Originally Posted by
FBinNY
........ I can think of no better way to celebrate the spirit of Christmas than to give a bike to a child who otherwise wouldn't have one. ........
My first bike was a USED bike from Santa, while the bratty neighbor kid got a NEW one. It was a valuable life lesson. Life isn't always fair!
FB pretty much covered it.
I started by working on my own bike through necessity and then expanded into "flipping" bikes on CL.
I'll never make money, because I probably buy $3 worth of tools for every $1 "profit".
Stay away from the box store bikes and other bottom end stuff. There are many you simply will never get to work right with out way too much money invested. Kind of like rebuilding a YUGO.
Start with the simpler repairs, like servicing bearings & cables, tuning DER's and expand as your confidence grows.
Things like BB replacement/service, wheel truing/building or whatever direction appeals to you.
Understanding how to repair the old is about the best foundation to build the new.