Being able to repair your own bicycle is one of the most important and cost saving skills a cyclist should learn. A single visit to the bike shop could cost your a bounty. An average shop charges $75/hr. I visit a shop onces a year for repairs because I like supporting my local bike shop. However, I still do most of my own repairs. This is a good way to know your bike more and also be able to know what’s needed when you get to a bike shop.

You only need basic tools to begin with. Depending on how many bikes your family has and how much repairs you do each year, you might want to invest is some more tools afterwards. I would advice you get good tools from reputable manufacturers to begin with. Good tools will last you a lifetime. You’ll encounter several situations that you can quickly and easily resolve by yourself. Some in your homebase and some on the road. You need to be able to adjust your brakes, your gear adjustments, tire repairs and replacement, derailers, and many more easy to repair issues.

I learned repairing by reading online text and watching Youtube videos. They were helpful in specific topics but there are no structured programs that teach you what you need to know on bike repairs in general. I found out that I was having to find resolutions to specific issues online after the fact. But at a small cost you can find video courses you can watch at your own time about learning to repair bicycles. I appreciate this because you actually learn everything about bike repair and maintenace upfront. So you know what you need to do before something breaks, and how to fix issues when they happen. I found this very beneficial and rewarding.

Our partners have an affordable bike repair program that I feel will work for most people trying to learn how to repair their own bikes. Link is provided below:

Sponsored Bike Repair program

Another way to learn is to create a playlist on Youtube of bike repair videos. Not my favorite way but that works when there are no structured courses elsewhere.