The Modern State of Bike Repair According to Calvin Jones

Calvin Jones is the Director of Education at Park Tool company, a position he’s held for more than 15 years. He’s the author of the Big Blue Book Bicycle Repair and his repair videos on YouTube have been viewed by millions. We ask Calvin: How did you learn how to work on bikes? What type of riding do you like to do? Do mountain bikes require more or less repair and maintenance than other types of bikes? Are today’s bikes easier to work on than the bikes 10 or 20 years ago? Do bike manufacturers do a good job considering maintenance and repair when they design new products? Are Torx bolts taking over hex bolts? Which repairs are your least favorite? Will future bike mechanics need electrical skills, or is diagnosing and repairing electronic components something manufacturers will want to control? What’s the effect of YouTube videos like yours that help folks make repairs themselves at home? Check out the Park Tool YouTube channel and parktool.com. Programming note: For 2023 the Singletracks podcast will be published on Tuesdays each week instead of Monday. ✏️ A written transcript of this conversation will be available at singletracks.com. --Keep up with the latest in mountain biking at Singletracks.com and on Instagram @singletracks