Bicycle7's Journal

[mountainFrugal]

I have met you in person and thought you were pretty hip. This plus the fact that you play (even occasionally) bike polo means you have enough cool bike cred to double dork it IMO.
"What is that other pie plate for? A spare? Aerodynamics? Ironic?" to which you can just answer "Yes."

Also congrats to you and @berrytwo.

[Bicycle7]

"What is that other pie plate for? A spare? Aerodynamics? Ironic?" to which you can just answer "Yes."

That's totally something I'd say!

Also, I'm considering taking the professional repair and shop operation course at UBI. My goals with it would be to get a job in a bike shop as a mechanic, besides just increasing my ability with fixing my own bikes.

Where I'm uncertain, is whether or not it's worth $2700 to me right now.

The timing would be great, for the class I'm currently waitlisted in, I'll not be paying rent anywhere and I can stay with family in Ashland.

I've worked on my bikes and others for years and enjoy it. I've volunteered at a bike shop and tool library fixing bikes. In my past job, I'd work on bikes a tiny bit, mostly, I was teaching youth traffic safety and how to ride.

I imagine that I could not take the class and still get a job in a bike shop and eventually learn. However, with taking the class, I imagine I could more quickly get a more favorable job in terms of flexibility, more repairs, less unskilled work.

I'd appreciate any reflections that you have MF, or others would have on this.

Also, your write-up about the UBI course in your journal has already been extremely helpful MF, thanks!

[Cam]

@Bicycle7
It was great to catch up with your journal. Initially I was going to say just apply to a bike shop and learn there...but then I read Mf's post.

That is one thorough course, and I'm sure it would be super fun and helpful to be surrounded by people as crazy about bikes as you are.

I have learned many of the skills and much of the knowledge included in that course through my volunteering as a bike mechanic for a local non-profit. However, it is very piece-meal, and I have large holes in my knowledge. For example - I can index front and rear derailleurs no problem. I can adjust rim brakes, and replace a chain etc. But one thing that I didn't learn until my SECOND summer volunteering was how to properly change a tire!! I'd always try to put the tube on the rim then try to get the tire around it One of the other mechanics saw me struggling and said, "Hey, um, there is an easier way to do that."

I'd say go for it. You'll create a very solid foundation of knowledge to build on, without the knowledge gaps that come with fixing problems as they arise.

[mountainFrugal]

Also, I'm considering taking the professional repair and shop operation course at UBI. My goals with it would be to get a job in a bike shop as a mechanic, besides just increasing my ability with fixing my own bikes.

Where I'm uncertain, is whether or not it's worth $2700 to me right now.

I do not have a specific answer so here are some things that I might consider.

When I decided to do the class I had already worked in a shop for a few months so I knew what I was getting into. I also saved up this money to offset most of the cost of the class. I stayed in my van at a campground outside of Ashland that had a nice shower and bathroom. I am sure I could have gotten away with staying in town if I moved around, but the instructors said that Ashland was cracking down on this. Having your family to stay with will be really helpful. Also so you can cook meals and bring a lunch.

If you are going to be bike packing a potentially more focused and cheaper route would be to know how to completely deconstruct and overhaul your own bike(s). Example: How far would spending $2-300 on tools and youtube videos about your exact components get you? It seems like your experiences are very similar to working in a shop, but I imagine that each shop has a vibe that is likely reflected in what they specialize in (if anything). Only you can say whether the tuition is worth it for you. For me I had a job that I could take when I got back and the community I live in has a definite need so even if it does not work out at the shop I can just wrench out of my garage.

I think this class was highly valuable, but try to think about all these other angles before making a decision. I am also of the opinion that education costs are the best if you will use them throughout your lifetime. If you never made any money back, and also never work in a shop, would it still be worth it to you?

[Bicycle7]

@Cam: It's helpful to hear what you got out of volunteering at the bike shop. There are currently a lot of gaps in my repair skills right now. I think having a base from a curriculum like this class could be really helpful. Maybe to some degree a bike repair book could substitute for the curriculum base, at least for identifying what I currently don't know.

@MF: Those are some helpful angles to consider. Are there more efficient paths towards my goals? Am I okay with the failure mode of taking the class, and never earning any money from it?

Part of me does have a feeling that taking the class would be presumptuous of getting a job as a mechanic in the future that I actually enjoy. Instead, I think a better route could be getting more paid and unpaid experience fixing bikes. I also have a new bike with plenty of components I've never deconstructed, maintained and repaired. For instance, hydraulic brake lines, thru axles, tubeless tires, 1x11 drivetrain, etc. This is all stuff I can learn on my own and have patience working on my own bike at home.

I also know the class will always be there for me to take and it seems like it has a lot to offer to people with varying levels of skill/knowledge going into it.

