Customer Reviews:
Add Your Own Review |
 Generally adequate but plenty of gaps, August 26, 2001
By Ideas can move the world (Lawrenceville, GA USA)
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All in all the book is not too bad but there aren't many books against which to compare it. I think that many adjustments and some repairs could be successfully undertaken from following the author's guidelines. But the book is uneven. Throughout the book there is a shortage of technical detail or information that could have easily been given. Sometimes it is critical, sometimes not. For example in dealing with chains, there is no mention of chain identification such as a Hyperglide or HG chain despite the ubiquity of Shimano chains. Or it is stated that nine speed chains are more narrow than those for 7 or 8 speeds. Well, what is the measurement? Or the author instructs to drive the old pin all the way out in doing chain maintenance on an HG chain. Usually it is much easier to reconnect the chain with part of the old pin still in. It is stated that a Shimano tool does not damage the plates of a Shimano chain but others do. Well, Park tools are by the most purchased tool by home enthusiasts. Does a CT3 chaintool tool cause damage? The reader or future home repair person is left to wonder. In fact there is almost total absence of exact tool identification in the entire book. That is the kind of thing that a beginner needs to know. In adjusting derailleurs presetting the barrel adjusters is not done. Setting the front derailleur limit screws before tightening the cable is not done. It is this kind of inconsistency in most every chapter that plagues this book. But the beginner would have no way on knowing this. So that is why I must qualify the chances of a person following this book having success in his or her repair. A more complete book is the Barnett's Manual. But of course it is about four times as expensive and it too is not without its problems. It attempts to cover all types of bikes but its attention to detail and specifications and procedures can often overwhelm rather than really help the reader. The bottom line is that if you know next to nothing about bikes, you can learn a lot from this book. But there is still lots more to learn. Seek out other sources. Use the internet.
127 of 127 people found the above review helpful.
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 Nice beginner's book, February 8, 2003
By Danny Dubby (prison)
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A lot of good basic information and up to date. SOme though, is too basic. His instructions for adjusting derailleurs are so poor as to be barely adequate. For the front deraill. for example he has 3 steps. HI gear-- 1.shift back and forth between the middle and inner rings. 2. If the chain jumps over the big ring, tighten the hi-gear limit screw. 3---(more of the same)the .Yea, this is good basic stuff to get you into very roughly correct adjustment, but that is all. Better info is free on Park tool's site. From the troubleshooting section--Tire is Flat. Cause: tire deflated. Action: pump tire. I doubt anyone is so inept they need to be told that. That said, it is good for those he said it was written for: "(Those) who do not think they are capable of maintaining their bikes." I have the Bicycling magazine book too, and frankly I cannot say one is better than the other. The fact is, once you get the basics down, if you have any mechanical experience or aptitude, most of this stuff is pretty simple. I had hoped for some more advanced tips on making things operate more smoothly or efficiently, but while the Bicycling mags book has some, this has very few. It's a simple book with the basics. Anytime you find a "maintenance" book that tells you ho to chance a tube, you are looking a a very simple book. If you need more, you'll be disappointed. If the basics are what you want, this books is more than adequate.
87 of 92 people found the above review helpful.
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 Great book from a great team, July 31, 2000
By Sue W (Laramie, WY USA)
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Lennard Zinn, revolutionary in the field of custom bike design, regular contributor to Velo-News, and sponsor of a women's racing team, joins up with well-respected wildlife artist Todd Telander and world-class racer Jonathan Vaughters to create a road bike manual that is not only clear and detailed, but manages to be an interesting read as well. This manual helps you identify the problem, lets you know which tools you will need, and takes you through each repair with simple steps. Whether you are building up a bike from scratch, fine-tuning your derailleur adjustment, or simply fixing a flat tire, you'll find that the book has easy-to-follow instructions for your task. Todd's accompanying illustrations are works of art in their precision, and further clarify the text instructions. There are so many benefits to repairing and maintaining your own bike, not the least of which is saving money. Invest in 'Zinn and the Art of Road Bike Maintenance' and you'll find that this task can also be quite enjoyable!
47 of 55 people found the above review helpful.
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great, June 19, 2000
By Jan (DC)
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I love to complain about manuals, but Zinn's book is thorough, well illustrated, and well organized. I built my Lemond Zurich up from scratch and rebuilt most of my components including hubs and wheels using his book and it was my first time. That was two months ago and I haven't had a problem yet. Bicycling Magazine's manual is good too, but I feel it isn't quite as comlete.
33 of 34 people found the above review helpful.
