Bicycling Magazine-s Complete Guide to Bicycle Maintenance and Repair - For Road and Mountain Bikes Description:

Bicycling Magazine's Complete Guide to Bicycle Maintenance and Repair : For Road and Mountain Bikes review:
5 stars (Can't be beat for price and quality) - After looking at several other bicycle repair manuals, it was a joy to come across this book that is just right on the money.



Todd Downs's book about bicycling repair is something that belongs on the bookshelf (or in the garage) of every bicyclist out there. The book easily pays for itself many times over by giving the novice bicycle mechanic the guidance and instruction in doing his own repairs.



The book is also interesting to read. Downs explains the pros and cons of the various types of components out there, and gives the reader advice for how to best use and care for his bicycle.



The photgraphs are clear and plentiful, never leaving you wondering what you're supposed to do, and give you the confidence to tackle just about any job.



Where other books seem to err by giving the reader too little information - or overwhelming the reader with too much - this book strikes a great balance. Every part of the bicycle is covered in its entirety, and this book should work for just about every cyclist out there, whether you're a road warrior, hard-core mountain biker, or just enjoy a casual ride to the coffee shop on Sunday mornings.



In addition to just straight repair and maintenance, the book is filled with good advice. I particularly liked when Downs would tell the reader if a troublesome part was better off being repaired or replaced entirely.



If you ride a bike, you really should own a repair manual, and this is the best one I've seen so far.
5 stars (Dirt is it's destiny.) - My copy of Todd Downs' book is destined to get dirty-- dirty with the grit and grime of a bicycle in need of maintenance and repair. Modern bikes are more complex and more expensive than ever. Nowadays it's hard to just "wing it" if you want to do your own repairs. This book has really helped me to catch up on modern bike technology and gain a better understanding of my two-month-old Gary Fisher. The book is quite comprehensive. There are exploded view illustrations when needed, and the many photographs are comparable to what you'd find in a high quality automotive manual. Todd has answered my questions about headsets, forks, hubs...I could go on but you get the idea. Easily worth the measly $14.
5 stars (Even WalMart and Target bikes!) - 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.