Re: [CR] Care of Vintage bikes

Tom -- Sure there are classes, some may even be run out of local LBS's. Kind of depends on the area ... There may be a "bikes not bombs" or similar old bike reclamation group in Oakland -- almost certanly is. see: http://www.momentumplanet.com/features/educate-enable-empower-earn-bike for background and this http://www.apcollaborative.org/cyclesbikes.htm for specifics. The Almeda Point Community Bike shop has mechanics classes, and they'd probably be happy to have an adult volunteer - even in a learning mode - to help put old stuff together to empower the community. Feel good, get smart, learn wrenching - what could be better?

Oh -- and to practice on your own, just find something old and dive in. From a dump, sidewalk trash, neighbors basement. I was volunteering at a Crit in Prtsmouth NH Sunday before last and my head snapped up as an early 80s Bianchi in Celeste green rolled by with a young woman attached. We chatted as I ogled (the Bianchi) - she iitterally got it from the sidewalk as a neighbor was putting it out for trash day: she got it free for promising to ride it. Turn it into an around towner or something you give back to the community. Learn. Scrape those knuckles -- nothing like a few "Ouch"es (ok -I know that's NOT what I say, but this is a family show ...) to impress that you've just discovered the WRONG way to do something. You think we all got these pretty hands by using lotion? Slowly (because of costs) accumulate the right tools -- for some seat bolts you need a 12 cm spanner - NO, not 1/2 inch ... or 9/16 ... and learn to avoid the UNR - "universal nut rounder" aka crescent wrench. They slip, screw up the nut, ding the paint on the way off the nut, and lead to more skinned knuckles.

cheers Bob "Pedro's makes a great styptic" Hillery Cloudy, cool, and awesome weather for a 30 miler on a Peugeot UO-8 in Stratham, New Hampshire, US

Message: 5 Date: Fri, 2 Oct 2009 13:19:15 -0700 From: Thomas Sacco <tsacco@pacbell.net> Subject: Re: [CR] Care of Vintage Bikes, was No Subject To: <kohl57@starpower.net>, Louis Schulman <louiss@gate.net> Cc: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Message-ID: <192900.93957.qm@web80507.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

Arelated question is how do you learn to do the work yourself...I wouldlove to work on my bikes if I knew how, but I don't. Four of my fivebikes are old (two early 70's Zeus's, a late?70's Univega, and alate?80's Cilo) and I'm always getting something changed on them at theLBS, which costs a fortune. I usually spend months sourcing the partson Ebay or Craigs List, and then wait even longer saving up the moneyto have them put on. I'm a terrible mechanic so I can't just pick up atool and have at it. Are there classes you can take to learn how tobuild up a bike yourself?
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Tom Sacco
Oakland, CA