Bikes Reviews

This is a great instructional book for bicycle maintenance. It is written so that a novice in bicycle repair can understand the procedures. There is a chapter on how to disassemble and repair each aspect of your bicycle in detailed form. The book covers all different types of components on both road and mountain bikes. The instructions are easy to follow. The pictures are clear, and one can easily see what the authors are talking about. As a necessity, specialized bicycle tools are required to do many of the more complex manipulations. Each section has a troubleshooting guide, and chapter three is nothing but a troubleshooting guide. This book makes a great reference manual and will enhance one's basic knowledge of bicycle mechanics.

You can learn a lot watching bike mechanics "operate". You can learn what tools to use, and how to apply them, and what pieces fall out when you take something apart. But who has time to hang around a bike shop? Wouldn't it be nice to have a book that shows you what to expect, and how to deal with it? This is it, in Technicolor glory.

Every page of this book has clear color photos showing exactly what to do. The book is broken down by chapters for the various mechanical systems of the bicycle. Each chapter goes through the various technologies in use. (Example: five kinds of brakes.) Each one is ripped apart and put back together with you. Each chapter has a section on what tools you will need (and recommendations on saving money).

Haynes is famous for automobile and motorcycle repair books, and this is even better than those: All photos are in color, the steps are broken down and illustrated clearly, with the use of tools shown explicitly. (This is not always the case with the automotive books, which assume a certain proficiency with mechanic's tools.) Very nicely done. I hope they update it periodically as bicycle technology evolves.

I have a 1999 mountain bike that I love and want to maintain. This book is perfect! All of the problems that i've encountered have been addressed in the book, even though there's little information about "Y" frame suspensions. Each chapter on repair has a quick reference diagnosis chart. Before buying, I compared this book to the other top ranked repair books at the store, and this one was much easier to understand and use because of the clear way it's written and illustrated. If you don't already know much about bike repair, but love your bike, this book is for you!

My complaint with most mountain bike "how-to" guides is that they gear the reader toward being a professional rider. That's because they are most often written by professional riders. Seldom has a book been written that just covers the basic questions like "How do I jump a small dirt mound?" or "What is the difference between the different types of rear-suspensions that are available?" This book answers those basic questions without getting into so much detail that the average rider will be bored. The text and illustrations are clear, concise, and entertaining. The outline of the book brings the reader from shopping for their first bike, right up through explaining some of the most basic "expert" techniques. But, again, the book is very much geared toward first time or beginner riders and is intended to gradually step them up through the ranks of bad, to better, to good.

In short, this book covers most all of the basic techniques you will need to be a good novice mountain bike rider. And that's exactly what I want to be.

A great source of information for us newies who want to take our riding a step further. Bill obviously has a great passion for the sport and his style sums up what mountain biking is all about - fun!

An excellent book! Strickland's style is casual, funny, and fun to read, while still being packed with information. I recommend this book to all fat-tire enthusiasts out there.

The book was extremely useful to introduce me to the world of high quality beer and hidden trails to ride free of traffic.
Mr. Mercer explains everything very clearly and gives you an honest opinion about good places to ride and to enjoy a beverage, including directions, prices and ambiance.
I have been riding road bikes for many years, but Bike and Brew America has inspired me to try to go back to nature and explore hidden trails.
An extra good feature is all the possible updates available through the website that Mr. Mercer gives you in his book.
A very good book. I highly recommend it.

Todd has done it! Here is one of those rare gems that just makes you sit up and say "Why didn't I think of that?". As an avid rider and beer drinker in the Rockies, I can tell you that Todd's descriptions, both of the trails and the breweries, are right on! Reading throught the Boulder section had me re-living glorious afternoons of winding singletrack up on Walker (featured in the book) followed by perfect pints of Mountain Sun beer. There's a group of us from all over the country that gets together three or four times a year to go explore a new place in search of sweet singletrack and hoppy pints. We've found our new bible! I can't wait for the others to come out! I even had a chance to meet Todd at the 2001 Oregon Brewers' Festival. On top of being a first rate author, he's a super nice guy. This book is a great companion for anyone who enjoys craft-brewed beer and wants to find the best of the local trails. Ride on!

This book is excellent and is ideal for the mountain biker who is searching for vacation destinations. The maps, camping information and trail descriptions make it easy to find your way around foreign territory and guarantee a worthwhile experience. I was especially impressed by the accuracy of the trail reviews. The anticipation of riding the trail after reading the review is matched by the saddle experience itself. The author is right on with his duration and technical difficulty ratings. Todd Mercer also seems to have a pretty good taste for beer. After being directed to and visiting the Mountain Sun in Boulder, Colorado, I didn't want to come back to work. I can't wait for my next vacation so that I can check out some more of the Rocky Mountains using this book as my guide.

If you are riding the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, you MUST have this book. This is an awesome route - Mike McCoy and the gang did a great job of researching it. One comment on the writing though -- when he uses the word 'steep', he means 'extremely steep', and when he says 'extremely steep', he means 'don't even try to ride your bike up this with a fully loaded bike'. A 'respectable climb' is really a lung-buster. Just expect everything to be a little harder than he makes it sound, and then you wont feel angry because it is not as easy as he makes it out to be. I think he must have either rode it without being fully loaded, or he is a very strong man! Anyhow, if you ride the Great Divide, you will have fun.. I guarantee it.

Michael McCoy's Cycling the Great Divide: From Canada to Mexico on America's Premier Long Distance Mountain Bike Route is an essential item for those who are planning to bicycle or hike all of the Adventure Cycling route.

As McCoy notes in his well-written and informative introduction, this isn't an easy trek. Uneven terrain, adverse weather conditions, and a lack of water and essential services are often the norm.

As I found, having the book on hand better enabled me to plan ahead. For instance, my discovering that the climb over Indiana Pass would be long and difficult prompted me to begin my cycling day early, which in retrospect was fortuitious in that had I dilly-dallied, I would would have been caught in a late-afternoon snow-storm.

One the book's many strengths is that it includes a much-needed daily route synopsis. Though I am directionally challenged, I did not miss a single turn, not even in New Mexico, where many of the roads and trail heads are unmarked.

Sightseeing, points-of-interest, and photos have been included. I was often glad of this -- as I remarked to some onlookers, if McCoy hadn't pointed these things out to me, my trip would have been more of a slog than it was. For instance, if he hadn't mentioned that the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad passes through southern New Mexico, I would have missed it.

The historical information is also a plus in that it will appeal to both tenters and armchair readers. There was many an evening when (because the sun set early) I was glad I had this book on hand.

The material in this book also complements the Adventure Cycling maps. In retrospect, my trip was without incident, in part because I had both on hand.

Whether you're planning on riding the whole thing at once or just just doing a section of it, I'd strongly recommend getting this book. My wife and I rode entire length in the summer of 2000, and we carried this book on the outside of our packs in a plastic bag at all times. We referred to it at least once every day. Like in any guide-book, there are a few confusing spots, but on the whole, the author (one of the original trail planners) has done a great job. He not only keeps you on the right path, he also points out various places you should visit, gives some historic perspective, and more. The book will surely make your experience more enjoyable.

The Trail Bikes is a really good book.If you are looking for a
dirt bike,or if your looking for how to ride one this is the
place for you go to.Believe me this is the place for you to
go to.GOOD LOOK

Eric Gorr's book is a great help to all dirtbike owners. In addition to your bikes workshop manual it should cover absolutely EVERYTHING you will ever need to do to your bike.

The writing is good, it's organized and to the point. There are specific sections for all the major models.
This is one of the better tecnical books I own, and I highly recommend it.

