Calvin Jones Retiring After 28 Years As Director of Education at Park Tool

With gratitude and a little sadness, Park Tool announces the retirement of Director of Education Calvin Jones. Since his hiring in 1997, Calvin has been an indispensable member of the Park Tool team and instrumental to their continued success over the past 28 years.
Today, Calvin is perhaps best known to many as the wrench behind Park Tool’s popular YouTube channel, which boasts over 900,000 subscribers and 13 million annual views. Across hundreds of videos over a 15-year span, Calvin and the Park Tool creative team have created a comprehensive catalog of free high-quality tutorial and educational content, establishing Park Tool as the preeminent name in online bike maintenance education.

However, Calvin’s role as Park Tool Director of Education has taken many forms over his 28-year tenure at the company. In addition to his contributions to product development and thousands of hours logged fielding customer feedback, Calvin has applied his deep knowledge of bikes and his aptitude for instruction to projects large and small, including but not limited to:

• The Repair Help section of parktool.com, with a library of nearly 200 detailed how-to guides
• The Park Tool School, a full set of curriculum designed for teaching bicycle maintenance in a classroom setting, first published in 2000
• The Big Blue Book of Bicycle Repair, a complete bike maintenance handbook now in its fourth edition
• The Park Tool Tech Summit, a recurring series of in-depth seminars and lectures for professional mechanics from 2009 to 2013

Of course, Calvin arrived at Park Tool with an already long list of accomplishments, from his first bike shop job in 1973 to his roles as team mechanic for USA national teams, mechanics’ instructor at the US Olympic Training Center, and chief instructor at Barnett’s Bicycle Institute. This background, and his continued engagement with the bike industry and the professional mechanics who keep it running, tell only part of the story.

“I think the thing I admire most about Calvin is that to this day he lives and breathes what he teaches. He’s passionate about the science of bikes and is a gifted teacher who can clearly explain even the most complex concepts. Through his writings, videos, and personal interactions he’s helped millions understand how their bike works and how to best keep it working. It’s been an amazing run, and now, nearly 29 years later we owe a lot to Calvin for his unique ability to demystify bike repair and maintenance,” remarked Eric Hawkins, Park Tool’s Owner, CEO and Chief Mechanic.

Asked about his plans, Calvin said, “Moving on from Park Tool, there are some educational projects that I would like to be part of. Plus, I am looking forward to focusing more on my riding and figuring out when to use this dropper post.”

Calvin will continue to be involved with the Stillwater chapter of the Minnesota Cycling Association and will maintain his seat on the board for Project Bike Tech. Calvin also doesn’t intend to disappear from Park Tool entirely—his retirement plans already include periodic contributions to future Park Tool video projects. All the same, his presence will be missed in the office, asking about everyone’s latest ride and offering to tinker with their bikes. The entire staff at Park Tool sincerely offer him their best wishes in his retirement.

Calvin will attend iceBike* 2026 in London and Frostbike 2026 in Minneapolis for any industry folks who would like to wish him well in person.

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Here’s Calvin in his own words: