I've been to Sheldon's site. That's where I learned all about my really early uniglide cassette (thanks to the link from you guys!)

I read this forum and Sheldon's site a lot, but I'm afraid it's true that a lot if it gets put away in my head for "later". Sometimes I read about one topic and it leads to another, and then I've been reading for a couple hours. I'm trying to learn the stuff that will keep me from screwing up right now, and the more advanced stuff I just don't even bother trying to understand until I'm ready to try it. Just understanding the jargon and the history of the components is tough right now.

But because of reading this forum and Sheldon's site, the things we learn in class are more meaningful to me, so that I know exactly where they fit into the big picture.

For instance, even though we learned about the BB, because of this site I knew that it meant several expensive tools and a good chance of screwing up your bike in a expensive way, so I slotted all that away to do when I'm more experienced. And I also learned that, no matter what everyone says, using a torque wrench on a crank bolt is the best way to go. And I've also learned from you guys that putting Lock Tite on things requires a bit of knowledge and restraint, or access to a blow torch! These are the things that have kept me from screwing up.

Thanks guys and Sheldon!

But it's nice to have someone there, hands on to show you how much pressure to use, and to deal with all the idiosyncracies you might run across with an old steel bike.

I'm working on 3 of my own bikes right now, an 81 SR, a Bridgestone 200, and a Klein Stage Comp. I won't even touch my Atlantis, at this point. I'm going to take the beginner class once more with the Stage Comp because the derailleurs are so different and I have some questions about wheel truing, still. Then I'm taking a complete overhaul class with the SR, and then a wheel-building class.