If you're a motorcycle enthusiast and you like to work on your own bike, this is the book to have! It tells you just about anything you may ever have wanted to know about working on your bike and more importantly, how to set it up properly. It goes through everything step by step, but not in a dummies fashion. The writing is straightforward, entertaining and best of all fact filled. I would call this the bible of dirtbikes. Now that I have it, I don't leave home without it.

By the way, I don't know the author, I just bought the book because a professional mechanic I met on the trail told me about it.

Doesn't tell you how to get to the starting point. Maybe should also give directions from major highways. 2) In the mtn bike section, could not figure out where I can start on a path. I chose mtn bike riding because I don't like being on the roads. It was hard to tell the difference on the key between dirt road and paved path. The key icons look very similiar.

April 23, 2002 - The third edition is out now and SHOULD be available at Amazon.com.
This edition offers 13 new rides and addresses observed shortcomings posted by another reviewer. The maps have been improved so that now it's easy to distinguish between dirt and paved roads. There's a section called "How to get there" that describes the best way to get to the start point. Still, I always recommend bringing a road map, if you're unfamiliar with an area.

The book quality is also substantially improved, with better quality paper and rounded corners.

I think you'll enjoy the new rides, most of which are shorter than in past editions. The mountain bike rides are particularly noteworthy.

...Let's ride! Ray Hosler

I bought this book about a year ago when I first moved to the Bay Area, and did all of the East Bay road rides, and a few others. With the exception of one error that I found the hard way (in the Calaveras Road ride, Evans Road doesn't really turn into North Park Victoria Drive -- you have to make a right turn!), this book is accurate, interesting, and the routes are well-chosen and as nice as any I've found in the Bay Area. Most of the rides are fairly challenging for a casual rider, but certainly not impossible. I've used it as a basis for my own explorations, stitching various routes together.

I can't speak for the mountain bike rides, as I haven't tried any of them.

All in all, this is a great sampling of rides and a interesting read with your Sunday afternoon beer, after an invigorating ride through the beautiful Bay Area hills and canyons.

This book is great fun.

It manages to avoid the patronising 10 page filler on why Mummy thinks you really should wear a helmet, and the incomprehensible comparison of the crank end twistor setting downplate angle of 1.72 degrees versus 1.83 degrees (a major controversy at the 1984 Boot Hill Lower Upper Mid South Dakota championship eliminator resulting in several fatalities after a discussion in the bar got out of hand). And it has very amusing cartoons. These (inter alia) explain to newbies that going headfirst over the handlebars can result in 'Pain and misery', while not doing so results in 'Happiness and success', oh yes, this cartoon also explains about hopping over logs, but since my preferred style leans more to 'Pain and misery' it's nice to see this perfectly legitimate method of riding recognised in print (even though it is labelled 'Wrong').

Despite its 'Expert' label in the title, most of the chapters are written by people at least remembering what it was like NOT to be able to do things, and so the explanations really resonate with the new-and-not-so-good. The opening of Chapter 10 about Wheelies as basketball players is, in my view, a classic of gonzo sporting humour, and deserves to be read widely. (But I'm not going to quote it!)

I should say that this is probably the most enjoyable book I have yet read on mountain biking, and recommend it to anyone who likes doing inappropriate things on expensive, delcate pieces of metal which usually involve the removal of bits of skin and limping for a week or two.

Buy it before you buy your bike. The book begins with a bunch of info on how to pick a good bike and more importantly, how to pick a good bike shop. If you stick with the sport you will quickly outgrouw this book, but it covers the most important basic skills and even includes advice on racing. A quick read. I finished it on the first day, but it's worth re-reading after you gain more skill, as everything will make more sense.

Given that you've read the book you'll learn way faster on the bike than poring over the book. In fact, it's probably a good idea to take this book and some 2x4's out to a grass field with some rolling hills and go for it. And remember: if you're not falling you could be learning much faster.

I was suprised to see that this was the book that matches the title - I already own it! Since I'm here, I'll give you the scoop: it's great for beginners, and some of the techniques are solid. However, the anecdotal section is completely boring, and absolutely useless for technical info.

