Bicycling Magazine’s Complete Guide to Bicycle Maintenance and Repair for Road and Mountain Bikes
Bicycling Magazine’s Complete Guide to Bicycle Maintenance and Repair for Road and Mountain Bikes
Your local bike mechanic might have you thinking that “wrenching” is right up there with rocket science. But the truth is, anyone can master the ins and outs of bicycle maintenance under the guidance of a good teacher. In lieu of a professor, the editors of Bicycling and Mountain Bike magazines have created a shop companion, which they refer to as “another tool for working on your bike.” They guide you from the basics of your pre-ride checklist to tuning your derailleurs and overhauling your hubs. And they offer updated information on maintaining front shocks and even a handful of rear suspensions. What’s more, they can walk you through the arduous task of rebuilding ancient parts that some shop mechanics haven’t even heard of. If you’ve ever tried to work on your own car, you’ve undoubtedly developed a healthy fear of automobile shop manuals. But unlike the cryptic list of part numbers and equations you’ll find at Pep Boys, this guide is written by people who want you to see just how rewarding bike maintenance can be. –Ben TiffanyFix a broken chain with a shoelace!
Improve shifter performance with dishwashing detergent!
Inside are thousands of tips to repair and maintain any road or mountain bike. Whether it’s the latest model or a classic that has thousands of miles on it, beginners or experienced riders can keep their bikes on the road longer and spend less time in the repair shop. With this ultimate repair manual:
* Build a dream bike workshop with complete plans and comprehensive tool lists
* Wow ride partners with tricks for fixing breakdowns with a minimum of tools
* Roll wheel hoops and save time and money
* Dial in suspension shocks for comfortable rides
* Discover top tricks from professional mechanics
* Expertly work on any style of brakes, including the V-Brake
* Overhaul freewheels and cassettes for peak performance
* Service clipless pedals for maximum safety
What’s new in the expanded and revised fourth edition?
* Updated text that covers the latest models and parts
* Over 160 new photos so you get repairs right the first time
* Clearer, better designed captions so you can read as you repair
* Troubleshooting sections to quickly identify and correct common problems
* Web sites and phone numbers of bicycle and parts manufacturers
* An updated glossary with the latest in bike lingo
User Ratings and Reviews
2 Stars Complete Guide to Bicycle Maintenance and Repair
It’s surprising to see how much the front and back cover promise only to find out how little information and substance it actually delivers. The book is very basic providing mostly very general information. The chapter on shift levers is particularly incomplete with outdated examples and few details on maintenance and repairs. The book may suffer from trying to cover both road and mountain bikes and doing a poor job with both. Certainly won’t purchase another book recommended or endorsed by Bicycling Magazine!
3 Stars Disappointing
I like fixing and modifying bikes almost as much as I love riding them. I have an extensive toolset and can perform many repairs myself. So….. around 2001 I received this book as a gift and thought that it would be comprehensive and high quality because Bicycling magazine published it. I was very disappointed. –It is poorly organized and indexed. –Most components shown are from the early to mid-1990s. Coverage of modern components (carbon fibre, gripshift, aerobars, areowheels, hydralic brakes, v-brakes, sealed bearings, etc) are either missing or very poor. –Drawings are incomplete. Drawings are used where a picture would be better. –Some pictures are small, unclear, poorly lit, or at weird angles. –Some pictures exist for operations that are very common or clear, while pictures of more complex tasks are missing. –Spelling and grammer errors make it obvious it was not proof-read before publishing.
P.S. The HAYES bike repair book is just as Bad…. similar to the poor quality that many of their car repair books have.
5 Stars This book changed my life!
Before I read this book, I would stare blankly at my bike and never had any clue how it worked. After I started to read it, every little part of the bike took shape and I began to understand how everything fit together, how all the components were made, and how to diagnose problems with them. I started fixing and upgrading my bike, bought a couple of old bikes and refurbished them, and just had a great time doing all of it.
Now, 2 years later, I’ve gone from a casual cyclist to a huge gearhead who talks, rides, and dreams about bike. I hang out on bikeforums.net and could draw a derailer with a blindfold on. So, that’s why I say this book changed my life 
Bike repair is not just a great hobby, it’s an immensely useful skill! You can save an enormous amount of money and time by doing your own repairs, and you can customize your bike to your heart’s content. I’ve also learned a lot about materials engineering and mechanical design from this hobby.
1 Stars I just wanted to adjust my brakes
This book is poorly organized. The photos are not labeled. There is an exploded view of sidepull brakes but no photo or diagram of the actual brakes and what they look like put together.
There is a photo of different bikes but the labels are all black so sometimes it’s hard to identify what the pointer is actually pointing to. I’m very disappointed because I just wanted to adjust sidepull and cantilever brakes and I can’t figure it out from this book. I really can’t tell much from the photos.
I am very disappointed. I thought the revised edition would be better.
2 Stars Great book but there are better ones out there !!
It’s a goog book for any “Joe Smoh” looking for his first book on “How to fix and do maintenance on bikes”. After seeing and buying “The Haynes Bicycle Book”, it makes you wanna throw away the “Bicycling Magazine’s Complete Guide…” in the trashcan.
There is a BIG lack of pictures of up-to-date bicycles parts. You know, the parts sold by bike shops and not at a garage sale. Nothing really details on how to bleed a set of hydraulic disc brake system or even how to tune one. Or even the famous V-brake system.
As for suspension tube-up… you might as well save your coins and take your bike to your local bike instead of buying this book.
But if you’re looking for the real “bible” on how to repair bikes, here’s the best book set: Barnett’s Manuals (4 Volumes Set) by John Barnett.
I bought the whole thing and made me realized how much money I’ve waisted on other bike repair books. Those manuals are by far the best ones released yet (and updated every year or so). They’re like the shop manual of any car or truck. Loaded with pictures, graphics, torque charts, “where to” and “not to” grease a bike pictures, the step-by-step procedures of overhauling forks, rear shocks, hydraulic brake systems and so much more. At over 1000 pages, the manual simply got too large to handle! The fifth edition (just released) is separated into four separate volumes for easier handling. The standard soft-back book binding is convertible to loose-leaf format, if preferred, by virtue of perforated pages and 3-hole drilling. And all pages are grease-resistant (gloss).
In other words, get the Barnett’s manuals. That will be your best investment for your knowledge.
Filed under: Mountain Bikes Book Reviews