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Already saving me money!, October 22, 2003
By William Herren (Kingsport, Tennessee United States)
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This book is great! After going to my local bike shop and paying $18 for a simple gear and brake adjustment I knew it was time to start learning how to work on my own bikes. My confidence is growing as I am learning the inner workings of all these formerly "mysterious" mechanical devices. Zinn writes in a way that is easy to understand and gives you confidence. Trust me..nobody will adjust your gears with the precision that you will after you learn how. My shifting has never been smoother! I think besides all of the normal maintenance on my bike, I will probably build one from the ground up as my next project.
I highly reccomend this book if you are mechanically declined (like me) or mechanically inclined.
31 of 33 people found the above review helpful.
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Excellent as you would expect, April 20, 2000
By Mark Adams (Colorado, USA)
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The Man again puts together a usable manual on bicycles. Extremely valuable for it's exploded diagrams and specific take on known, common products. Lennard didn't shy into broad general descriptions of parts, he went right out to show the reader how to work with specific components by brand. Useful, timely and applicable.
21 of 22 people found the above review helpful.
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The Best of the Bike Maintenance books, August 4, 2006
By Romans 9:33/Remember Jackie Robinson (Englewood, CO United States)
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"ZINN & the Art of Road Bike Maintenance" 2nd Edition, by Lennard Zinn
Looking over several of the bike maintenance books in the bookstore showed Zinn's book to be the best.
Many of the other books only covered maintenance in Part or a few chapters of the book or only as part of generalized information, whereas Lennard Zinn's book is dedicated to nothing but bike maintenance.
#1
I like the large black & white illustrations for every part of the bike. These schematics don't leave you with a fuzzy view, but an enlarged and very clear view of all the working parts
#2
I like the fact that all of the text is DOUBLE-SPACED throughout the entire book.
#3
One of the more puzzling aspects of maintenance is the array of bike tools needed. Zinn shows terrific black & white drawings of every tool neccessary (and the optional ones) and they are clearly named.
Zinn doesn't waste any time in this book with chapters on bike riding, energy foods, fashionable clothing, or training regimens. Some of the other books did waste space on these things and those are the kind of bike MAINTENANCE books I want to stay away from.
Zinn includes TORQUE TABLES in APPENDIX E, showing how many foot/pounds of Torque are to be applied to various components.
APPENDIX D is a word glossary, which is important.
APPENDIX C / ROAD BIKE FITTING, is how to measure yourself and fit yourself in to the right size of bike.
APPENDIX B is a GEAR CHART
APPENDIX A is a TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE, you know, like"
"strange noises in the GAZINKER...." or "muffler-bearings making noises..." or "What to do when the brake grease is leaking..."
Seriously, it's an excellent Troubleshooting Guide, in spite of my funny examples!
I'm happy to have found Zinn's book.
19 of 21 people found the above review helpful.
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The Best of the Bike Maintenance books, August 4, 2006
By Romans 9:33/Remember Jackie Robinson (Englewood, CO United States)
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"ZINN & the Art of Road Bike Maintenance" 2nd Edition, by Lennard Zinn
Looking over several of the bike maintenance books in the bookstore showed Zinn's book to be the best.
Many of the other books only covered maintenance in Part or a few chapters of the book or only as part of generalized information, whereas Lennard Zinn's book is dedicated to nothing but bike maintenance.
#1
I like the large black & white illustrations for every part of the bike. These schematics don't leave you with a fuzzy view, but an enlarged and very clear view of all the working parts
#2
I like the fact that all of the text is DOUBLE-SPACED throughout the entire book.
#3
One of the more puzzling aspects of maintenance is the array of bike tools needed. Zinn shows terrific black & white drawings of every tool neccessary (and the optional ones) and they are clearly named.
Zinn doesn't waste any time in this book with chapters on bike riding, energy foods, fashionable clothing, or training regimens. Some of the other books did waste space on these things and those are the kind of bike MAINTENANCE books I want to stay away from.
Zinn includes TORQUE TABLES in APPENDIX E, showing how many foot/pounds of Torque are to be applied to various components.
APPENDIX D is a word glossary, which is important.
APPENDIX C / ROAD BIKE FITTING, is how to measure yourself and fit yourself in to the right size of bike.
APPENDIX B is a GEAR CHART
APPENDIX A is a TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE, you know, like"
"strange noises in the GAZINKER...." or "muffler-bearings making noises..." or "What to do when the brake grease is leaking..."
Seriously, it's an excellent Troubleshooting Guide, in spite of my funny examples!
I'm happy to have found Zinn's book.
19 of 21 people found the above review helpful.
