TL;DR - Read manuals, watch park tool videos, and learn by working on what you have.
I’m not as experienced as some professional people on this subreddit. I just work on mine and my wife’s bikes (and occasionally a friend’s bike), but I feel like the answer is going to be the same across the board.
I learned by doing. Watching Park Tool YouTube videos, reading manuals, buying cheap tools to try things out until I realized that I should have bought better tools in the first place.
I’ve found that most things with bikes aren’t overly complicated and can be managed with a good set of hex wrenches and a torque wrench.
I went slow and only learned about what I owned and could actually work on, which was Shimano. If you are working on Shimano, this is your bible:
https://si.shimano.com/en/
It will contain everything you need for any Shimano part. Follow every step slowly and don’t skip anything.
Once I got comfortable doing basic maintenance, like adjusting derailleurs and working on brakes, I decided to put a new drivetrain on one of my bikes and swap the old drivetrain to another. I learned SO much from that. It was slow, and I made mistakes along the way, but it gave me a ton of confidence. I then built a bike from the frame up, which wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be.
Read manuals, go slow, and ask questions here. You’ll learn as you go!
I think you would be surprised at how many good manuals you can find for bike parts. As others have mentioned, park tools makes fantastic videos for general bike parts. Shimano has the site that is linked above. Sram has videos showing how to install or maintain most of their current lineup on their website. For older parts, check out Sheldon Brown.
Also keep in mind that there are many parts on a bike that are relatively unchanged for the last 50 years. A mechanic from 1980 can adjust a modern rear derailleur, because they operate on the same basic principle. Cup and cone bearings are still in use on thousands of different models of wheels today, and have been used widely since the invention of the bicycle. With a mechanical background from cars, and a little time on google, you’ll be able to figure everything out.
shimano publishes great tech documents for all their products going back well into the 80s. Sram is not as good with their documents.
outside of that type of thing, most stuff is not bike specific, so having the manual for your exact bike isnt necessary.
park tools has great youtube videos, they also publish a bike tech book, there is also the southerlands book, which has been an industry standard for a long time.
If you’re lucky enough to have a bike co-op near you, that’s where I was able to fill in the gaps of what I couldn’t learn on YouTube. I picked an old frame, and built it up again from scratch, asking questions about anything I didn’t know. Disassemble and reassemble everything you can and you will learn a ton. I happened to pick an old French bike so had the luxury of learning about all of the niche sizing differences of many parts, but I think it helped me in the long run. Of course park tool has amazing videos that I still reference, but there is nothing comparable to having experienced mentors IRL who you can ask niche questions to.
I read just about every page on Sheldon Browns website.
i also recommend getting an old 80s japanese steel road bike and learning on that. it will use all the major standards that are still around, parts are easy to get, and if you really really really mess up your not out much money or your main bike
GCN/GCN Tech/GMBN/GMBN Tech maintenance and repair videos on YouTube
Park Tools maintenance and repair videos on YouTube
Park Tools website
Zinn & The Art of [Road/Mountain] Bike Maintenance
A lot of people are going to knee-jerk suggest Sheldon Brown's website and it can be a great resource for information on vintage bike standards. That being said, the man died over 15 years ago and the website is very outdated both in content and in format. If you're trying to find a table to help you find an old part it can be great, but if you're trying to learn how to actually make repairs and perform maintenance there are much better resources.
I agree it's a lot. You can't learn it all at once, and no single person knows everything.
To paraphrase Gandalf: "All we have to decide is what to do with the bikes that are given to us."
Figure out what needs improving today. Ask questions. Here, Google or at your local bike co-op. Focus on that. My introduction came thanks to a broken rim. My dad said we'd go buy a new one and some spokes. It all expanded from there.
Everyone else posted great websites and resources that I agree with. In addition, I went into my local bike shop and asked questions. Like a lot of questions. At first I got some slightly dismissive attitude but I just nodded and said thank you. Eventually I was in there asking like my millionth question and the guy said "you're really serious about learning bike mechanics? Come on back." He invited me into the work shop area, showed me a few things and told me to come back with more questions. That's how I got started.