I think that I could in the future get a job in a bike shop first and see more how I like it. I was close to getting a couple jobs in shops where I currently live, until I realized I wanted to move somewhere else this year.

[jacob]

Also, I'm considering taking the professional repair and shop operation course at UBI. My goals with it would be to get a job in a bike shop as a mechanic, besides just increasing my ability with fixing my own bikes.

Where I'm uncertain, is whether or not it's worth $2700 to me right now.

Methinks it's comparable to @theanimal taking an intensive woodworking course over the course of weeks vs @jacob bootstrapping and autodidacting the---IMHO same skill set---over a period of years. The course is faster and it gets you the credentials. I have no idea how much credentials are worth though when the work more or less speaks for itself. I don't know the hiring process for a bike shop, but I could imagine the conversation going something like:
Q: Do you have your tools with you?
A: Yes
Q: That bike over there has a broken derailer. Show me how you'd fix it.
A: Okay

(I suppose alternatively: Show up for the interview on bike you built yourself to demonstrate your skills.)

But I don't know ...

FWIW, fixing bikes was the very first "practical skill" I learned outside the world of papers and screens(**) after I retired. The process was 1) get a "needs TLC" bike for free on craigslist(*) 2) look up problem in Park's Blue Book or Sheldon Brown's site. 3) Buy needed tools and parts. 4) Sell bike. 5) Repeat. The profit from the bikes paid for the tools. I ultimately ended up volunteering for a women's shelter fixing their bikes via a sailor I met on freecycle while asking for TLC bikes. He offered some that he'd given up on. I fixed them. He offered more. And so on.

(*) As such I ended up specializing mostly in shite bikes from the 1980s and 90s. The $50-200 range.
(**) Fixing bikes fits an academic mind very well because most problems are closed-ended and not too complicated.

[Ego]

I second @jacob's approach. While I worked at a bike shop in the 90s and knew how to do basic maintenance, I really learned by piecing together clunkers for resale since then. This has a few advantages. It encourages the building of skills, a tool collection and supplies over time. It often forced me to figure out how to fix things without the correct tools. That skill in particular is incredibly valuable on bike tours. When selling the bikes, I earn enough to fund the tool, supply and consumable purchases. Without deadlines, I can leave half-finished projects in the basement and purchase the needed items second-hand when they appear at the swap meet or on craigslist. Mistakes are not too costly and are made on bikes I own. It may be a fun challenge to earn enough by reselling beaters to fund the cost of the class. You might find that by the time you earn the tuition, you no longer need it.

[jacob]

In terms of sourcing TLC bikes, NorCal was ripe (supply >> demand), whereas Chitown has been more of a "water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink" (supply << demand) experience. As such, my bike repairing efforts have been literally stored-in-a-box since we moved here. In that regard, I have a useful collection of parts if anyone wants to trade.

[Bicycle7]

@jacob:

Yeah, I agree from the couple of interviews I've gone to at bike shops they more or less just want to know what you can and can't repair.

The idea of upcycling bicycles and even later on having a small mobile bike repair gig is really appealing to me. I was talking to someone with a mobile bike repair business and he talked about the joy of getting to ride his bike to various repair jobs and work outside in the spring/summer when there's a lot of business and the weather is nice, instead of wrenching inside a bike shop on a sunny day.

I even have a small bike trailer, I scored for free, to haul around my tools!

I have a workshop where I currently live and some space to store stuff for the upcycling work, although the issue is I'm moving out in less than a couple of months, so I'm more focused on reducing my clutter.

I do have plenty of spare time to spend in the workshop though these next few weeks. I'm wanting to incorporate all of this advice into a plan that gets me into the workshop a lot fixing bikes and learning before I leave to go travel and bike pack.

My focus is to get bikes onto a bike stand as much as possible until I move out.

In the past couple weeks I've:

- Got paid a $150 stipend to fix bikes at a non-profit event. No bikes actually showed up, so that was a bit of a bummer, but still got other stuff out of it. I'm going to another one in a couple weeks that more bikes will probably show up at. In the past, these events have been hit-or-miss in respect to how many broken bikes show up.

-Tuned up our loaner bike for guests at my home, replaced the front brake pads and cable.

-Following MF's advice of getting to know my bike packing rig as well as possible before I go bike packing. I've been researching my drivetrain and learning to adjust it. I'm also planning to help a friend bleed his disc brake lines so that I know how to do that on my new rig.

@Ego, I can see how the improvisational nature of doing repairs with a limited range of tools could really come in handy bike packing. Ego, could you say more about how the learning was different between the bike shop and on your own? I'm imagining some of the limitation of learning at the bike shop would be hours spent mainly on routinized tasks that you already know and needing to work efficiently.