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Outstanding Reference, August 24, 2004
By Dr. Rob (Hershey, PA)
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I bought this book as a newbie cyclist. It is without a doubt the best I have found. Lennard's simple diagrams are cleverly deceptive. They are not so fancy that they detract from the text (which is the meat of the topic), yet are VERY well labeled and documented. I fixed chain dump for the first time (something nobody had ever been able to do for me). Photos of bikes always are, in my opinion, TOO specific to the bike photographed, and do not easily extrapolate to the one I own.
I photocopied the emergency repair section and shrunk it down to carry in my saddle bag at all times. This has come in handy on more than one occasion. My book has more yellow highlighting in it than Pam Anderson's hair!
If you need a second book on bike repair, then I recommend you buy an ADDITIONAL copy.
The appendices about gearing, bike fitting and torque settings are invaluable. Too much torque and you've got a stripped bolt; too little and you've got stripped skin (from crashing when the bolt falls out on a downhill). While "feel" works for many mechanics, I need numbers, and Lennard supplies them.
I also changed my rear cog cassette based on his gearing chart to better fit my riding needs.
Lennard has taken what is basically a VERY simple, efficient, and delightful machine and applied the very same principles to this authoritative repair manual. I cannot recommend it enough.
16 of 17 people found the above review helpful.
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The Gold Standard for Home Bike Maintenance, February 24, 2006
By Raucko (Eau Claire, WI United States)
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I've got a shelf full of bicycle maintenance/repair books, and the Zinn books are the best of the bunch. First of all, they're very comprehensive, describing in detail anything and everything you might need to do to keep your bike rolling smoothly. Descriptions and photos are straightforward and easy to understand. Best of all, the Zinn books go beyond just laying out the bare bones step-by-step instructions---they actually give theory and background as to why or why not. There's some good information in the discussion on frames early in the book, too.
Before I bought my first Zinn book, I would've had trouble changing a tire properly. Since buying the books, though, I've completely overhauled each of my bikes multiple times, and I am now beginning to build up a single speed mountain bike from a bare frame.
12 of 12 people found the above review helpful.
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A solid investment, November 18, 2006
By Marshall Astor (Los Angeles, CA)
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I was tired of dealing with the poor service at my local bike shop and decided to start doing my own repairs. I bought this book and the Bicycling guide at the same time and this book has rapidly acquired the grease stained fingerprints and bent spine of a useful guide, while the Bicycling guide rests on the shelf.
Zinn's book makes excellent use of diagrams, which I'd much rather have as a reference than photos, and the book is written in a way that made some of the more technical aspects of maintaining and repairing bicycles very accessible to a new repairer like me. It also covers a good scope of road bicycle types and had plenty of information relevant to Cyclo-Cross bikes, which was a big plus to me.
11 of 11 people found the above review helpful.
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Basic anatomy for the cycle surgeon, August 14, 2005
By sieclist (Philadelphia, PA USA)
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I found Zinn's book to be an elegantly simplified explanation of the bicycle's parts and how they work together. Rather than trying to be a comprehensive reference manual for the professional bike mechanic, this book focusses of skill that will be helpful to the rider. For example, it gives you periodic maintainence routines to help you prevent breakdowns and keep your bike running smoothly. The book is further broken down into chapters that deal with the different functions your bike performs; shifting, braking, drivetrain and the like. Though I mostly use this as a reference manual, in order to make specific adjustments and repairs, I find that is teaching me a lot about how the bike functions as a whole. As a person who is new to the sport, the book has greatly increased the quality of my riding. It's helping me to keep my machinery "invisible" and "inaudible", has helped assuage my fear of roadside repair, and has helped keep my bike on the road and out of the shop!
The book is excellent at what it is supposed to be: a rider-centric tutorial on bike repair. As such it focusses on recent road bikes. You may find that your vintage bikes, hybrids or comfort bikes are outside the scope of this book. And though the book is very well written and explained, I have found it helpful to use the web in order to find supplemental diagrams and more in-depth descriptions on the specific parts I'm working on. The Sheldon Brown and the Park Tools bike repair websites are both excellent resources. This book, however, is always where I start. I would recommend it for anyone who owns a road bike.
7 of 7 people found the above review helpful.
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Great book!, September 23, 2002
By miles2468
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I read this book from cover to cover the day I got it, even though this is a reference book!
The instructions are very detailed. It even guides you through steps in a logical way and tells you to jump to different steps depending on the result of the previous step!I would have given it 5 stars...but I bumped it down by one because a lot of the diagrams are not on the page that references the diagram so I found myself flipping back and forth a lot...this is a bit annoying when you're working on your bike...
7 of 7 people found the above review helpful.
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A Great Read, and the Best Repair Reference, June 13, 2001
By Bill Reynolds (Easton, Maryland United States)
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Zinn is the next door neighbor that you wish you had. Has a great way of matching his tutorial stride to your need for information. Drawings are excellent for quick references. Makes you confident to approach any repair. Nobody does it better.