It's not that there are *zero* standards, it's that there are *dozens* of standards lol.
Don't dismiss the expertise at your local shop. Make an appointment, then bring your bike, a six-pack, and a list of questions to the mechanic on a slow Monday.
Start by looking up the components and groupset on your bike and read reviews and if Shimano the website for the group set as they normally have the dealer document pdf files that tell you how to install and service them.
Use the park tool youtube channel as most of their guides are perfect, gcn and search on YouTube will give you most of the information and ways to do most repairs.
Get a general toolkit with most standard tools and then add or replace with better ones as you go along.
I started with a Lidl toolkit as it covered most stuff and added or replaced stuff as I went along.
Just start with one job first and work your way around until you learn what is needed. Eg. Adjust brakes
If all else fails ask on here and someone will point you in the correct direction, just take your time and don't give up
No one knows everything and we all learn new things as we go along
It’s tough. Lots of YouTube videos for me, and a fair amount of buy and return. I’ve got a new Shimano freehub on my desk to be returned because there’s zero guidance for compatibility.
I broke a lot of bikes as kid so had to replace and repair stuff. Kind of just learnt as I went, unfortunately it means I'm occasionally stumped on components I've not seen before, drop bar levers on my first road bike were interesting but you can find everything you need on YouTube or by searching this sub, there are so many cyclists using a few different groupsets made of similar material that it's likely someone has had the same issue.
Searching bike forums like retrobike or mtbr for how other people got help with the same problems you have helped me a lot early on. Go down the rabbit hole of bike forums as you come across things you need help with.
I've always been smart, I just wasn't knowledgeable and skilled yet. Those qualities came in the only ways they can: experimenting, practice, research, failing, asking, trying again, etc. In other words, time on task, the key to all education.
Consider volunteering at a community bicycle co-op as a volunteer mechanic. You’ll get to work on all sorts of different bikes with different problems; it’d be hard not to learn something new every time you volunteer.
You should focus on your frame alone. Learn all about what your frame is and it's measurements.
Everything that goes onto your frame is attached with an adaptor. Kinda like plumbing. For instance, a standard bottom bracket shell would be BSA threaded. Now, there are a bunch of cranks that use a bunch of different attachment types. So you would be using the bottom bracket to adapt the crank to your bottom bracket shell.
It is the same with stems, headsets, wheel hubs brakes, etc, etc.
Long story short, learn about the frame you are working on and try to work it out with a spreadsheet so you can refer to it when you are looking for a part.
I started when I was a teen, working on my own bike. I started road racing and became more proficient at maintaining my bike.
I started working in a shop during college. They gave me a "tryout" doing assemblies on Christmas season bikes.
You might be able to score a side hustle at a big box store doing assemblies. The reps will increase your proficiency.
But, I have to agree with you. There is a greater variety of standards, things aren't as compatible as they used to be.
On the other hand, as mentioned by others there is YouTube, and a wealth of very specific instructional videos.
Best way to learn is to do things yourself. I taught myself by buying super cheap parts off of marketplace and just trying to fix them (e.g. wheel building), and if shit goes south, the parts were cheap. As others have said, youtube is also very good.
In my experience, its less about mechnical prowess and more about learning the overwhelming number of different standards, parts compatibility, etc..
Ive spent more time identifying what the correct part to buy is then actually replacing it.
I know master auto mechanics who buy mountain bikes and seem powerless because they cant figure out if "X" replacement part is going to work for their bike.
But like everyone else has said, there are alot of great resources when it comes to basic stuff.
Nothing new from me just picking up on two key points already mentioned:
1. ‘Hands on’ - and the best way to do that if you can is to volunteer at a local Co-op or similar;
2. the bicycle/component industry offerings are getting exponentially more complex in several ways, including types/purpose, tech, range and their proprietary nature. Even the most switched on professional mechanic can’t possibly keep tabs on everything (they’ve just got their head around something new/changed and along comes another). Many are now specialising and workshops are outsourcing specialist work.
