Today I finished my latest project - building out my own bicycle. Technically, I didn't build my own bike of course, because I started with my old frame. But I stripped it down completely and replaced all the components including the whole drive train, and (with one small exception) I did it all myself. For a long time now, I've wanted to learn more about bike maintenance - for lots of reasons, but not least of which is that, when I volunteer with Bike the US for MS, it's fun (and useful) to be able to help other people with their bikes. And there were some pieces, like installing a rear derailleur or changing cranks, that I wasn't too familiar with. But I am now! Huge thanks to the El Camino Bike Shop, and in particular Ernie, who entertained my amateur questions and was really patient and kind. He also did the one part that I decided was a little too obscure to bother with, which was changing the bottom bracket (you need specialized tools that I would never use again, and it's not something you would ever do in the middle of a trip). Also big thanks to Mike, who sold me 95% of the parts off one of his old bike and gave me a great "friends and family" discount. I got the whole thing done, including a new rear wheel, for about $900 (some of which went towards tools that I can use again). That probably sounds like a lot, but this is top of the line Ultegra DI2 electronic shifting gear that should last me a long, long time. It would have cost a lot more to buy it retail and have a shop install it - probably about $2000 total, and I wouldn't have walked away with knowledge or the tools.
It feels really good to accomplish a longer-term goal like this, and I learned a ton about bike maintenance.
On to the next goal!