7 of 16 people found the above review helpful.
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Zinn and the Art of Road Bike Maintenance (2nd Edition), January 9, 2007
By Mr. William S. Angel
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Bike maintenance is not rocket science; there aren't that many parts to a bicycle. Most problems that occur with a bicycle can be diagnosed and rectified by anyone possessing a little mechanical aptitude. However, Zinn's book fast tracts the resolve to issues for even the most experienced engineer, by providing clear schematic diagrams of assemblies and tips that make the repair or adjustment easier and quicker.
I see this book as a must for those that know little about the assembly units that make a bicycle and as a good occasional reference for the experienced mechanic. Overall, for the money, this is a good book to have in one's library.
6 of 6 people found the above review helpful.
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new edition coming out soon, August 20, 2005
By Johnny99 (California)
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This book was one of the best in 2000, but is now a little dated. Watch out for a new edition in late 2005, which should have improved coverage for recent hardware.
6 of 8 people found the above review helpful.
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Zen-like as the title implies, August 19, 2005
By Paul Cassel (Southwest USA)
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The key to this book is its attitude which can't be better. This is an all positive upbeat book full of valuable information - assuming you have interest in the topic.
I believe that all people can do many fix it tasks if they approach these tasks with a cool, positive mindset. This book parallels my thoughts and if you follow along, you will also find that you can do anything on your bicycle right up to building your own custom starting from a frameset.
When reading about this book, I was skeptical about the illustraions in lieu of photographs, but now that I've used the book, I think the author very wise to have taken this approach. A good illustrator can bring out subtle aspects of the topic which would be lost in the clutter of a photograph.
The only folks who wouldn't benefit from this book are those who know enough already to write it. I can't recommend it highly enough for the rest of us.
6 of 8 people found the above review helpful.
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Just ok., April 21, 2008
By Alex Allias (08836)
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Not enough detailed information. Needs more pictures, more examples. Otherwise the info is good and all aspects of what you need to know are covered. Just be prepared to be frustrated when you can't figure things out by the limited picture drawings. This book needs a serious overhaul.
4 of 5 people found the above review helpful.
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Great book!, May 29, 2004
By A Customer
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This book has taught me a lot about working on my bike. I'd recommend it to anyone who likes (or needs) to work on their bike but doesn't have much experience. I overhauled my front hub and dialed-in my brakes with the help of this book. Highly recommended!
4 of 5 people found the above review helpful.
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no V-brake section, attn hybrid owners, September 27, 2009
By Jace
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I have a hybird bike (Trek 7.3fx) that sits a little more toward the road bike side of the Road-Mountain bike spectrum among hybrids. Because of this, I thought this road bike edition of the Zinn book was more appropriate.
Turns out I was wrong. There is no V-brake section in this version. You need the mountain bike version for that. I am now a happy owner of Zinn and the Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance, but it would have been nice if the choice had been clearer earlier on.
For what its worth, having seen both the road and mountain versions of this book, I'd recommend the mountain bike book to hybrid bike owners. Of course this depends on the particular bike you have, but the hybrids I've seen will mostly likely be better covered in the other work. Especially if you have V-brakes, the choice for the mountain bike book is a no-brainer.
3 of 3 people found the above review helpful.
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Your Bicycle Reference Guide, April 10, 2007
By Truth About Caffeine.com (SCR Books)
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Great diagrams and instructions will help you repair any problems you may encounter with your bike. Any bike owner should own this important reference.
3 of 6 people found the above review helpful.
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Ride on!, April 16, 2001
By "tigertrout" (Honolulu, HI United States)
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This book is extremely easy to use for beginners as well as experts. I have to concur that Lennard Zinn is indeed, a god.
3 of 13 people found the above review helpful.
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After one day with this book..., March 28, 2010
By Brennan Johnson
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I spent the better part of yesterday reading through this book and working on my badly-out-of-tune bike. I learned how to properly clean and maintain my bike, adjust derailleur positioning, cable tension, limits, and how to true the wheels. I also learned a bunch of emergency repair techniques. By the end of the day, my bike was properly cleaned and lubed, was shifting quickly and smoothly, and my noticeably wobbly back wheel was perfectly straight. I did all of these things using only my Topeak Alien II (which I highly recommend) and a makeshift bike stand. Today, I took my bike out on a 3-hour ride to test it and it worked flawlessly. I'm giving this book a 4-star rating now because I haven't had enough time to read through the whole thing yet, but I can say that it definitely deserves a 5-star rating for basic bike maintenance instruction.
The book is well illustrated and the instructions are very much to the point and generally very easy to follow. The pages are 8.5 by 11", so there's plenty of room for large illustrations and the text spacing makes it very easy on the eyes. It explains each process for multiple brands (Shimano, Campy, SRAM, etc.), which is extremely useful because the directions describe the exact part you're working on. It is well written and the author's personality comes out to some degree and makes it entertaining to read. The illustrations are excellent and very helpful--there are many exploded-view drawings of parts so you can see exactly how it works and how to take it apart and put it back together. Overall, it has been an excellent resource so far and one day's use has saved me a ton of money.
2 of 2 people found the above review helpful.
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Clever,almost spiritual title...Zen!, April 27, 2001
By denny j Huber
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This is one top selling 'manuals'..for freewheelers. It will be indispensable to all those who,inspired by new release-"Adventure of Two Lifetimes", by Goetz,(2001) will go cross-country... or atleast give it their best (Siddhartha) effort.
2 of 23 people found the above review helpful.
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Money Saver $$$$, July 3, 2011
By PH
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This book will pay for itself! Most shops in my area charge $45 for a basic bike tune up, $150 for a total overhaul. I've done both at home with help from this book. It's nice to have a nice shifting, smooth ridding bike on the club rides. It's even cooler knowing that I did the work myself and saved $.
The book doesn't have pictures, it's all very detailed illustrations. A cool thing I liked was the part they talk about the tools. There is an illustration of all sorts of tools and they are all labeled! My tool kit came with a bunch of tools and no labels. So I had no idea what did what. Well, now I know :-)
1 of 1 people found the above review helpful.
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Great to have!, July 10, 2008
By slccmh
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Zinn's interest in and experience with bikes and biking is obvious to me when I look over this book or read his tech reports in Velo News (magazine and website). I found the second edition a welcome improvement over the first edition in its inclusion of a section on cantilever brakes (the first edition refers the reader to Zinn's mountain bike book). Since I have owned cyclocross bikes for several years, and found cantilevers infinitely more adjustable (and sometimes infinitely more frustrating) than the side pull brakes found on most road bikes, I welcomed this section. Beyond that, I like the straightforward way Zinn writes (always advocating the proper tools but sometimes offering ways to improvise), I find the illustrations most helpful and the organization of the book easy to follow. While this book does not cover everything (what does and how many of us really need that much information?) it is the one source I return to over and over again; the grease stains on the pages of my copy attest to its frequent use. Combine this book with the Park Tools website and the exhaustive information provided by the late Sheldon Brown, and you will find most of what you need to complete standard bike build or repair jobs. This is the bike book I own that spends the least amount of time on the shelf.
1 of 1 people found the above review helpful.
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Keeping it simple, September 9, 2007
By 11meikle
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Nice easy-reading explanations.
Good drawings and pictures to fill in the details.
Would recommend.
1 of 3 people found the above review helpful.
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The Bike, March 8, 2007
By Paul Murphy (New Zealand)
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Great product - just what was needed.
Great Amazon service, as expected
1 of 4 people found the above review helpful.
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Bicycle repair and maintenance, July 18, 2006
By R. Martin (East Tennessee)
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Excellent book with great information. Could be illistrated a little better.
1 of 6 people found the above review helpful.
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Very good book for road bike repair, September 27, 2011
By Jc Jaffray
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It is very interesting book.
We are in Bicycle business and wanted to know more about bike repairs, more than just regular maintenance and my peoples love it.
info@Letourbicycle.com , letourbicycle@gmail.com
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Zinn and the art of Road Bike Maintenance, September 25, 2011
By LA BMX (Los Angeles, CA)
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It's a solid book especially for beginners. Could use a helpful table of manufacturer torque settings for carbon components. Otherwise you have to dig through the Internet like we all the time anyway.
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Up-to-date Info, August 14, 2011
By TNWoman
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My husband owned the earlier edition of this book and had relied on it a great deal to maintain or repair his road bikes. He wanted the latest version for the most up-to-date information available as he had purchased newer equipment. He is very pleased with the purchase.
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Good manual, August 13, 2011
By Randy
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Haven't really needed to use the maunal yet but it looks like it is good at explaining things and the illustrations look good. Hopefully save me some time and money from taking it to the shop. Haven't used any other manuals to compare it to but from what I have read, it seems to explain things well enough that I will be able to do simple repairs on my own.
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A Great Book for Both Beginners as well as Serious Cyclists, August 9, 2011
By Porsche owner (Indiana)
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I got this book on the advise of my nephew who is more heavily into cycling as well as repair. His recommendation was spot on!
This book is well organized. The chapters are organized to cover various aspects of cycle repair, so that if one has a problem with, say, spokes, one can go right to the chapter covering wheels and find it. It is also well equipped with illustrations and, best of all, the advise on repairs is graded as to the difficulty. It even divides the tool recommendations into the same three grades.