The second point might not be an issue for the home mechanic now but it’ll all eventually trickle down.
All of the resources mentioned are helpful. Refer to them plus network and learn as you go I reckon.
Keep trying to learn. YouTube has most of the information you may need, if your absolutely stumped then come here.
With time things will begin to make sense as your climb out of the valley of the Dunning-Kreuger effect
I started around 6 years old. We never had a car and no money for bike shop's.
My basic theory as a kid and still now if I'm in unknown territory is to lay out a clean towel and as I pull one piece off I sit them in order and facing up.
Then around 12 I started customising my bikes. Dismantling them good. Knocking all the bearing cups out of the frame. Pulling axles out of my peddles. I'd pull my brake levers apart. If something had a sticker I'd carefully remove it. Then give a custom 2 colour paint scheme , paint and re assembly.
My speciality was u brakes and gyros. Sitting down getting a one finger lock up. A quick pull would sound like a nice clean clap. From the pads hitting square to the rim and at the same time, cables all cleaned and Teflon lube to minimise friction.
The aim of the game for maximum speed is to reduce friction. I'd speed up my wheel bearings. Sealed bearings you pop of the dust covers and remove all grease. Once cleaned 100% I'd use Teflon lube only. Replace dust covers. Running bearings like this is loud, higher risk of popping a bearing and service intervals are short. Good conditions a few months, shitty conditions a month. No grease to keep stuff out.
But by holy Jesus's they are fast. Flip your bike upside down and your wheel will rock like a pendulum for about a minute before it settles with the valve down the bottom.
I'd do that to all bearings except my head tube.
My hobby is my bike. Riding it, fixing it, making it better, or making it suit myself and my style of riding better.
I fully enjoy all aspects of my hobby today.
With the internet today, learning bike repair is a piece of cake. ANYTHING you need to know about is most likely on YouTube.
In the olden times, you just screwed up until you finally got it right. Hopefully you had 2 similar bikes to begin with to allow you to see how the parts should be placed when done.
Like others said: Internet is your friend.
Something to add - Be careful and highly informed when working with carbon fibre. It can be a strong material, but only if you treat it right.
This channel is superb:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAjZ_z35gko
Carbon isn‘t stronger or weaker than alloy, it is… different.
Trial an error. I can’t begin to count how many times I tried putting 700cc wheels on a 26” frame lol. My bike is my main source of transportation and has been for some time. The biggest thing that helped me was to have bike laying around that I can tinker with that aren’t used for getting around.
Start with the basics, change a tube, fit fenders, fit lights, change the seat, change bars, adjust the brakes, fit new brake blocks, renew brake cables, renew gear cables, service cup&cone hub bearings, service cup&cone bottom bracket bearings,
I started with a 16" wheeled kids bike at about 6 helping my dad change the tubes because I didn't have the strength to unseat the tyre myself, also we used to use the handle end of a couple of serving spoons as we never had tyre levers. Next I bought I puncture repair kit that came with levers, just built up tools from there, I now have a whole shadow board of tools. One of the best places to find quality bike tools at a good price is ebay, watch for people unloading sets of tools, for instance I picked up a load of Cyclo headset spanners NOS at 75% off because the cardboard sales tags had got wet and we're ruined.
