goldfinch

Ugh. Thank you. I've had trouble getting my arms around cabled systems and I haven't been able to internalize book explanations.

cny-bikeman

In your defense some are asking for a fish dinner, or when offered a pole want you to cast it in the right direction.

Yes, please just look at a diagram or two and try a Google search. It may save another thread where people figure out your personal language or basically cut and paste from Sheldon or Park Tool.

Yes, indeed - that derailleur did not go into the spokes because it was angry at you or because the limit screw decided to relax for a while.

Though distinct and not directly interactive, many of the component systems have interdependent functions. Brakes can't be adjusted properly without a wheel that runs true, and a properly adjusted hub is required for truing.

Actually it applies to many situations beyond machines, and works in both directions. If you can hone your bike observation and troubleshooting skills they can be applied to analyzing both physical and mental problems. Certainly learning or using knowledge about leverage, force, torque, geometry, etc are helpful with a bike and other machines. But I also use the same basic troubleshooting approach when working on a computer, video or phone problem as I do on bikes. I use logic both to narrow down the cause of a bike symptom as well as to interpret the validity of a political or philosophical position. If you have those skills already from other activities bike repair will be that much easier.

I have meant to check out that book, as I have a feeling it parallels some of what I would like to do in talking about bike repair.

Absolutely true. Bikes are a morass of changing systems, specifications and even terminology - and it's never been known for standardization.

IthaDan 

Cool. So we're on the same page, that wall of text wasn't necessarily a reply directly, more an add on to the overall process of learning.

cny-bikeman

Yep, understood - and thanks much for your addition.

el Chilly Willy

tinker with some garage sale junkers and sheldon brown!

Kimmo

Except for BB jockey wheels

IthaDan 

cny-bikeman

Reading alone will usually not do it if you don't understand intuitively to some degree. You have to get hands-on, experiment and think about what actually happens when you pull on a brake/shift lever - your force (or release) vs. the spring force at the other end.

Disconnect the cable at the brake/derailleur end and hold on to the cable as you move the lever and you'll realize that the cable only moves back toward the caliper/derailleur if something is pulling on it and the lever allows it to move.

Observe and think about the housing stops and what they do. What is the difference between the function of a fixed one on the bike and a moveable one on the derailleur or brake? How does the housing act in opposition to the cable the end is allowed to move?

The cable is routed around curves by the housing. What does the cable actually do when pulled around a bend in the housing, and how would that change if the housing is much longer, or shorter, as far a friction and flexing, and what would the result be in terms of ease and amount of movement transmitted between lever and mechanism?

moonwalker

Just got back and checking in. Thanks to all for replies and for some great leads. I am not looking for a career change as I am to old for that. I would like to be able to do more than just change a flat, tape handlebars, fix a chain.... Going to check our local university and see if they offer anything like Texas State. BTW, i am in Beaumont.

ironic, my daughter is going to Texas State after graduation this year. I dont think she wants good ole dad starting bicycle maintenance with her on first day! LOL.

werwer2012

I just wish that someone would offer an online course. I also would like to see more sites on documentation of bicycle repair. I have several of the big manuals that have helped me out greatly but sometimes I need the paperwork to actually sit down to do the repair. Like right now I have a bike that has Lee Chi shift levers and I cannot seem to find anything on them or suntour derailluers. Now I try to get whatever information I can off of forums like this which are a great asset.

Thanks...Greg

cny-bikeman

For any given repair/install procedure there are dozens of credible resources - videos, online tutorials, manufacturer spec sheets and books. You really have to work from your own staring pont rather than a structured course, because both what you will encounter and what you know control what info you need. Most instructions will cover the clean, straight, uncorroded world that is seldom seen. They can't possibly cover all you may enounter, so you either need to be able to observe, analyse and then solve problems that come up or use Google or this forum for those situations.

There is very seldom any need for separate documentation or procedures for a particular brand of derailleur or lever, unless you plan to disassemble and want an exploded diagram to see what you can expect ahead of time, or intend to get a part - which is usually futile anyway.

Derailleurs all work under the same principals for a given type (some go in the reverse direction when the cable is puilled). The only variable typically affected by brand is whether a certain derailleur will index properly with a cassette or lever.

As for levers, there are different types and cofigurations: Non-indexing friction shifters are mounted on the handlebar stem or down tube, non-indexing ratcheted shifters (ratchet on pull, friction on push) are also on bar-ends. Indexing levers are on the down tube, stem, upright handlebars or grips, or integrated into brake levers. Each type and configuration may require different troubleshooting, but there are many fewer differences when it comes to brand.

Kimmo

https://www.disraeligears.co.uk/Site/...284800%29.html



!

...Those are New Success Ergos, BTW...

werwer2012

Thanks for the insight, very helpful.

RubeRad

Why pay $100? There are plenty of free bikes on CL, and the less you pay for them, the less worried you will be about ripping them apart!

Lots of good advice above, one recommendation I would add, read through SB's Glossary. There are lots of great diagrams and cutaways that make pretty plain how all the systems of the bike work together, and perhaps more importantly, if you learn the names of everything, it helps you search for online tutorials. For almost every aspect of bike maintenance, you can find a few YouTube tutorials.

werwer2012

I am new to fixing bikes and have found Sheldon Browns site very informative and has sure helped me out a lot. I also recently got a copy of Barnett's manual and with the older bikes that I get that book is like a Bible to me.