capnjonny 

The whole point of my post was to encourage people to learn about bicycles. I am not suggesting someone without any experience should start wrenching on a new $5000 carbon fiber bike. Finding an old Schwinn rigid frame mountain bike and taking it apart is not taking much of a risk. There is really not much in the way of special tools needed.

A crank puller, a freewheel tool, a spoke wrench and a chain breaker can be had from Amazon for about $20. Add these and a large set of vice grips to the tools I mentioned previously and you can do almost anything.

These days few kids get any hands on experience with tools in school. They are so addicted to their smart phones the are likely to fall in a hole just walking down the street. Cars are so complicated and expensive almost no one does more than change their oil any more( the other day while subing at the trade school I watched a student spend at least an hour under a Saab Aero trying to remove the spark plugs) I have owned over 20 cars in my life , and restored a few of them. When I bought my first new truck , a 1977 Datsun, and realized I would need a couple hundred dollars in special tools to do a tune up I decided to have a mechanic do all the work on it. Compared to new cars that one was simple. Now days when you open the hood you can't even see the engine.

Working on bicycles is something anybody can do. It gives a person great satisfaction and saves them money.

At the Bike Exchange we encourage people to bring their kids. Seeing the smile on a moms face when she and junior or princess change their first tire or adjust a wheel bearing is just great.

So, no excuses. Go out and get dirty.