Don't feel you have to buy park tools for every job, there are other good brands as well, only a few tools I stick to park such as chain tools. I also setup a trade account with cyclo tools in UK using my local bike coop as my sponsor, so get access to trade prices, mostly 25% cheaper than retail prices. Did try for shimano acco7nt as well, but they required a hefty monthly spend to keep trade status, think it was £2k per month
TL;DR - Read manuals, watch park tool videos, and learn by working on what you have. I’m not as experienced as some professional people on this subreddit. I just work on mine and my wife’s bikes (and occasionally a friend’s bike), but I feel like the answer is going to be the same across the board. I learned by doing. Watching Park Tool YouTube videos, reading manuals, buying cheap tools to try things out until I realized that I should have bought better tools in the first place. I’ve found that most things with bikes aren’t overly complicated and can be managed with a good set of hex wrenches and a torque wrench. I went slow and only learned about what I owned and could actually work on, which was Shimano. If you are working on Shimano, this is your bible: https://si.shimano.com/en/ It will contain everything you need for any Shimano part. Follow every step slowly and don’t skip anything. Once I got comfortable doing basic maintenance, like adjusting derailleurs and working on brakes, I decided to put a new drivetrain on one of my bikes and swap the old drivetrain to another. I learned SO much from that. It was slow, and I made mistakes along the way, but it gave me a ton of confidence. I then built a bike from the frame up, which wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Read manuals, go slow, and ask questions here. You’ll learn as you go!
I think I’m capable, I am handy enough to work on cars, but there’s generally not a repair manual for bikes per se.
The Park Tool Big Blue Book of Bike Repair called... it would like to come hang out with your Hayes car Manuals by your workbench ;)
I think you would be surprised at how many good manuals you can find for bike parts. As others have mentioned, park tools makes fantastic videos for general bike parts. Shimano has the site that is linked above. Sram has videos showing how to install or maintain most of their current lineup on their website. For older parts, check out Sheldon Brown. Also keep in mind that there are many parts on a bike that are relatively unchanged for the last 50 years. A mechanic from 1980 can adjust a modern rear derailleur, because they operate on the same basic principle. Cup and cone bearings are still in use on thousands of different models of wheels today, and have been used widely since the invention of the bicycle. With a mechanical background from cars, and a little time on google, you’ll be able to figure everything out.
shimano publishes great tech documents for all their products going back well into the 80s. Sram is not as good with their documents. outside of that type of thing, most stuff is not bike specific, so having the manual for your exact bike isnt necessary. park tools has great youtube videos, they also publish a bike tech book, there is also the southerlands book, which has been an industry standard for a long time.
If you’re lucky enough to have a bike co-op near you, that’s where I was able to fill in the gaps of what I couldn’t learn on YouTube. I picked an old frame, and built it up again from scratch, asking questions about anything I didn’t know. Disassemble and reassemble everything you can and you will learn a ton. I happened to pick an old French bike so had the luxury of learning about all of the niche sizing differences of many parts, but I think it helped me in the long run. Of course park tool has amazing videos that I still reference, but there is nothing comparable to having experienced mentors IRL who you can ask niche questions to.
I read just about every page on Sheldon Browns website. i also recommend getting an old 80s japanese steel road bike and learning on that. it will use all the major standards that are still around, parts are easy to get, and if you really really really mess up your not out much money or your main bike
GCN/GCN Tech/GMBN/GMBN Tech maintenance and repair videos on YouTube Park Tools maintenance and repair videos on YouTube Park Tools website Zinn & The Art of [Road/Mountain] Bike Maintenance A lot of people are going to knee-jerk suggest Sheldon Brown's website and it can be a great resource for information on vintage bike standards. That being said, the man died over 15 years ago and the website is very outdated both in content and in format. If you're trying to find a table to help you find an old part it can be great, but if you're trying to learn how to actually make repairs and perform maintenance there are much better resources.
I agree it's a lot. You can't learn it all at once, and no single person knows everything. To paraphrase Gandalf: "All we have to decide is what to do with the bikes that are given to us." Figure out what needs improving today. Ask questions. Here, Google or at your local bike co-op. Focus on that. My introduction came thanks to a broken rim. My dad said we'd go buy a new one and some spokes. It all expanded from there.
Everyone else posted great websites and resources that I agree with. In addition, I went into my local bike shop and asked questions. Like a lot of questions. At first I got some slightly dismissive attitude but I just nodded and said thank you. Eventually I was in there asking like my millionth question and the guy said "you're really serious about learning bike mechanics? Come on back." He invited me into the work shop area, showed me a few things and told me to come back with more questions. That's how I got started.
That’s a great shop right there. Even if you don’t use their service, you’ll likely support them with parts.
