Here are a few basic bicycle mechanic videos. They are meant as a Basic How to reference. In this day and age, nothing is as simple as it seems. Campy, Shimano, SRAM, etc, they all have their technical data that the user should consult. These vids are intro vids to the basics of bicycle mechanics.
When I went to UBI in 2001 there was more and more attention to torque specs. On a personal note; I'm not too keen on the idea of riding on bike parts that are so lightweight that a torque wrench which measures in in/lbs is necessary.
On another note. I was once told that the configuration of the six triangles that make up a typical bicycle, is the strongest geometric configuration known so far. When you take into consideration that a road bike these days weighs less than 20lbs, and its expected to handle dynamic forces generated by 180-210lb riders. its an amazing thing. The craziest of it all is that its not necessarily the "power" that a person puts into the bike as much as the reality is...its the slowing down, and running over rough surfaces, pot holes, 2x4's, etc.
So when it comes time to tighten the face plate on some nice fancy super lightweight stem/handlebar combo, stop and think about doing 30mph with the brakes on, and suddenly having to hit a pot hole, 2x4 or whatever, and remember how IMPORTANT TORQUE VALUES are.
peace...d
