[hophead]

Originally Posted by JohnNGeiser

Do you guys and gals do your own maintence work , like adjusting brakes and shifters ,changing brake pads and so on , or do you have someone at a bike shop do it for you. How would I learn to do these things myself.

Seems to be kind of a hassle to take it the whole way up to the bike store for a simple adjustment.

Yes, to doing your own maintenance. Having knowledge of basic bicycle repair is an invaluable skill. There is no AAA for bicycles. If you get a flat tire, ya gotta fix it yourself or you're walkin'.

As previously mentioned, the Park site and Sheldon Brown's are both great sources of info. Th Park site has a "Bike Map" where you just point your cursor to the area of the bike that need work and click on what you need. It gives you step by step instructions and tells you what tools are needed.

Happy wrenching!