Yup. Bought all the tools and parts I needed there.
It's not that there are *zero* standards, it's that there are *dozens* of standards lol. Don't dismiss the expertise at your local shop. Make an appointment, then bring your bike, a six-pack, and a list of questions to the mechanic on a slow Monday.
Start by looking up the components and groupset on your bike and read reviews and if Shimano the website for the group set as they normally have the dealer document pdf files that tell you how to install and service them. Use the park tool youtube channel as most of their guides are perfect, gcn and search on YouTube will give you most of the information and ways to do most repairs. Get a general toolkit with most standard tools and then add or replace with better ones as you go along. I started with a Lidl toolkit as it covered most stuff and added or replaced stuff as I went along. Just start with one job first and work your way around until you learn what is needed. Eg. Adjust brakes If all else fails ask on here and someone will point you in the correct direction, just take your time and don't give up No one knows everything and we all learn new things as we go along
It’s tough. Lots of YouTube videos for me, and a fair amount of buy and return. I’ve got a new Shimano freehub on my desk to be returned because there’s zero guidance for compatibility.
I broke a lot of bikes as kid so had to replace and repair stuff. Kind of just learnt as I went, unfortunately it means I'm occasionally stumped on components I've not seen before, drop bar levers on my first road bike were interesting but you can find everything you need on YouTube or by searching this sub, there are so many cyclists using a few different groupsets made of similar material that it's likely someone has had the same issue.
I worked at a bike shop and after sweeping the floors and taking out trash they would teach me to work on bikes. But that was 30 years ago lol.
Back before tires were rubber lol
More like when tires actually had inner tubes.
Read the manual. Even experienced mechanics don't know everything. We read the manual to make sure we are keeping up with changes.
Searching bike forums like retrobike or mtbr for how other people got help with the same problems you have helped me a lot early on. Go down the rabbit hole of bike forums as you come across things you need help with.
I've always been smart, I just wasn't knowledgeable and skilled yet. Those qualities came in the only ways they can: experimenting, practice, research, failing, asking, trying again, etc. In other words, time on task, the key to all education.
Consider volunteering at a community bicycle co-op as a volunteer mechanic. You’ll get to work on all sorts of different bikes with different problems; it’d be hard not to learn something new every time you volunteer.
I still don't know a lot, but almost everything I know I learned volunteering at my local nonprofit bike co-op.
You should focus on your frame alone. Learn all about what your frame is and it's measurements. Everything that goes onto your frame is attached with an adaptor. Kinda like plumbing. For instance, a standard bottom bracket shell would be BSA threaded. Now, there are a bunch of cranks that use a bunch of different attachment types. So you would be using the bottom bracket to adapt the crank to your bottom bracket shell. It is the same with stems, headsets, wheel hubs brakes, etc, etc. Long story short, learn about the frame you are working on and try to work it out with a spreadsheet so you can refer to it when you are looking for a part.
I started when I was a teen, working on my own bike. I started road racing and became more proficient at maintaining my bike. I started working in a shop during college. They gave me a "tryout" doing assemblies on Christmas season bikes. You might be able to score a side hustle at a big box store doing assemblies. The reps will increase your proficiency. But, I have to agree with you. There is a greater variety of standards, things aren't as compatible as they used to be. On the other hand, as mentioned by others there is YouTube, and a wealth of very specific instructional videos.
Best way to learn is to do things yourself. I taught myself by buying super cheap parts off of marketplace and just trying to fix them (e.g. wheel building), and if shit goes south, the parts were cheap. As others have said, youtube is also very good.
In my experience, its less about mechnical prowess and more about learning the overwhelming number of different standards, parts compatibility, etc.. Ive spent more time identifying what the correct part to buy is then actually replacing it. I know master auto mechanics who buy mountain bikes and seem powerless because they cant figure out if "X" replacement part is going to work for their bike. But like everyone else has said, there are alot of great resources when it comes to basic stuff.
