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Bicycling Magazine's Complete Guide to Bicycle Maintenance and Repair: For Road and Mountain Bikes
 
 
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Bicycling Magazine's Complete Guide to Bicycle Maintenance and Repair: For Road and Mountain Bikes [Paperback]

Todd Downs (Author)
3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

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Product Description

Product Description

This revised, updated, expanded fifth edition is indispensable-with all the latest models, parts, and repair techniques, and terrific money-saving tips to keep any ride in tip-top shape
Since its first publication, Bicycling Magazine’s Complete Guide to Bicycle Maintenance and Repair has sold over 400,000 copies. The fifth edition is guaranteed to remain the category killer. This long-overdue update is a must-have for weekend riders and serious cyclists alike.

Whether they own the latest model or a classic with thousands of miles on it, beginners and experienced cyclists alike can depend on this book to get their bikes out of the shop faster and keep them on the road longer. They’ll discover information on:
o Building a dream bike workshop
o Disc brakes, both cable-actuated and hydraulic
o Dialing in front and rear suspension shocks for
comfortable rides
o The latest crankset and bottom bracket designs
o Overhauling freewheels and cassettes for peak
performance
o Specs on all the latest handlebar and headset sizes
o Servicing clipless pedals for maximum safety

With troubleshooting sections to quickly identify and correct common problems, 450 photographs and 40 drawings to clarify all the step-by-step directions so even the complete neophyte can get repairs right the first time, and Web sites and phone numbers of bicycle and parts manufacturers, this is truly the ultimate bicycle repair and maintenance manual-now better than ever in its fifth edition!

About the Author

Todd Downs is a self-taught, full-time wrench since 1989. He’s built wheels that were raced in the 2003 UCI Cyclocross World Championships and prepared a bike for an Olympic hopeful’s trip to the 2004 Summer Olympic Trials. Downs has been published in DirtRag magazine and serves as an editor of MTBJournal.com. He currently resides in the Boston area.

Inside This Book (Learn More)
First Sentence
Whether you ride a bicycle for fun, fitness, transportation, or an adrenalin fix-or maybe all of these-you need this book. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews

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Average Customer Review
3.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars Often confusing, some wrong pictures, and questionable advice, May 3 2007
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This review is from: Bicycling Magazine's Complete Guide to Bicycle Maintenance and Repair: For Road and Mountain Bikes (Paperback)
I bought this book in the hopes of learning how to maintain and fix my nice new higher end Trek. I used to be very much on top of all things bike, but I am coming back to it after a lengthy hiatus, and wanted to brush up on the latest and greatest, as installed on my own new bike.

At first glance the book is very comprehensive, but after reading it thoroughly, it bites off more than it can chew. Unfortunately it also bounces between giving you all the basic steps you need to accomplish some repairs, too assuming that you already know a fair amount about what you are doing in others.

The section on wheel building, while initially informative and interesting, it soon starts to lack clarity, gives the reader just enough information to get themselves into trouble. It would have been better left much abbreviated (theory only) or left out of the book entirely.Who really expects to be able to build a wheel from only five pages of instructions anyway?

Additionally, many instructions are very confusing, particularly when paired with the wrong picture ( a side pull road brake is not a derailleur last I checked) and the instructions for running cables to any of the "newer" Shifter-brake levers was extremely confusing.

The section on brake adjustment was incomplete. it mentioned toe in in passing, but unless I blinked and missed it, it didn't explain how it works or how to set it(particularly on the regular cantilever brkes my own bike is equipped with.).

Although there is a section on outboard B/B's and two piece cranks, it was similarly confusing.

The one unforgivable piece of advice was in removing a stubborn pedal, where the author advised heating the crank arm with a propane torch!?!?!?!? I thought it was a mistake , but the advice was repeated in the troubleshooting section at the end of the chapter

Overall this book tries to do too many things (Jack of all trades-master of none). It feels as though the author wanted to include a lot more information and had to pare it down to make it fit a certain size/pricepoint. The result being too much technical and historical info on why and how and where things developed, and not nearly enough CLEAR, concise practical application.

I must admit the basics are covered well enough, and some of the more technical aspects are too, but there is a lack of consistancy and clarity, particularly in regard to newer components.