I especially enjoyed that the author is, unlike so many technicians, able to communicate very effectively without resorting to the jargon of cycle repair. In other words it is an easy read.
I would recommend this book to anyone, of any skill and interest level, who is looking for a "how to" book of road bicycle repair.
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Awesome awesome awesome, April 1, 2011
By rubbeh
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There are a few times where I get caught up because he uses some lingo I don't understand (coming from having no background in bike repair) but eventually I figure it out. AWESOME BOOK. I now do ALL of my own repairs. (except for that which I don't have equipment for :))
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Easy to read., December 29, 2010
By HJS
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Great book. Written in a way that I (not a bike mechanic) can understand. I have had a lot of "AHA!" moments reading this book.
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Made a fantastic and useful gift!, December 28, 2010
By Jessica N Lee
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I really don't know what I can say here besides that my boyfriend found a road bike he loves (a rare one in fact) and then he researched and found that this book is the best book out there if you want to learn all about road bikes, how to take care of them, how to keep them clean and working their best.. etc etc. He now wants to build his own bike, and he says the book is great and that he reads quite a bit of it every day. He told me about it, so I bought it for him :) I would recommend it to anyone interested in the bike world!
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Great for Road Bikes, December 12, 2010
By M. Miller (Tucson)
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I have several general repair books, but this is the first one that focuses entirely on issues specific to road bikes. Well written and illustrated.
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zinn &the art of road bike maintenance, December 9, 2010
By george thayer
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i have a lot of bicycles book but this is one of the best thank you to mr. zinn for taking the time to do a very good book on maintenance of bicycles like this . george of carmichael ca. 66 year old bike rider god bless to all who love to riding .
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One of the best, December 3, 2010
By Tinker
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Comprehensive guide, written with a dry sense of humor, covering latest stuff, but also covering older, retro equipment. Divided into different levels of difficulty, very good for anyone who want to work on their own road bike.
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Good, useful for the home mechanic, November 12, 2010
By word_nerd
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This is a nice book, useful for the home bike mechanic. I would recommend it. Also, unless you have brand new, state of the art bikes, save yourself some money and get this older edition. The newest edition will only be relevant to those who are buying the latest and greatest, and those folks should probably be taking their stuff directly to a shop for repairs anyway.
My only wish is that there were more illustrations, and perhaps more discussion of older bikes. But, the write-ups are detailed and easy to follow.
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Well Done, May 22, 2010
By King Compost (Hartford,CT)
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If you are mechanical, and looking for bicycle specific reference; or without experience, but the kind of person that can translate product manual text and drawings into results -- this is one of the two best bike manuals.
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Fantastic book, February 15, 2010
By J. Andersen
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I really enjoyed reading this book. It makes the most complicated tasks and breaks them down so that anyone can do them. It's obvious that Mr. Zinn has a lot of experience with the subject material. The illustrations are especially helpfull.
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Zinn & the ARt of Road Bike Maintenance, October 16, 2009
By Jeffery G. Gedgaud (Moorhead MN USA)
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Lennard Zinn takes you through your road bike to get it tuned up and in perfect working order for beginners and professional bikers alike.
Contents 25/25
Ease of Understanding/Practicality 23/25
Pictures/Illustrations 18/25
Additional Features 20/25
Total 86/100
Zinn & the Art of Road Bike Maintenance takes you from basic bike anatomy to maintaining, tuning up and troubleshooting problems. Lennard Zinn has been an award winning writer of bicycle maintenance books and has released an updated release for road bikes to keep your road machine in top condition.
With winter now upon us we can put those bikes up and get out our winter sports gear but you should not just hang that bike up on the rack and forget it. It's time to do some preventive maintenance as well as get anything you find fixed and have it ready for the next nice day.
Preventive maintenance is a term I really learned in the military and have come to respect the idea behind keeping things working and in top condition. Money spent on preventing rust and other wear and tear as well as fixing things when they are small really makes sense and saves you money.
Lennard Zinn has spent years as a bicycle frame builder, master framebuilder is the term I keep reading on the internet so he does know his bikes. He takes beginners and experienced riders through the bike anatomy, preventive maintenance and on into those complex repairs like replacing gears and crank bearings.
The Art of Road Bike Maintenance goes from simple bike anatomy and tools to doing what you need to fix and keep your bike in top shape. He explains not only the common bike parts available from stores and gives explanations for generic parts as well as those more expensive brand name parts and bikes.