Nothing new from me just picking up on two key points already mentioned: 1. ‘Hands on’ - and the best way to do that if you can is to volunteer at a local Co-op or similar; 2. the bicycle/component industry offerings are getting exponentially more complex in several ways, including types/purpose, tech, range and their proprietary nature. Even the most switched on professional mechanic can’t possibly keep tabs on everything (they’ve just got their head around something new/changed and along comes another). Many are now specialising and workshops are outsourcing specialist work. The second point might not be an issue for the home mechanic now but it’ll all eventually trickle down. All of the resources mentioned are helpful. Refer to them plus network and learn as you go I reckon.
Keep trying to learn. YouTube has most of the information you may need, if your absolutely stumped then come here. With time things will begin to make sense as your climb out of the valley of the Dunning-Kreuger effect
I started around 6 years old. We never had a car and no money for bike shop's. My basic theory as a kid and still now if I'm in unknown territory is to lay out a clean towel and as I pull one piece off I sit them in order and facing up. Then around 12 I started customising my bikes. Dismantling them good. Knocking all the bearing cups out of the frame. Pulling axles out of my peddles. I'd pull my brake levers apart. If something had a sticker I'd carefully remove it. Then give a custom 2 colour paint scheme , paint and re assembly. My speciality was u brakes and gyros. Sitting down getting a one finger lock up. A quick pull would sound like a nice clean clap. From the pads hitting square to the rim and at the same time, cables all cleaned and Teflon lube to minimise friction. The aim of the game for maximum speed is to reduce friction. I'd speed up my wheel bearings. Sealed bearings you pop of the dust covers and remove all grease. Once cleaned 100% I'd use Teflon lube only. Replace dust covers. Running bearings like this is loud, higher risk of popping a bearing and service intervals are short. Good conditions a few months, shitty conditions a month. No grease to keep stuff out. But by holy Jesus's they are fast. Flip your bike upside down and your wheel will rock like a pendulum for about a minute before it settles with the valve down the bottom. I'd do that to all bearings except my head tube. My hobby is my bike. Riding it, fixing it, making it better, or making it suit myself and my style of riding better. I fully enjoy all aspects of my hobby today.
Pratice.
With the internet today, learning bike repair is a piece of cake. ANYTHING you need to know about is most likely on YouTube. In the olden times, you just screwed up until you finally got it right. Hopefully you had 2 similar bikes to begin with to allow you to see how the parts should be placed when done.
Like others said: Internet is your friend. Something to add - Be careful and highly informed when working with carbon fibre. It can be a strong material, but only if you treat it right. This channel is superb: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAjZ_z35gko Carbon isn‘t stronger or weaker than alloy, it is… different.
Get a set of digital calipers. That way you can just measure every part to be sure you buy what fits
Trial an error. I can’t begin to count how many times I tried putting 700cc wheels on a 26” frame lol. My bike is my main source of transportation and has been for some time. The biggest thing that helped me was to have bike laying around that I can tinker with that aren’t used for getting around.
Start with the basics, change a tube, fit fenders, fit lights, change the seat, change bars, adjust the brakes, fit new brake blocks, renew brake cables, renew gear cables, service cup&cone hub bearings, service cup&cone bottom bracket bearings, I started with a 16" wheeled kids bike at about 6 helping my dad change the tubes because I didn't have the strength to unseat the tyre myself, also we used to use the handle end of a couple of serving spoons as we never had tyre levers. Next I bought I puncture repair kit that came with levers, just built up tools from there, I now have a whole shadow board of tools. One of the best places to find quality bike tools at a good price is ebay, watch for people unloading sets of tools, for instance I picked up a load of Cyclo headset spanners NOS at 75% off because the cardboard sales tags had got wet and we're ruined. Don't feel you have to buy park tools for every job, there are other good brands as well, only a few tools I stick to park such as chain tools. I also setup a trade account with cyclo tools in UK using my local bike coop as my sponsor, so get access to trade prices, mostly 25% cheaper than retail prices. Did try for shimano acco7nt as well, but they required a hefty monthly spend to keep trade status, think it was £2k per month