I give it a "6", so it's back to searching for me...

This book covers it all, from accurate and interesting ride descriptions, to quality maps, to action photography, to a veritable database of other outdoor adventure resources.

The book does a great job capturing the overall scope of Colorado mountain biking, throughout all of Colorado.

One of the best guide books I've ever seen.

Well worth the money. Excellent maps, background information on every ride, good directions to trailheads. I recommend this book to everyone who does off road in Colorado.

This book is a fantastic guide to some of the best trails in Colorado. As an avid mountainbiker I have used the book to get me to and through many rides both in my area and on many a weekend journey. The informatoin on lodging, places to eat and other recreation in the areas is a great aditional tool that most guide books overlook. if you are going riding in Colorado this is the book you need.

This is certainly an enjoyable book to dip into and read, so long as you don't take all of what you read as gospel. It's very much a political tract of the "appropriate-technology" school which likes to paint a picture of a utopian society that has all the benifits of industrialization without industrialization per se, and the benifits of large-scale economies while pushing small planned economies.

Not to say that there aren't a lot of desirable notions they push. What bicyclist wouldn't like to live in a car-free village where you could actually do your shopping safely on a bike? Who wouldn't like a car-free inter-city bicycle highway? Of course, such bike roadways rapidly become pedestrian/roller blade/dog walking routes with 12 mph speed limits, and the car-free city is great until you need a refrigerator delivered or have to move, or perhaps need an ambulence.

But it's still a fun read.

An informative, entertaining great for rainy/snowy days book loaded with history,information, evolution of cycling and human powered vehicles. Not a repair manual, but some tips are given. Lot's of information on health and safety.

Everything you wanted to know about the bike, multiplied by ten thousand. A must read for anyone who thinks that life is a bike; a must present for anyone who doesn't!

For the neophyte, the book provides a fine introduction to what features or products could help improve riding enjoyment. It is organized around sample projects of a 'beam' style road racer, a tourer, and a dual-suspension mountain bike. It contains a lot of discussion regarding the varieties of missions a bike might take on and how features or products for some missions aren't much good for others, for instance, and encourages the rider/reader to seek a more personally-suited machine. For the experienced rider who knows what s/he wants to ride and is looking for advice on BUILDING the dream bike her/his self, however, it is a bit thin on the nuts and bolts needed to get it all together and working smoothly. Retitle it "Things you could buy for different kinds of bikes you want to build and problems that might creep up if you do," maybe.

While the book is only 128 pages long, it is crammed to the gills with important details and information about bikes and how to build them. The photographs are excellent and are a great help in explaining the more intracate deatails of assembling a bicycle.

Richard Ries does a nice job of organizing the book in a logical progression. He starts with the bicycle frame and how to select it all the way through to the final installation of all the bike components. He also details what components are good and which to select from. I have been looking for a book like this for a long time. Many books cover repairing the bike, but there are few, if any, that logically takes you through each step of building one. He gives advice on how to avoid trouble and tips on how to do certain tasks easier. The only downside of the book is that it was written in 1997. Although not a big problem, there are certain hardware advances that are left out of the book because it is not current. However, the book is very helpful in teaching the basic things needed to know about building a bike. "Machineheads" will most likely feel that the book is too simplistic in nature, but for the rest of us who struggle with mechanical endeavors, this is just what we need. This is not a repair manual, but a primer on how to build your first bike. Richard Ries draws from his own personal bike projects as examples to demonstrate how to do it. The advice is down-to-earth and understandable. This book is out of print, but you may be able to track it down on the internet. A very underated book. Don't let the size of the book fool you. Every page is essential without all the fluff. Now, I can finally start on my own bicycle project and maybe you can too. Hopefully, Richard Ries will attempt a new edition of his book with updates. I, for one, would certainly buy it.

The tips given will make this a valuable resource long after I build my perfect bicycle. Great pictures and useful information adorn this indispensable work for the bicycling enthusiast.