There must be a better book out there.
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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Good all around book, Jun 6 2010
By 
B. Millman (Ottawa, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Bicycling Magazine's Complete Guide to Bicycle Maintenance and Repair: For Road and Mountain Bikes (Paperback)
I bought this book because I used an earlier edition and found it OK. I have little to do with bicycles, but I was using bicycle parts to build a wood, no welding, recumbent trike. It works!!! If I am allowed a link, the description of the trike is linked here: [...].

My biggest beef about the book, is that in each section the author says, for example, that there are x types of rim brakes, but doesn't show pictures so you can identify what you have. You have to read the whole piece about brakes to discover what you have and how to deal with it.

The pictures are black and white (greyscale) and often you have to really examine the picture to see what the author is talking about. My favourite is in adjusting direct-pull cantilever brakes (page 293, figure 4), the actual adjustment being done is in the lower-left corner of the figure. At least put a black circle around the adjustment, so we don't have to scan the entire pic to find the point of interest.

All in all a good book, and I'm glad I had it through this project.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com: 4.2 out of 5 stars (120 customer reviews)

144 of 148 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent repair book and inexpensive, Oct 1 2005
By Ari "Ari" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Bicycling Magazine's Complete Guide to Bicycle Maintenance and Repair: For Road and Mountain Bikes (Paperback)
I ordered this aswell as the big blue book of bicycle repair from park and this book won hands down in every area. The price is half, the information is better and more detailed and it covers areas the park book doesn't. If you want to learn how to overhaul your bike as I did, this is the book to get.

158 of 167 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Even WalMart and Target bikes!, Aug 20 2005
By Karen Delaney - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Bicycling Magazine's Complete Guide to Bicycle Maintenance and Repair: For Road and Mountain Bikes (Paperback)
I used this baby to take apart that Target bike I had hanging in the garage for 5 years. It was so great, it had everything, even the cheap cruddy gear on my bike was covered, and I managed to put the bike back together again too! I discovered there was more to chain lube than that old can that you pushed on the bottom and dripped oil on the chain with. Plus I found out that I had the wrong size bike, completely, that my shifting system was the one they put on 3 speeds back in the 60's, and that it never pays to pry off stuff with the sharp part of the tool pointed at yourself. HOWEVER, the point is, this book ROCKS! I, a complete neophyte (mechanically speaking) took this bike to pieces and it went back together with not one screw left over. I actually did the Hans and Franz PUMP YOU UP pose after finishing.

80 of 82 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Meets and exceeds all my needs, May 24 2006
By David J. Miller "postdoc" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Bicycling Magazine's Complete Guide to Bicycle Maintenance and Repair: For Road and Mountain Bikes (Paperback)
I got this book in anticipation of receiving a bicycle purchased off the internet, as I knew the bike would need assembly and a good amount of adjusting. A careful reading of this book provided all the info I needed to get the bike up and running, and it included many vital tips I would not have known otherwise. Basic stuff like how to adjust seat and handlebar position and angle were well explained. The more involved instructions on lubrication and derailleur adjustment were much more helpful than the manufacturer's bare bones instructions. But what was truly a saving grace for me was the chapter on disc brake assembly, adjustment, and care. I would never have known how properly mount a disc to a hub (use a star pattern, gradually increase screw tightness, and never touch the disc with your hands) or that you should never pull a brake lever without something (the disc or a spacer) in the hydraulic brake caliper. My own curious excitement with my new high-end bike would surely have caused me to do that. That chapter alone was worth the book purchase. The book is also full of pictures (although it's impossible to have a photo of every possible manufacturer's component) which help greatly.

Since the book fully covers modern bike innovations as well (fancy suspension, disc brakes, external bearing bottom brackets and two piece cranksets), it may seem to owners of department store bikes to cater to people with high end bikes. This is NOT the case at all -- the book covers low-end components as well. In actuality the book is quite comprehensive, and covers of the full range of bike components available today.

To the reviewers who complain that the book contains so much "useless" info, it is not the author's fault that you ride a cheap bike, making much of the book's valuable info not apply to you.

I have two mid-range bikes (Ironhorse Warrior Race and Raleigh C700) and the book covers all areas of maintenance that I've needed and can foresee needing. In addition, the author is quite willing to tell you what NOT to do at home and when to see a professional instead.

In short, this book will make bike ownership safer, more fun, and more satisfying.
› Go to Amazon.com to see all 120 reviews  4.2 out of 5 stars 
 
 
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