Which Bicycle Maintenance book?

tailwindhome
tailwindhome Posts: 19,462
edited August 2017 in Commuting chat
Can anyone recommend a bicycle maintenance book? Something with nice big clear pictures would be good.

I flicked throw the Haynes book and wasn't really impressed.

Park Big Blue Book and ZInn seem to be the other choices.

Any thoughts?
“New York has the haircuts, London has the trousers, but Belfast has the reason!

Comments

  • spen666
    spen666 Posts: 17,709
    Zinn
    Want to know the Spen666 behind the posts?
    Then read MY BLOG @ http://www.pebennett.com

    Twittering @spen_666
  • jamesco
    jamesco Posts: 687
    I got this one:

    http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bicycle-Repair- ... 79-0569665

    It's useful, but the videos on http://bicycletutor.com are so helpful that I don't know if I'd buy a bike-repair book again.
  • rjsterry
    rjsterry Posts: 29,829
    Road Bike Maintenance by Guy Andrews. Very similar layout to the Workshop articles in C+, but bigger pictures. Also, it's spiral bound, so will stay open on the page you want, which is more of a plus than you might think with filthy oily hands halfway through stripping your back wheel down. Which reminds me, I need to find my copy.
    1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
    Pinnacle Monzonite

    Part of the anti-growth coalition
  • dvdfoz
    dvdfoz Posts: 62
    rjsterry wrote:
    Road Bike Maintenance by Guy Andrews. Very similar layout to the Workshop articles in C+, but bigger pictures. Also, it's spiral bound, so will stay open on the page you want, which is more of a plus than you might think with filthy oily hands halfway through stripping your back wheel down. Which reminds me, I need to find my copy.

    +1
    Dalston --> Canary Wharf, and all pubs inbetween
  • the_hundredth_idiot
    the_hundredth_idiot Posts: 813
    Zinn

    If you've got a slightly older bike, see if you can find the Zinn edition from around that time (say on eBay). I have an old copy of Zinn and Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance which is very handy for the couple of older MTBs I have - e.g. cantilever brakes rather than discs, cup and cone BB rather than sealed unit, ... Might be that the newer edition still covers that, though.
    Never be tempted to race against a Barclays Cycle Hire bike. If you do, there are only two outcomes. Of these, by far the better is that you now have the scalp of a Boris Bike.
  • nicklouse
    nicklouse Posts: 50,673
    zinn if you know nothing. but the web sites in my sig cover everything.

    yes it still covers it but so does Sheldon rather well and it is free.
    "Do not follow where the path may lead, Go instead where there is no path, and Leave a Trail."
    Parktools :?:SheldonBrown
  • sc999cs
    sc999cs Posts: 596
    Park Tools website is good as well.

    Edit - d'uh - just saw NickLouse's signature
    Steve C
  • beverick
    beverick Posts: 3,461
    To be honest, bikes are (still) very simple things and I work on the basis that anything I'm likely to need a manual for, I'll pay someone else to meddle with that bit anyway - so that's items like BB, suspension forks and steering components. Few things need anything other than an allen key, screw driver or perhaps a spanner.

    Most manufacturers provide detailed instruction sheets for their components many of which can be downloaded from their web sites (Shimano in particular).

    Youtube is your friend also!

    Bob
  • Buckled_Rims
    Buckled_Rims Posts: 1,648
    TailWindHome wrote:
    Can anyone recommend a bicycle maintenance book? Something with nice big clear pictures would be good.

    I flicked throw the Haynes book and wasn't really impressed.

    Park Big Blue Book and ZInn seem to be the other choices.

    Any thoughts?

    I bought the Haynes a while ago and even then seemed outdated, but I was allured by the photos and clear page descriptions. I'll give 5/10.

    The "Bike Repair manual" by Chris Sidwells is a very good book. I've got the 2005 ed so it might be updated. 8/10.

