I bought a copy of Zinn & the Art of Road Bike Maintenance specifically because it includes a sensible list of regular maintenance tasks. It has several lists, like “before every ride,” “after every ride (or three),” “every 1000 miles,” “every 20,000 miles,” and helpful hints about how to know specifically when you need to do certain things, regardless of how many rides or miles you do.
Buy this book - Zinn & the Art of Road Bike Maintenance. it's under $20 on Amazon. Couple of points:
Amazingly comprehensive. Includes old stuff and new stuff.
A book is great for having when actually wrenching. Way better than trying to scroll on your phone with greasy hands.
All tasks are broken into three levels of difficulty. The first level is for people like you, and you'll be pleasantly surprised how much that covers. Has tool recommendations for each level.
Most tools don't need to be bike specific. A set of Allen keys, needlenose pliers, and an adjustable wrench will get you further than you think.
Good luck!
I'm a new cyclist, and this is on my wishlist :) Highly recommended from the folks here and on r/bicycling
If he likes working on his own bike this could be a cool gift, they also have a MTB version, but it’s fun to know everything about how something works even if he doesn’t actually do any work. I will say it’s hard to receive gifts geared toward cycling, most of the time the person has everything they want, especially things that are only a few bucks.
Zinn & the Art of Road Bike Maintenance: The World's Best-Selling Bicycle Repair and Maintenance Guide https://www.amazon.com/dp/193771537X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glc_fabc_M.l2FbA5JHJAE
I custom build my touring bike with this book. And of course Shelton Brown.
Zinn & the Art of Road Bike Maintenance: The World's Best-Selling Bicycle Repair and Maintenance Guide https://www.amazon.com/dp/193771537X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_Tsl8AbQ1CPQ4M
I'm new to bike maintenance, but have you tried to tune the derailer again? I replaced the cable on my Scott and fully retuned the rear derailer, otherwise it would take 2 clicks to drop a gear, 1 to go up, and wouldn't travel into the highest or lowest gears. There's a high gear tuning screw and a low gear tuning screw that need to be fiddled with, plus cable tension (can be adjusted at both shifter and on derailer). Both adjusting screws should be adjusted with no cable tension (i.e. loosen the screw holding the bare cable end). I followed the basic directions in this reference manual: https://www.amazon.com/Zinn-Art-Road-Bike-Maintenance/dp/193771537X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1470409806&sr=8-1&keywords=bike+repair+manual but there are tons of youtube videos out there. If a fresh tune doesn't fix it, you might have a worn/stretched cable/housing (visual check this first I guess).
i think zinn is the standard. but these days you're probably better looking for a video on youtube.
edit: zinn - https://www.amazon.com/Zinn-Art-Road-Bike-Maintenance/dp/193771537X/ref=dp_ob_title_bk
Zinn & the Art of Road Bike Maintenance: The World's Best-Selling Bicycle Repair and Maintenance Guide https://www.amazon.com/dp/193771537X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_622THWJQTXPDNKYXGMB0
What sort of repair do you need?
For learning basic bike repair, I really recommend Zinn and the Art of Road/Mountain Bike Maintenance. I have the road bike book, as I've been riding a Jamis BosaNova for the past 9 years as my daily ride. I really enjoy learning, and tinkering with things, so I wanted to figure out how to do some of my own repairs. Coupled with YouTube videos for demonstration, it's really not too hard to figure it all out. The cost savings of DIY repairs is kind of offset by the need to purchase specialized tools, but I certainly agree getting it done on your time, asap is pretty nice. The start of Zinn's books have a breakdown on the tools you need for different levels of repair, which is pretty handy. You can gradually grow your tool set as you get more serious about it. Also make sure to read reviews on tools. Park is a nice brand and carries a lot of prestige, but there are usually plenty of other tools that can easily get the same job done at a fraction of the cost. I bought a few of their items before saying f- it, and haven't looked back.
I've had one instance where I got a nail in my tire on my way to the square and dropped it off with Sprockets since I didn't want to deal with patching it at the time, but other than that, I've handled spoke replacement and truing, changing tires, derailleurs (though still trying to get the hang of fine tuning shifting), and basic single speed bike assembly.
My bike repair/washing stand, which I'm not looking to sell, but just passing a recommendation. It's not rock solid, but compact and surprisingly strong for the weight.
I'm amazed and disappointed at the same time. No mentions of the definitive book set... Zinn: Zinn & the Art of Road Bike Maintenance: The World's Best-Selling Bicycle Repair and Maintenance Guide https://www.amazon.com/dp/193771537X and Zinn & the Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance: The World's Best-Selling Guide to Mountain Bike Repair https://www.amazon.com/dp/1937715477
Every home mech sounds have at least one of these two. Yes there is also a lot of repeated information obviously, bit they are fantastic references. Supplement these with the park tool yt vids, you can do basically anything
To add to what others have said, suppose you like physical reading material?
Zinn’s Art of Road Bike Maintenance is the bike repair bible.
Step 1 is choose your frame. Tell us what frame and a rough budget then we can give you some suggestions. Or if you want a book, get Zinn's: https://www.amazon.com/dp/193771537X
I've gotten a sound like that for an insufficiently tight pedal arm.
There's good YouTubes for bike maintenance. Also https://www.amazon.com/Zinn-Art-Road-Bike-Maintenance/dp/193771537X/