The idea too of not facing deadlines, having a scalable approach to buying and reselling bikes fits my style. I've not had a ton of luck finding a lot of bikes to fix up here. Biking is popular here, but from my perspective, it's more of a case of Jacob's experience in Chicago than NorCal. Maybe I'm not looking in the right places.

The plan is, bootstrapping repairs (my bikes and friends), upcycling and in the future the possibility of a mobile bike repair or bike shop gig is my broad strokes vision I've clarified here so far with all of your help!

[Bicycle7]

March Update

Art:

Lately, I've been journaling and sketching a lot in journals I stitch myself. They are so easy to make! An intention of mine is to sketch and journal everyday. The journaling comes easy, but the sketching can sometimes be harder to motivate. I'm having more success now with a more integrated system- The journals are made by me on printer paper (good for sketching & writing), I switched from a bic ballpoint pen to a mechanical pencil and a nice big eraser. The pen was good for writing and alright for sketching, you can get different shades with the pen and I still like that type of art, but the mechanical pencil is a better sketch tool for me right now. Some of the journals I was buying weren't even good paper for sketching, this really discouraged me from ever sketching. Now, I always have in one place a journal, pencil and eraser to write or sketch!

Bikes:

I'm getting reps in with different repairs and maintenance along with skimming through Zinn and the Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance. The book is a reminder of how often different components should be serviced and cleaned if you'd like them to last a long time and of all the things that can go wrong on a bike. For instance, the author recommends cleaning and lubing the bike chain after every ride. He also recommends dissembling and cleaning a rear shock every 40 hours of riding! Tuning suspension systems on MTBs for different trail conditions sounds fun and something I'd be interested to learn at some point, even if I don't own a full suspension bike.

I replaced a snapped spoke on my commuter bike and trued the wheel. Truing the wheel was a confidence booster as I'm starting to feel more confident with that. I'm getting acquainted with a lot of new components on my Surly ICT. I took off the rear wheel, the first time with a through axle. Stuff like this has been more or less straight-forward, although I don't want to be surprised with a repair far from my house.

I'm also getting the shifting dialed in on it. This has taken a while, even though everything is in good condition and has minimal miles on it.

Meaningful Engagement with the world:

I think this is where I've struggled the most with is spending a satisfactory amount of time learning new things, connecting with others, in a state of flow or do something hard. I rarely become what I'd call "bored". When I was a kid, it was on me to entertain myself with a notebook, a pen and the backyard. As an adult, I can spend a good chunk of a day just doing chores, reading, writing, walking and riding my bike. I think I'm considering what it means or how to participate more fully.

I'm looking forward to moving and travelling for a period of time to shake things up. With that, I'm trying to close this current chapter of my life, where I currently live, with as much presence as I can. This is hard!

[Bicycle7]

April Update

Last week, we moved out of our intentional community that we lived at for the past couple of years. The past week, we have been visiting friends and family in Southern Oregon.

We got to meet up with mountainFrugal for a walk in Southern Oregon! I appreciate being able to pull on the depths of conversations on the forums in person with people. It's cool to follow the associations in my head from the conversation back to threads on the forum, ask questions and explore things chatting together.

Starting in May, I'll leave on a bike trip with AxelHeyst! My partner (@berrytwo) will be WWOOF'ing in Santa Cruz.

Travelling is certainly more work than being rooted somewhere with systems in place. I'm looking at this as a period of time to try new things out, I felt like I needed a phase like this before I settle back down again.

[guitarplayer]

Travelling is certainly more work than being rooted somewhere with systems in place. I'm looking at this as a period of time to try new things out, I felt like I needed a phase like this before I settle back down again.

It's like a specialism I sometimes think. Vast majority of people are specialised in being rooted somewhere, and even that rather badly. @Ego is a good example of keeping foot in the door in both being rooted and being mobile. Permanently mobile, guess it would be looking towards digital nomads, Irish travellers, retired FIRE folk undergoing 'traveling phase' or Paul Erdos (all of these being of a different flavour).

I think by design humans are definitely capable, if not outright benefiting, from moving around every so often. I will follow your escapades

[Western Red Cedar]

Travelling is certainly more work than being rooted somewhere with systems in place. I'm looking at this as a period of time to try new things out, I felt like I needed a phase like this before I settle back down again.

I'm also experiencing this first hand. I think it is easy to underestimate the effort and bandwidth a nomadic lifestyle requires. Even those who do it for years and have systems in place have to manage this to a certain extent.

Nonetheless, it is a good opportunity to stay present, appreciate the benefits offered by the respective lifestyles, and reflect on what you value. As Neil Young says:

"Comes a time when you're drifting, comes a time when you settle down..."

Best of luck on the bikepacking adventure. Sounds exciting!