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There is nothing sacrosanct about bike repair. Its pursuit only requires the will to learn. At their finest hours bikes exist on a level above mere machines, and there’s no reason why the joy should end when the ride is over.
Bicycle! written by a long-time bicycle mechanic, covers everything you need to know to feed and care for your ride. This book cuts through the obtuse techno-speak and delivers maintenance clarity with a touch of humor and radicalism, while categorically denying mechanistry’s supposed dreariness.
Bicycle! is about encouraging society to learn for themselves how to make their bikes work, not because they have to, but because they want to.
With detailed descriptions of all maintenance tasks and repair situations, clearly illustrated with photographs and drawings, this guide will serve the need for a serious rider’s manual. Professional bicycle workers—messengers, mechanics, pedi-cab drivers—as well as bicycle commuters have been waiting for this book. This second edition includes an abundance of helpful photos, an expanded index, and an updated resources section. Moreover, it benefits from insights gained through five years’ worth of additional mechanic experience including low-cost and no-cost repair solutions the author developed while serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Mauritania.
Some of the Topics Covered:
- Essential Tools
- Bike Components (Maintaining, Adjusting, Repairing)
- On-the-Road Repairs
- Build Your Own (Scavenging)
- Locks / Thief Deterrents
- Rust, the Elemental Bike Nemesis
- And much, much more!
About the author
Sam Tracy began producing the zine
Biker Pride in the early 1990s, and the project later broadened just enough to become the urban cycling-focused
Multiplier. He is the author of
Roadside Bicycle Repair: A Pocket Manifesto and
How to Rock and Roll: A City Rider's Repair Manual. Having toiled as a bicycle mechanic and messenger for more than a decade, Tracy is now taking a break from the industry to serve in the Peace Corps in Mauritania.
Summary
There is nothing sacrosanct about bike repair. Its pursuit only requires the will to learn. At their finest hours bikes exist on a level above mere machines, and there’s no reason why the joy should end when the ride is over.
Bicycle! written by a long-time bicycle mechanic, covers everything you need to know to feed and care for your ride. This book cuts through the obtuse techno-speak and delivers maintenance clarity with a touch of humor and radicalism, while categorically denying mechanistry’s supposed dreariness. Bicycle! is about encouraging society to learn for themselves how to make their bikes work, not because they have to, but because they want to.
With detailed descriptions of all maintenance tasks and repair situations, clearly illustrated with photographs and drawings, this guide will serve the need for a serious rider’s manual. Professional bicycle workers—messengers, mechanics, pedi-cab drivers—as well as bicycle commuters have been waiting for this book. This second edition includes an abundance of helpful photos, an expanded index, and an updated resources section. Moreover, it benefits from insights gained through five years’ worth of additional mechanic experience including low-cost and no-cost repair solutions the author developed while serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Mauritania.
Some of the Topics Covered:
- Essential Tools
- Bike Components (Maintaining, Adjusting, Repairing)
- On-the-Road Repairs
- Build Your Own (Scavenging)
- Locks / Thief Deterrents
- Rust, the Elemental Bike Nemesis
- And much, much more!
