Kent always speaks great truths with an economy of words. That's great that he's doing that.
Additionally, the Park Tools website has a lot of this info currently available. Not necessarily videos, but good, clear steps for the most part. http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help And, of course on anything that can be reasonably taken apart with common bicycle tools (and some deeper delving, as well), AASHTA* Wrenching is funny business. At one point in my life, I "tightened up my loose spokes" with a crescent wrench, and the result, which would not even fit into the frame of my bike, caused a good deal of chuckling when the bike was sheepishly carried into the local shop. I once used pretty much the whole roll of solder trying to attach metal rods to a piece of thick plastic for a science experiment in grade school. (Now, the fact that a youngster should be able to gain unsupervised access a soldering iron at that age should say less about my parents and more about my inventiveness in beginning projects.) I clearly had the desire, but not the skills. Luckily, at some point, I did buy a Sloan's manual, and had the disposable time to mis-adjust my way to proper setup, and brought enough tools along on most rides to retorque loosening bolts. Along the way, I pulled apart cameras (mechanical ones) computers and electronic devices (mostly air back then, anyway) and met a few folks that were handy with tools. I gained a finer appreciation for that point when you're about to do something really stupid. I learned that you can force things - some materials more than others. I dug deeper into my bicycles and acquired uniquely specific tools (Shimano 600 headset wrenches, as an example) that did only one odd thing. Pin tools. Third Hands. But, I was lucky to fall under the tutelage of a couple good mechanics. One was a bike mechanic, the other a computer guy. They were methodical and focused. They taught me how to troubleshoot things. They taught me that adding leverage to a bad approach made things much worse, very quickly. They taught me to use the right tool for the job. When I worked in the bike industry, I got to interact frequently with the head mechanics at our stores, and watched a couple of them as they worked on my bike (only let a couple of them do actual work on my bike...) when they noticed something that wasn't quite right. It happened slowly. And I didn't really even realize the extent of the effect until I was helping my dad on his boat and ended up fixing the bilge pump - finding the missing bolt which had fallen inside the pump and would have crunched the internals if it had kicked on. My dad, who had been moderately in favor of just using the other 5 and not worrying about the sixth, gave me a funny look and asked when I had become such a mechanic. Which I really didn't think I was, and in my opinion, compared to folks who actually do that work day in and day out, I most definitely am not. But, that led me to believe that it's mostly about approach. Parts off. Laid down in order. Notes when you need them. Tools back in the rack when you aren't actively using them. Steady pressure. Consistent steps. Thinking it through before you touch a tool. Being present and focused when using the tools. If things get frustrating, setting things down and stepping away. Returning only when you are calm and focused. It sounds kind of ponderous and boring, but it's really a practice. An approach to problem solving. And you faster and more efficient at a lot of the steps. For me, I've never wanted my bike to be a mystery - the technical end of it has always been fascinating. I also depend upon my bicycle to work properly under some very stressful conditions. I do bet my life and bones on it working properly. For me, that's meant me or a reasonably trusted party working on my bicycle. Some people just aren't drawn to that. Or they think they should be but don't have the patience. There's nothing wrong with being in the "bigger hammer" crowd, but it is helpful if you admit it to yourself before you go at a misadjusted derailleur with a pair of vise grips. Or more likely, they are kind of cursed by the way things get fixed now - most bicycle repairs are the mechanical equivalent of a "board swap" - where you remove the whole circuit board because there's one bad connection on it. It would take too long to troubleshoot to find the faulty connection, and since everything is microprinted connections, there's little chance of actually redoing the work. That is one of the reasons I've ended up enjoying Rivendell's approach to things. If you have to get all confusing and use multiple gears, then you ought to be able to take the bits apart when they wear out. I've always felt that it's a shame to complicate a simple system - whether fly reels, bicycles, shifters, cameras, shovels or lawn mowers. A good simple tool is always an asset, especially when it only requires simple tools to maintain. - Jim Jim Edgar / cyclofiend.com *since a few folks didn't know this term last time I used it - "As Always, Sheldon Has The Answer" - a good place to start is here: http://sheldonbrown.com/articles.html I miss him. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msg/rbw-owners-bunch/-/PnoNLvcOu7QJ. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
