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Books : The Bicycling Guide to Complete Bicycle Maintenance and Repair: For Road and Mountain Bikes(Expanded and Revised 5th Edition)In association with Amazon.comRating:  - Excellent bike service bookI got this book about two years ago when I bought my first serious road bike. Whether you are serious biker or just have a few kids bikes in the garage, this is a truly excellent piece of work. Starting with the basics of bicycle maintenance, it proceeds to review every major (and minor) component of the bike (road and mountain), and then discuss them from a trouble shooting point of view, followed by step-by-step photos of whatever it is you want to do. Wrench in one hand, book in the other (a bike stand helps) I have replaced/adjusted/cleaned dérailleurs, brakes, gear cassettes, etc. with nothing but this book. Just did a major spring overhaul last weekend. A clean well-lubricated drive train and shifting mechanism is such a nice thing. You kind of forget between cleanings. You still need to get some special tools at your local bike store, but this tells you which ones and why. Rating: - you never knew how easy it wasthis book rocks. I never knew how easy it is to do most repairs on my bike. I have successfully straighted both my wheels (with the purchase of a 8$ tool) and finally got my rear derailer to go into low gear and centered my back break so it would not kick out more to one side. Super easy (well the wheel straighting takes some fine adjustments, but it's by no means complicated) and a super satisfying feeling to fix it yourself. Book is ez to read w/ clear descriptions and well organized. if your thinking about it at all get this book. Rating: - Easy to follow, with great pictures.I was surprised that this book supports the modern Shimano components and new composite frames. It's really detailed, and easy to follow. I feel confident with any bike project using this book as a guide. Rating:  - Good beginners' starter guide, not so hot beyond that.If you're a beginner, this is a good book to get to start to understand the basic parts of your bike and how they work - do some adjustments of bearings, brakes etc.. Recommended - 4 stars If you have messed around for years and have a decent idea of how things work (e.g. have perused Sheldon Brown's site extensively), like me, you'll learn some good information, but read a lot you already know. For the price, it's probably still worth it, but you'll be left wanting and needing more. I wouldn't tackle a big job, like building a wheel, installing disk brakes, without reading something else. - 3 stars If you're pretty experienced, want to actually build bikes etc., or depart from the mainstream at all (e.g. SS/FG, or hub gears), there's little for you, and nowhere near enough detail. - 1 star Inexplicably, There are step-by-step guides to jobs, which completely duplicate the preceding information. Seems like filler to me. Meh, it's ok, especially for the price and really pretty good for beginners. Rating: - Very HelpfulI bought this book after reading all of the customer reviews and the book was very interesting and will be a big help. This book will help me to start saving money and doing increasingly more of my own repairs. I highly recommend this book. |
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