boomer58 

I was always the neighborhood "bike mechanic. Fixing neighborhood kids flats and general repairs. Obviously bikes today are so much more complex like cars. Where does someone learn how to repair the modern day bikes with components that I don't even know how to pronounce ? Are there places that have courses that you can take ? Every shop that I have been in lately has openings for people to put new bikes together and do repairs on customer bikes.

deacon mark

Bikes are really not complicated at all they are simple machines. Starting doing things and look up Sheldon Brown and the Park Tool Company. There is no real formal type of education that is required you learn by doing and reading. Maybe build a wheel and start with a front wheel then a rear. Tools are important you need to have decent tools. Best to get tools as needed based on circumstances. No need to by those put together tool kits they are necessarily any better.

kcjc

You can check with your local government's transportation department, regional transportation management associations, local universities, high schools, and bike coops. See if any of your local bike shops have night gatherings. Besides Sheldon Brown & Park Tools, try "Zinn & the Art of Road Bike Maintenance."

Andrew R Stewart 

There are (or have been) a few schools for bike mechanics, UBI comes to mind as example. Barnett's Institute was another (I believe no longer running) school. Both of these were more focused on the budding professional mechanic, not so much a neighborhood fix it guy. However, knowledge is still good and learning how to learn can be more important than memorizing steps to a specific job, I suggest you look into any current school offerings.

Does your area have a recyclery or non profit bike shop? How about a local bike club or community group? If available they might offer basic instruction. But the classic way to learn this stuff is by jumping in and just trying stuff. These days with so many on line vids and forum posts if no local help is available there's still an ability to try learning via watching. Andy (wondering where the OP is no location listed)

CrimsonEclipse

Hands on.
Do it, screw it up, do it again.
Youtube University and come here to learn the right and wrong ways of doing things.

Any school will give you theory and basics while experience will tell you the real interesting things.

"The manual says you can use only 9 gears but here's how you can install 11"

A little experience will tell you what you CAN do, a LOT of experience tells you when you probably shouldn't...

FBinNY 

IMO the best way to learn bike mechanic is the same way you learned how to get around.

As a child, you learned how to get around your neighborhood, and getting back home. You expanded the range by pushing the limits, and reference landmarks to get back. At some point, you used tools like maps to go to new territory, and add to your internal map.

Same is true for mechanics. You already have core knowledge. you can use and apply that to what's similar but different, learning as you go. On line tutorials are like maps, and once you learn how to relate the new to the known, you'll be on your way.

Unfortunately, there is "mechanical aptitude", which some have and others don't, but given that you're already the fixit guy puts you in the right group.

Crankycrank

If you have a good base of mechanical experience you can delve into the dark world of YouTube, etc. videos. I say this as some people put up scary bad instructions and advice on how to make repairs but a somewhat experienced shade tree mechanic can usually spot the frauds and there are many great vids to learn from. You will probably come across some proprietary bike types that require specific knowledge of how to repair a certain part as this is becoming more common and Vids often can help and never dismiss just going to a mfrs. website for manuals on setup and parts diagrams too.

grumpus

You don't say where you are. Most English speaking countries have Cytech training schemes that lead to a professional qualification, but not in the US.

alcjphil

There is an excellent training school for bicycle mechanics in Montreal run by the best bike mechanic I have ever met
https://www.technocycle.ca/en/

Its founder is a woman and she is no nonsense as well as super practical

PromptCritical 

Park Tool has an introductory book/manual. It doesn't go too deep into specifics but it is pretty broad and is a good introduction.

boomer58 

Thank you everyone for your responses. All of your advice is excellent and great encouragement. The mechanical aptitude is there and I am sure that I'll figure it out but I want to learn the general maintenance stuff. There is a Co-op near me and I will certainly look in to joining it when I get back from my upcoming road trip. As far as location goes, I will try to change my profile when I figure that out. Thank you again, boomer

alcjphil

Looking into working at bike coop is the best way to do this. There will be people there who can guide you. The things I have learned about bicycles came when I worked with others

ScottCommutes

1. LEARN ON JUNK. The ability to fix up a kids 18" Rainbow Brite bike or a 1990's DiamondBack is a stepping stop to bigger things.
2. Learn on your own bikes. You will be able to detect problems as you ride before and after you do work on the bike.
3. YouTube and the internet, especially anything Park Tool. Lots of wisdom on this site.
4. In this day of carbon frames, E-bikes, electronic shifting, internal cables, technical mountain bikes, etc., nobody knows everything. You can be a valuable bike mechanic without even the ability to build a wheel or touch an E-bike.
5. I would suggest getting a medium size tool box. Keep all your bike tools and chemicals (except for your pump/truing stand/etc) in there. Compare what you have to what the major manufacturers offer as their starter sets. Add tools only as you need them. For stuff like screwdrivers and wrenches that you use on bikes as well as around the house, I would suggest getting a second set to keep in the tool box so you can be mobile.
6. Get some storage for project bikes, bins of parts, and wheels/tires. Strip lots of bikes for parts

andrewclaus

Ditto for volunteering at the co-op. After a lifetime of shade-tree mechanic work, one month as a co-op volunteer showed me everything I was doing wrong. At one time I was volunteering at three different non-profit shops. I now work at two, and I learn new stuff every day. And it's still hard to keep current. I get some good tips from this site, too.

