Zinn & the Art of Road Bike Maintenance: The World's Best-Selling Bicycle Repair and Maintenance Guide

I have had many years of wrenching on cars and bikes alike. I felt that this book was a great all-in-one general maintenance book for Road Bike Maintenance. It does not give every single detail that is possible for all parts (e.g. shimano brakes, it doesn't tell give you a parts breakdown like one would if you went to the manufacture site and downloaded their technical documents). ***TIP for specific instructions for bike parts: most manufactures will post up online detailed technical specifications for each part and some will even post a parts breakdown document as well. Many of my opinions are also formed based upon my maintenance use and owner ship of the Park Tool Big Blue Book 2nd Edition (which should be the current edition). Hands down, this book is much better than the Park Tools book, for it is much more detailed in many areas that the Park Tools book lacks. This book covers most of the popular designs and manufactures (e.g. different shifting systems including campagnolo, shimano, and sram). It also details the differences between the companies as well on certain parts that need attention because of the unique design by the company. The book does a great job at sorting the different repair tasks by three different levels, which most takes I feel are generally level 2. Not only that, it also gives an overview of different type of maintenance tool sets one should have from level 1, the basic level tool kit for the beginner, to level 3 + tools that a shop should own. Zinn also explains each of the parts for every kit level as well. I feel they do a pretty good job overall on giving a easy to follow guideline as to what common tools are needed for each of the different levels of repair difficulties. For the new bike maintenance person, this book provides a comprehensive view of what it takes to wrench on a road bike (which I believe just about everyone can manage (if they proceed carefully and slowly). Also, the writing style is extremely simple to follow and believe or not written in an encouraging manner that it makes a person feel they can repair anything on their road bike. This book does not give advise onto which brands to get for all the tools (although they do have some recommendations for certain tools interspersed throughout the book). But it gives enough advise to pretty much get most things and help guide a person onto which tools to look for and which ones may be avoided. This is a great book for those who do not have an all-in-one reference book. It is cheap and affordable and definitely worth the small amount you pay for it. I don't know right now if it is offered as a digital book, but if it ever does, I'd personally continue to pick up the paper version, since having a physical book in the workshop is much better than digital! Happy Wrenching!

To be fair, I'm handy with tools, and have worked on my own cars, etc. for years. I've torn broken things apart, say a toaster, and tried to fix them. More than often I was able to fix things I'd never seen before, but I've also failed. And that's where this amazing book comes in. Many of you may own a Haynes manual for your car, and if you do you know that it assumes you have some skills already. Thus their manual for cars typically runs 200 or so pages. Thus, is it surprising that the Zinn manual for bicycles runs close to 600? Sure is, but here's why: First, it covers a wide range of road bikes, not just one or two, and their many different parts and methods. Second, it is written for BOTH newbies and for the experienced. The amount of information in this book is astounding and I rather doubt that anyone who needs to read this review will find this book exactly and completely what he/she needs. The only thing missing - but only in part - is how to do things without special bike tools. Example: removing an old, three piece bottom bracket - this can be done with a large, adjustable wrench but you'd better be strong, careful and lucky. And perhaps that's why he doesn't tell you about that one. OTOH, where common methods can be done - like cleaning your rear gears with an old t-shirt, he does. Not to mention that you can always do a search on "How to XXXX with ordinary tools" and you'll find all manner of videos, etc. The important thing is that you will do so having been very well informed by Zinn, a considerable advantage over the youtube geniuses. A tour de force, a must buy. With the knowledge in this book, I was able to rebuild a worn out Chinese Schwinn Hybird which had a good frame but not much else, with good Shimano crank, gear sets, bottom bracket, brakes and cables, top quality 40-spoke rims and 28mm Continental tires for around $200. My ride is now every bit the equivalent of bikes commonly selling for $600 to $700 and best yet since I put it together I now know how to maintain it. My advice: buy it. Rather than going to the bike shop, if you do just one repair you will more than pay for the trivial cost of this book, learn something and feel good about it. Free at last!

I read this entire book cover to cover. I know that is not how this book is ment to be read, it is ment for reference. i.e. have a problem look it up and fix it. this is where my first little issue is. this bnook is a glue binding meaning that it does not lay flat. when I was trying to use it while fixing my bike it became a frustrating issue. If this book had been sprial bound then it would lay flat at all times. the other issue i had with this book was the lack of "older" style components. I do not have a brake/shift combination levers and there was very little information about my style shifters. All in all the information that is in this book is golden, just a tad light on some information. 4 out of 5 stars.

Lettura abbastanza semplice anche se non si è proprio ferrati in inglese, ci sono proprio tutti i consigli per riparare una bici da soli.

This is a well written, well illustrated universal manual for servicing mountain bikes. I am a retired mechanic and know about bearings and fasteners and lubrication, but bikes have particular requirements and that information is difficult to find. I like that it runs from a low level of expertise to a high level for experienced folks. The illustrations are very helpful. It is a great reference, not something you read cover to cover. The sections on suspension and drive trains is well done

Es lo que esperaba. Datos y explicaciones.

I'm getting really interested in road cycling and a lot of people recommended this book for home repairs and for improving the general knowledge of how road bikes work. I am not dissapointed. I'm going to learn so much. Can't wait!

This book is a great source of information. To date my mountain bike hasn't needed any maintenance since it's first service (it's only 9 months old) but I've often been concerned about what I'd do if it did break on me. If I could get it home it's a short walk to a bike shop where they can service or fix it, but if it broke down 15 miles from home that's a long way to push or carry it back. The guy at my local bike shop I had come to trust didn't seem to be there much and his replacement seemed more interested in selling me stuff than making sure it was the right stuff for me, so I was reluctant to ask his advice. So I bought this book. I'm balanced between a geek who wants to dismantle everything to see how it works, to being reluctant to take parts off in case they don't go back properly. But reading this makes it clear that I can do what's needed, and the tools to fix the bike to a point I can get it back home come what may aren't daunting and aren't intimidating. Despite having precisely no experience of doing anything with a bike beyond riding it and cleaning it - the biggest adjustment I've made to date is changing the height of the (quick release) saddle - this book really gives me the confidence to take to the bike with spanners and screwdrivers. Although I haven't had to actually put it to the test yet I can see the pictures and descriptions in the book, compare them to what I see on my bike, and have the confidence to do what's needed. The book has different sections about different aspects of the bike - the brakes, the gears, and so on. It also has a section on repairs in the field (i.e. how to do enough to get home safely even if you then need to fix it properly) and comments on general trail safety (much of which sounds like common sense but casualty figures might suggest otherwise). It uses diagrams rather than photos, which is good because you can see what parts to expect to encounter and in what order. It also gives four levels of tool sets required. Level 1 is the most basic, consisting largely of spanners and screwdrivers. Level 4 is the most advanced, which is the kind of thing you might want if you're doing bike maintenance for a living. The vast majority of the processes described are level 1, and it includes clear icons in the text to show if it's a higher level. That gives people like me an early warning to just take the bike to the shop for service rather than getting out of my depth and ending up taking a bag of bits to the bike shop for reassembly. Just for good measure the guy I trust at my local bike shop is back. This is the guy who spent half an hour talking to me about bike tools and instead of selling me what he had, gave me lots of advice, gave me some pointers what to look for online and said he could order what I needed - he must know as well as I do that there's nothing to stop me looking online and then buying from someone who will undercut him. When I mentioned that I'd bought this book he left me in no doubt I'd done the right thing.