Originally Posted by
cny-bikeman
Merely taking something apart and reassembling is a rote process. What will help you the most is observing the function of the various parts, how they interact, and wear patterns. Written instructions will typically be much more accurate and thorough, especially at sheldonbrown.com and parktool.com, and often will explain more of the why rather than just the how.
I agree. But you can get pretty darn far tearing a bike down with a wrench and few hex wrenches. You need knowledge or access to it when you're putting it back together and adjusting.
Also - I would just go with a few cheap basics to start with. Splurge for nice stuff if/when you find out what cheap tools annoy you or wear out. Tool costs can get exorbitant pretty quickly. I've picked up some tools from bike shops looking get rid of nice but cosmetically worn tools.