work.

What it ultimately comes down to is that bikes are pretty burly and if you tool around enough/ride enough you'll be able to feel anything that's different or wrong with your bike and get off and fix it. Bikes are built well, but if you'renot talking derailleurs or disk brakes the work to be done and the parts are pretty straightforward and there are a million youtube videos etc on how to do everything (and then theres this forum for when youre convinced something is abnormal).

that being said, here are some additional resources:

https://www.parktool.com/repair/
https://fixiefaqs.xwiki.com/xwiki/bin/view/Main/WebHome
www.sheldonbrown.com (r.i.p.)