    Dummies bike repair and maintenance is more wordy, with few diagrams and photos but still decent 5/10
    CAAD9
    Kona Jake the Snake
    Merlin Malt 4
  • Aguila
    Aguila Posts: 622
    I have and like the zinn book.

    I also find the bicycletutor website useful, watching something is aften easier than reading a description:

    http://bicycletutor.com/
    www.bikehike.co.uk/mapview.php?id=6277
  • tailwindhome
    tailwindhome Posts: 19,462
    Thanks all for your recommendations

    The online resources are good and I'll probably use them too, but I'm a bit old fashioned in that I like books.
    “New York has the haircuts, London has the trousers, but Belfast has the reason!
  • rjsterry
    rjsterry Posts: 29,829
    Also a book doesn't require a handy power point next to where you do your maintenance, and oily finger prints on the keyboard are not good if you're not the sole user.
    1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
    Pinnacle Monzonite

    Part of the anti-growth coalition
  • nicklouse
    nicklouse Posts: 50,673
    still cheaper to print out the bits you need as you need them.
    "Do not follow where the path may lead, Go instead where there is no path, and Leave a Trail."
    Parktools :?:SheldonBrown
  • too slow to go
    too slow to go Posts: 89
    Daft question alert! :oops:

    I have a copy of Zinn mountain bike maintenance, would i be able to use that for the basic maintenance on my road bike? i really can see there being much difference in the gears shifters and brake callipers to discs.
  • rmhodv
    rmhodv Posts: 83
    too slow to go wrote:
    Daft question alert! :oops:

    I have a copy of Zinn mountain bike maintenance, would i be able to use that for the basic maintenance on my road bike? i really can see there being much difference in the gears shifters and brake callipers to discs.

    No, not a daft question. It's good point

    In the the Zinn book for road bikes it does not cover how ro maintain 'V' brakes, for this you need to refer to the mountain bike edition. I bought the the road bike version fo my Trek 7.2FX, which has 'V' brakes, although every other part of the bike is covered in the road bike manual.
  • jonnyboy77
    jonnyboy77 Posts: 547
    I got Zinn for Mountain Bikes this weekend, very impressed with what I've read so far ... putting it to the test soon when I strip the front end of the Kona down ...

    Jon
    Commuting between Twickenham <---> Barbican on my trusty Ridgeback Hybrid - url=http://strava.com/athletes/125938/badge]strava[/url
  • rjsterry
    rjsterry Posts: 29,829
    nicklouse wrote:
    still cheaper to print out the bits you need as you need them.
    With the extortionate price of inkjet cartridges? I'm not so sure. (Assuming you're printing at home that is) Also the formating can be a bit of a pain when printing from a website.
    1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
    Pinnacle Monzonite

    Part of the anti-growth coalition
  • shimanobottombracket
    shimanobottombracket Posts: 376
    jamesco wrote:
    I got this one:

    http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bicycle-Repair- ... 79-0569665

    It's useful, but the videos on http://bicycletutor.com are so helpful that I don't know if I'd buy a bike-repair book again.


    How do you actually access those videos on bicycletutor? I ended up with a request to subscribe. Well they can F.O if thats whats required just to watch a few vids.
  • Ben6899
    Ben6899 Posts: 9,686
    Bike Mechanic
    https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/ ... &q&f=false

    First third is tales from the road and the last two thirds are how to maintain your bike... to the level you'd expect from a mechanic looking after a Pro team.
    Ben

    Bikes: Donhou DSS4 Custom | Condor Italia RC | Gios Megalite | Dolan Preffisio | Giant Bowery '76
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ben_h_ppcc/
    Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/143173475@N05/
  • jamesco
    jamesco Posts: 687
    ShimanoBottomBracket wrote:
    How do you actually access those videos on bicycletutor? I ended up with a request to subscribe. Well they can F.O if thats whats required just to watch a few vids.
    In 2010 (when this thread last died!) the videos were free, but I guess they wanted to monetise the site, which I can't really argue with. Anyway, there are now even more videos on YouTube, so just have a hunt there.

Categories