im looking for a book on how to build bikes any suggestions

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howdy i know nothing about building bikes any suggestions on good easy to understand book on how to build bikes from stratch
 
Take one apart and then put it back together. Trial and error style thats how i figure alot of bike stuff out. Look at ratrodbikes.com as much as possable the guys and gals here really know what they are talkin about.
CAN I GET HECK YA FROM YALL!
 
maddogrider said:
Take one apart and then put it back together. Trial and error style thats how i figure alot of bike stuff out. Look at ratrodbikes.com as much as possable the guys and gals here really know what they are talkin about.
CAN I GET HECK YA FROM YALL!

HECK YEA!!!

dude thats exactly what i did. the easy parts gettin the bike torn down. the hard parts puttin it back together and not havin any parts left over!!! but seriously, the people on here are some of the nicest most helpful bike nerds, i mean bike guys ever!!! :lol: :lol: if you ever have a question about anything, just ask, somebody on here will gladly help you. TRUST ME!

phhht! books. :roll: men dont know how to read directions on how to build things!!! :mrgreen:

Easy E
 
im lookin for a book because i would like to learn how to change the chain and sprocket and crank and fork could some one please post step by step instructions with photos it would be greatly apprecieated thanks
 
A good online source for bicycle info of any kind. http://www.sheldonbrown.com I have seen some books on bicycle maintenance and restoration but, really trial and error is the best. If you are unsure you could take digital pictures during the dis assembly process. That way you will have a reference for putting it back together. Remember your basics like righty tighty lefty loosy unless working on the left side of the crank. The threads are almost always opposite as is the left pedal. Some European bottom brackets are opposite on the right/drive side. Their are lots of little tricks to getting things apart and adjusted properly so just ask. People here are happy to help out.
 
what i did was draw and make a list of how things came apart and that way i made my own reference material
then over time itll come naturally
 
I say get yourself some tools, and start the teardown, there is NO better way to learn. PLus nothing is as fun or heartbreaking as snapping a few dozen bolts and skinning your knuckles and having a ten minute job turn into a whole afternoon of beer and riding. Speaking of which...........
 
Ya wanna "read"....There are 20 pages, of things to learn, right here on this site in the "HowTo" section. It would take WEEKS to go through them all. There's just about everything you'll need to know about ratting, rodding a cool bike. And as your skills improve, you'll be adding info for other people. 8)
 
Hell yeah buds, I couldn't agree more with these blokes. All ya gotta do is go out to ya shed, crank the rock and roll and start shredding. I found that the best way to do is to do it like you would anything else; have a plan and aim to accomplish something, for example you might wanna change a crank. I'd probably tear it out, have a look, then put it back exactly the same way. Then pull it out again, resto it, etc. I knew bugger all about bikes and so I followed that method, now I still know bugger all about bikes, but when I put them together they work :? I wish I knew about this site when I started, would have made life WAY easier, so now I guess you have no excuse :D
 
benz said:
I say get yourself some tools, and start the teardown, there is NO better way to learn. PLus nothing is as fun or heartbreaking as snapping a few dozen bolts and skinning your knuckles and having a ten minute job turn into a whole afternoon of beer and riding. Speaking of which...........


Ha! I litterally have spoke sized gouge on my middle finger from trying to break the chain ring bolts of an old french 3 piece crankset. Stupid cranks.


To the OP- If you can, try to find a friend, neighbor, whoever who has bike experience who can show you how to make good adjustments. Putting things together is just the first step, proper adjustment is next.... then trouble shooting.. which just takes experience. :mrgreen:
 
To the op, My background is in the automobile industry, more specifically, in the the metal finish and paint/body repair. I spent all of my working days hammering and shaping crunched fenders and whatnot. It's where I learned about patience, and that is really what you need to practice. I have seen a lot of people that think of bikes as simple machines, "I am just going to start building them up and flipping them, quick cash."(Not saying that is what you want). The main point it, they are machines. All of my bikes have their own personalities, some are nice and don't give me lip and others.....well lets just say I have a nice set of hammers. :D Anyway, just have fun and learn and if all else fails, got to the how to section. Keep fishin!
 
maddogrider said:
Take one apart and then put it back together. Trial and error style thats how i figure alot of bike stuff out. Look at ratrodbikes.com as much as possable the guys and gals here really know what they are talkin about.
CAN I GET HECK YA FROM YALL!
^ Agreed.

I'm lucky, I'm on the board at the local non-profit bike shop and consequently have several friends who are bike mechanics at the various LBS's. I learned everything from them, Sheldon Brown and hands on experience. Sheldon's site is a gold mine of information.

If you really need a book, ParkTool makes a good one.
 

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