XxHaimBondxX

Probably not going to learn much about new high end stuff by working at co-op, will have to eventually graduate to real bike shop. However, I don't see neighborhood kids riding anything more complex than they did 20 years ago.

Clyde1820

That's how we did it, growing up.

Of course, fixed-gear bikes at that time were fairly simple beasts. I learned to strip paint, mitigate rust, repaint, work on the hubs, repair tubes, rebuild the head, replace a busted seatpost. Nowadays, there are derailleurs and brakes, sure, but generally the guides provided by the manufacturer (ie, Shimano) aren't half bad ... and, along with the how-to guides at Park Tool, on Youtube and elsewhere, it's relatively straightforward to get a commonplace product installed and adjusted correctly.

As you say, the "do it / screw it up / do it again" hands-on approach has value. So long as one starts simply, with basic components and basic maintenance, it's easy enough to get competent with most aspects.

As well, joining a nearby cycling "Co-Op" organization can help. Often, they're free. Some offer a "sweat equity" donations plan, for joining. Easy way to meet many others who know what you don't and are all too willing to lend a hand until you get the procedure down. Good place to find component parts alternatives and suggestions, too.

CrimsonEclipse

oooh, co-op! Great suggestion!

Dumpster bikes made up most of out fleet as kids.

Kontact

I learned to work on bikes by reading Bicycling Magazine's Complete Guide to Bicycle Mechanics and fixing or upgrading my bikes. I find books much easier to deal with than computers and videos. Your library has a copy.

KCT1986

For many higher quality parts, the manufacturer's web site is also a good source for their recommended procedures. SRAM & Shimano has a lot of technical documents available.
Especially helpful if the parts have a 'newer' setup, not the older common procedures that was done prior. Setup of bikes have changed recently that affects procedures, (suspension, 1x front cranks, cassettes w/ huge range, derailleur design,...).

Some of 'the way we used to do things' no longer apply.

sweeks

This is fine if you're working on your own bike. However, the OP suggested that he works on bikes belonging to others.
IMO, this requires a more "do it right the first time" approach; or at least "primum non nocere" (first, do no harm).
This, in turn, makes knowing one's limits very important.
Fixing flats and making minor adjustments to brakes and drivetrains should be well within the scope of the "neighborhood bike mechanic".
When people start showing up with electronic shifting and e-bikes needing service, more training may be involved.
Also, providing free services may not invalidate liability considerations.

Kontact

One of the biggest barriers I have found to working on stuff is a lack of empathy. Every part on a bike was designed to work a certain way by a human being that knew their business. Yet many wannabe mechanics treat the parts they are working on like there was no plan or right way to install or adjust it. There is always a right way, and your job is to find out what that is. Sometimes that's reading a manual, but often it is looking at how the part is made and thinking about what a reasonable engineer would expect a mechanic to do.

CrimsonEclipse

he'll be fine.

Trakhak

I recognize a fellow sufferer. Robert Pirsig, too; his Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance includes a description of a motorcycle being manhandled by a mechanic who is grinningly indifferent to the damage being done.

Duragrouch

I'm all self-taught, and I would recommend that for working on your own bikes, the plethora of helpful videos online helps, I would look on Park Tool first, and Youtube second.

If I were seeking a career as a bike mechanic, I would take formal courses, due to the *vastly* increased variety of designs and complexity, and I have a degree in engineering and 50 years experience working on my own bikes, but for new stuff, there is tons I don't know. I know there are schools available, a local bike shop mentions in their job postings, United Bicycle Institute, and Barnett Bicycle Institute as a basis, but they are only two-week courses and not required for an apprenticeship at their shop. Just off the top of my head I can think of very distinct segments:
- The basics: Bearings, brakes, cables, hydraulics, wheelbuilding and truing, tires tubed and tubeless, racks, accessories, fitting of rider, heavy-touring setup for stability, safety recommendations, and basic bike shop operations.
- Internal Gear Hubs and Pinion transmissions.
- Electric bike drivetrains and controls.
- Framebuilding and service, each type of frame a course in itself; Lugged and brazed steel, welded steel, welded aluminum, carbon-fiber-composite, welded titanium.
- Frame stripping and painting.

Duragrouch

+1. Somewhere in my dad's stuff is a 1" diameter grade 8 bolt that is necked from being overtorqued by a tank mechanic with an 8' cheater bar. Dad said many parts on a tank are designed as heavy as they are, not for service loads, but due to stuff like that.