So I'm a software engineer too, but also a cyclist. A weightweenie. At certain point, you begin to mix and match totally incompatible parts, solvable with a mod

So I'm a software engineer too, but also a cyclist. A weightweenie. At certain point, you begin to mix and match totally incompatible parts, solvable with a modest manufacturing capability. For me, the learning path was basically the same as with programming - lots of motivation, access to internet and tools (a machinist). Back in school, we were taught part sketching and machining basics, which helped a bit. I picked FreeCAD out of available open source solutions, watched a lot of great tutorials on YouTube and, though trial and error, managed to produce designs good enough to serve the purpose. Machinist services in Russia are incredibly cheap, especially if they have their own machines in a garage. With small beginner projects, the price of error is just your time and materials, don't be afraid to experiment. On a side note, my mechanical engineer acquaintance complains that he should have followed the CS route because programmers earn substantially more here. The grass is greener.