Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.

A few posts back I asked for suggestions on a book for learning the ins and outs of montain bike repair/maintenance/modification. There was a good bit of support for Zinn and The Art Of Mountain Bike Maintenence. I’ve flipped through the book briefly (have alot of stuff going on right now so time isnt terribly abundant) and like what I see so far. While I do believe that there are books that are so good they can be summed up with “If you can only have one book about [subject] it should be this one” I most certainly do not believe that one book does it all. One source of anything is usually not a smart idea. In this case there are two other books that look promising and I’ll be getting those as well.

Im not mechanically inclined by any stretch of the imagination, but necessity and an empty wallet will do alot for your motivation to learn a skillset. I like my mountain bike…it gets me from point A to point B quickly, quietly and affords me the use of non-roadway surfaces like sidewalks, alleys, meticulously groomed lawns and the like. It also is, usually, cheap to use. However, and theres always a ‘however’, like any mechanical device that is literally rode hard and put away wet there is a certain amount of care and repair needed to keep the thing running. I used to think that good maintenence was simply a) keep tires inflated b) spray the chain with whatever gun lube is handy and c)  replace the chain every once in a while…if you remember.

Not so.

With gas being close to four bucks a gallon and the vast majority of my little world existing only a dozen blocks from home, theres no real pressing reason for me to drive the truck when I can ride the bike. And if Im going to wind up using this thing for daily commuting, as I usually do in the armer months, then its simply a logical extension of my own preparedness interests to be able to repair it (or, if Im so inclined, modify it.)

Of course, Im starting from square one since wrench turning has never been a strong suit of mine, but Im willing to learn.