The Bicycle Exchange encourages people to learn how to repair and maintain bicycles.
Here are some of our learning resources
Learning by Doing
Our volunteers choose the bikes they fix. If you want to learn a particular repair procedure, we can help you find the project that meets your interests. We have mentors to demonstrate procedures and to guide you through the repair process. Our quality assurance volunteers carefully examine your project and provide feedback.
Resources
Here are some useful links to internal and external bicycle repair resources:
- BikeX frame check diagram and illustrated glossary
- BikeX volunteer bike repair checklist
- Park Tool Repair Help and Education: 134 step-by-step how-tos with photos and videos
- REI Bike Repair, Maintenance, Riding Videos: A broad assortment of REI videos about bikes
- Sheldon Brown: A web page with links to many articles about bicycle repair
- Bicycle Repair Guide: A complete, illustrated, online bicycle repair manual
- Bicycle Tune-Up Guide: Small repairs and adjustments to keep your bike in top shape
- Utah Mountain Biking: Mountain bike repair
- Wikibooks Bicycles/Maintenance and Repair: An open source book
- Bicycle Component Failures: A catalog of broken bicycle components
Our own volunteer mechanic John Felch offers:
- A list of tools and equipment for the home bike shop.
- A table of grease, lube, solvents and cleaners listing uses & cautions for each type
- A concise guide for adjusting derailleurs
Here are some resources for pricing bicycles:
- eBay Search completed listings to discover prices of bicycles and parts that have sold
- craigslist Search to see the prices people are asking for bicycles in the San Francisco Bay Area.
- Bicycle Blue Book Internet search-based pricing guide. There is also an iPhone app by the same name.
Learning bike repair skills at Bicycle Exchange