Extreme noobity
 

been cycling for 3-4 months. dont know much about mechanics.

riding my jamis when a pedal starts to crookedly unscrew.

bring it to closest shop -mikes bikes

ask for a pedal wrench...and try using it like a regular wrench..and turn bike upside down.

after watching for a few seconds the guy stepped in. now my bike is being rethreaded for 30 bucks.

i guess i should invest in a tool set and internet videos.

funny though. i have only used a regular wrench before....funny stuff.

Sorry about the mistake, but glad they could fix it for you. $30 is nothing in the scheme of things, you got kinda lucky ;)

I suggest this book: Bicycling Magazine's Complete Guide to Bike Maintenance and Repair ... well-illustrated, fairly thorough, aimed at beginners, explains HOW everything works, not just how to fix it. My copy had greasy thumbprints on nearly every page (before I gave it away), which should give you a good idea of how useful it is. Only $13, and well worth it.

There's a scathing amount of info in the sticky at the top of the forums.

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=338432

i wanted to take basic classes for free at performance but i work or have school on all of the days.

there is a thing that is supposed to happen a few days a week in downtown sacramento but when i went there, there was no such place

thanks.

ill have to check it out.

i want to be independent in 90% of the mechanics. ill check out the book.

That book, an $80 toolkit from Performance, Sheldon Brown, and my friends at BikeForums have made me 99% independent of pro mechanics for the past 5 years. Not that I lack respect for them, far from it, but my wallet and my soul prefer to work on my own bike. I did have a mechanic at my LBS check and realign my touring bike frame after it was rear-ended while being carried on my car.

During that time I've owned, repaired, overhauled, and upgraded at least a dozen bikes, built a bunch of wheels, spread a frame or two, painted one bike (not amazingly well), machined a custom seat clamp for a Brooks saddle, made a whole bunch of mistakes, and had a huge ton of fun. :)

Here are some links to get you started, abstractform:

http://www.parktool.com/repair/

Here are some videos:

http://bicycletutor.com/

And the immortal writings of Sheldon Brown:

http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/#articles

This will give you a solid basis for working on your own bike(s).

-:thumb:-