Zinn goes into specific part replacement and tuning up your bike really well but he also goes into many of the special and brand name parts and systems, including Shinamo, Trek, Campagnolo, SRAM, and many more. Zinn & the Art of Road Bike Maintenance works equally well for less expensive bikes purchased at stores like Wal-mart as well as those more expensive and better made bikes like Shimano and Trek.
Each repair or tune up section has basic terms and explains in detail what you are going to do and how to do it whether it's a more expensive bike or the lesser costing ones. Each repair or tune up is broken into levels of difficulty and the book starts out with tools in each level you will need.
Some of the tools you may already have but others you will need depending on what you want to do on your bike so the book starts off with very helpful information about tools, what they do and where you can purchase them. You can also wait to purchase many of the tools until you need them but in the first two levels of repair they are mostly common tools and other things that are handy to have around a home as well as for bicycle repair.
The book goes into tools to take with on everyday riding or longer trips and explains emergency repairs you can perform to get you to your destination or to somewhere to make better repairs. They also go into helpful information for safety equipment you should wear or have when biking for various types of riding like those every day trips or longer treks.
Each level of repair and tune up gives you from basic and necessary repairs like inner tube patching or replacement and adjusting brakes to replacing bearings or other integral parts. Level one repairs are things like adjusting brakes and gears, repairing or replacing inner tubes and other common tasks associated with keeping your bike in shape.
Level two repairs are more in depth jobs like replacing crank arms and pedals while level 3 repairs are things like overhauling parts or even building your own bike from the frame up. This book not only goes into repair and troubleshooting but at level 3 you have all the knowledge and with the right tools explained in the book you can build your own bike with parts you order or purchase.
Zinn & the Art of Road Bike Maintenance is a great book that goes into such depth that you will understand and know how to repair, tune up and even build your own bike. This is one of those all in one books that goes beyond simple repairs and shows you everything you could possibly want to know about a bike and how to work on it.
The book includes an important chart with torque information for various parts as well as information on how to fit your bike when you adjust the seat, handlebars add a and even purchase a new bike. The Art of Road Bike Maintenance includes a glossary and occasional tips throughout the book to give more in depth tips from professionals about the topic they are in.
I really like this book and highly recommend Zinn & the Art of Road Bike Maintenance for a fantastic manual for repair, tuning up and maintaining your road bike.
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Perfect for learning about your bike..., September 15, 2009
By J. Lawrence
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If you ride a road bike and don't like paying the wrench at your local shop to maintain it, buy the book; it tells you how to fix what's broken and it even tells you when your probably not going to be able to fix it yourself. Also it gives you a complete list of tools that you will need that corresponds with the level of the repair. I've ridden bikes my entire life but I have only recently been fixing my bike myself. Since I bought the book I have fixed broken spokes, replaced the cogset on the rear wheel and built a single speed city cruizer. If you want to fix your bike and don't really know where to start buy this book. But be prepared to have many of the page corners covered in chain lube and citrus degreaser...Good luck you won't need much if you have this book next to your tool box.
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Wow! very impressive manual on bicycle maintenance, September 9, 2009
By Nebbish Kin (Seattle, WA USA)
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This book is well illistrated, well organized, well written and very comprehensive. I am a bit new at bicycle maintenance, but I find this book very helpful and it looks like it will be near my bicycling supplies for a very long time.
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Great guide for non-technical people, August 20, 2009
By Rebecca
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This maintenance book is well-written, clearly instructs and illustrates the steps for both easy and complicated road bike maintenance procedures. Highly recommended, even for someone like me who did not even understand how the shifting worked for the rear cogs (I do now!).
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Comprehensive, simple bicycle maintenance book, April 7, 2009
By V8 (Hill Country, Edwards Plateau, Texas)
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A comprehensive yet simple bicycle maintenance book, well illustrated, very thorough.
For the beginning bike mechanic, and rider looking to do their own maintenance. Not as interesting as the Chainbreaker Bike book, but clearer type makes it more useful, better illustrations make the parts easier to understand.
I like it.
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Great detail and diagrams, December 6, 2008
By Bobby (Southern California)
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Grey's Anatomy for bikes (no not the quirky T.V. show, the book!). If you are new to cycling and want to get a handle on what your bike is about and how to fix that funny squeek, buy this book.
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Indispensible maintenance guide that keeps my bikes out of the shop, October 11, 2008
By Big D
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This is a great book that gives you basic instructions for maintaining all aspects of a road bike - whether the bike is brand new or twenty years old. I just built a road bike using the techniques in this book, along with some more detailed techniques available on the Park Tools website. I can't count the number of times that this book has allowed me to fix my bikes at home and keep them out of the shop!
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Generally Comprehensive & Detailed, June 26, 2008
By D. Gardner (NYC US)
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I bought this book and Down's (more popular) book at the same time. Both books have good illustrations, but this book is by far the more detailed and helpful. Down's book is VERY basic and leaves out detail needed to really tune anything to any extent.
