Barnett manual- more mechanical information than you will ever need

ah interesting, don't know how I've never heard of these!.... I'm a bike mechanic but I've never been informed of them. For me it highlights the fact that most bike mechanics are self taught or learn from shared knowledge of their coworkers. It would be interesting to know how many professional mechanics even have any formal training.

Here's a link to a sutherlands I just found online.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/7893416/Sutherlands-Handbook-For-Bicycle-Mechanics-6th-ed-20th-Anniversary"]Sutherland's Handbook For Bicycle Mechanics 6th ed 20th Anniversary

Back in the old days in California all the "pro-shops" had a copy of Sutherlands--- even in later years when the mechanics could not read English.

Don't know about "self-taught". Many of those Mexican mechanics had done long apprenticeships and were far from self-taught. I also knew a few Americans that went to trade school to learn metal working and bicycle mechanics. I knew some that crossed over from art.. and at almost every tech shool I attended--- and I'm talking about some of the most highly regarded institutes on the planet--- there was always a core learning to build bicycles. I also knew a few aerospace engineers that crossed over after their layoffs. In Europe bicycle mechanic was long a guilded trade. Even in Holland today you still, I think, need a "master trade letter" to open a shop.