Having said that, this book does a decent job of showing how to tune a number of bike features, as well as doing routine maintanence/repairs. However, if you are a gear-head, you probably won't be happy with less than Barnett's painfully exhaustive 4 volume set--which is likely overly detailed for anyone short of a professional shop-set.
Though a complete novice can use this book, it seems geared more to people who have at least a common sense knowledge of bikes & tools when they are looking at them right in front of them. [Down's book spends time describing things that should be obvious at a gance, while leaving out detail you need to fix something.]
Definitely a recommended buy from me....very useful.
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Good Buy, June 15, 2008
By W. Gregory (Nashville, TN)
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This book offers a great deal of information to someone like me who is just now getting in to cycling and is not familiar with the terms and would just like to get a better sense of their bike. It lays out a very helpful maintenance guide that tells you the general amount of time needed between cleanings and replacements.
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Very detailed, easy to understand, March 5, 2008
By Matthew Hudson (Boulder, CO USA)
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The book has a wealth of knowledge on subjects ranging from very basic repairs to super-complicated. Very useful for anyone trying to take care of their favorite possession.
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great reference, February 11, 2008
By C. Multer
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Great easy to understand book with lots of helpful illustrations. I am a beginning cyclist looking to increase my ability to maintain my bike, and this is written in language I can understand.
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The most comprehensive bike repair guide, December 24, 2007
By electronics and fitness fan (Lexington, KY)
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Lennard Zinn does a great job with this well written and very comprehensive guide to bike repairs and troubleshooting. Great illustrations and easy to read, this book covers all aspects of bike maintenance from beginning subjects to advanced. It has already saved me double its value in the first 3 months. A must have for any serious rider.
0 of 1 people found the above review helpful.
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Delivered as promised, September 28, 2010
By whitfieldiii
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Recently purchased this book from seller and had no problems at all. Highly recommend this seller.
0 of 2 people found the above review helpful.
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Zinn rocks, March 3, 2010
By Martin McSweeney
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Zinn does a great job in his newest edition for road maintenance.
Thorough and entertaining. What else can I say?
0 of 2 people found the above review helpful.
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One of the best, February 25, 2006
By Truer wheels were never spoken (Fort Worth)
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Best aspect of the book is it doesn't try to cover road bikes and mountain bikes.
Good descriptions
Many diagrams but wish it had more
0 of 6 people found the above review helpful.
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Great for the first time do-it-yourself bike mechanic!, January 17, 2012
By E. Bakalakos (Los Angeles, CA)
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I am a noob at bike mechanics...hence the reason I bought this book. It is very informative, including pictures and tools you might need to perform each repair.
I have been able to successfully:
- Fix a flat
- Clean bearings in rear hub and bottom bracket
- True my wheels
..and complete many other minor mechanical repairs, as well as learn where to use grease and where to use lube as well as how to properly clean the bike.
This book gives a wealth of information for the beginner, and if you have something more specific, just search the internet. I recommend it! (the book, not the internet...well both, I guess :O)
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Very good book for road bike repair, September 27, 2011
By J. Jaffray
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It is very interesting book.
We are in Bicycle business and wanted to know more about bike repairs, more than just regular maintenance and my peoples love it.
info@Letourbicycle.com , letourbicycle@gmail.com
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Great book very helpful, April 7, 2012
By AguyWithAComputer
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This book has already saved me hundreds of dollars. The descriptions are awesome and the information is clear and concise. Very good buy for any home mechanic or any bike rider. This book can help every one whether you don't know what drop outs are or if you have a full bearing press. I read it at night for fun just to learn fun tricks and different. It is my go to source. I trust it more then the guys at my favorite shop. This dude knows his stuff. Amazing. Seriously.
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Better than Bicycling version, March 28, 2012
By james l. gray
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Bought this with the Bicycling book. I like this one better as it has better explanations of the repair/replace/build processes. The Bicycling book has more pictures however, the pictures in this book are well done and timely in their presentation.
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Very good book for road bike repair, September 27, 2011
By J. Jaffray
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It is very interesting book.
We are in Bicycle business and wanted to know more about bike repairs, more than just regular maintenance and my peoples love it.
info@Letourbicycle.com , letourbicycle@gmail.com
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great book, February 10, 2012
By J.Orejel
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i bought this book cuz i bought a bike on amizon i didnt want to have to depend on ppl fixing or tunning my bike. so i recived my bike a couple of days ago and i put it to the test i tuned my bike adjusted the breaks. and was able to trued my rims great book ez to use
0 of 1 people found the above review helpful.
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