Sports & Recreation & Cycling

Bicycling Magazine-s Complete Guide to Bicycle Maintenance and Repair - For Road and Mountain Bikes

5 stars (Can't be beat for price and quality) - After looking at several other bicycle repair manuals, it was a joy to come across this book that is just right on the money. Todd Downs's book about bicycling repair is something that belongs on the bookshelf (or in the garage) of every bicyclist out there. The book easily pays for itself many times over by giving the novice bicycle mechanic the guidance and instruction in doing his own repairs. The book is also interesting to read. Downs explains the pros and cons of the various types of components out there, and gives the reader advice for how to best use and care for his bicycle. The photgraphs are clear and plentiful, never leaving you wondering what you're supposed to do, and give you the confidence to tackle just about any job. Where other books seem to err by giving the reader too little information - or overwhelming the reader with too much - this book strikes a great balance. Every part of the bicycle is covered in its entirety, and this book should work for just about every cyclist out there, whether you're a road warrior, hard-core mountain biker, or just enjoy a casual ride to the coffee shop on Sunday mornings. In addition to just straight repair and maintenance, the book is filled with good advice. I particularly liked when Downs would tell the reader if a troublesome part was better off being repaired or replaced entirely. If you ride a bike, you really should own a repair manual, and this is the best one I've seen so far. 5 stars (Dirt is it's destiny.) - My copy of Todd Downs' book is destined to get dirty-- dirty with the grit and grime of a bicycle in need of maintenance and repair. Modern bikes are more complex and more expensive than ever. Nowadays it's hard to just "wing it" if you want to do your own repairs. This book has really helped me to catch up on modern bike technology and gain a better understanding of my two-month-old Gary Fisher. The book is quite comprehen...
Rodale Books :: Sports & Recreation & Cycling :: Sports & Recreation :: Sports :: Repair :: Maintenance and repair :: Handbooks :: manuals :: etc :: Cycling - General :: Cycles - Repai :: Bicycling Magazine-s Complete Guide to Bicycle Maintenance and Repair - For Road and Mountain Bikes

Mountain Bike Like a Champion

5 stars (Wonderfully helpful and well written) - I have been riding adult bikes for 31 years. This book taught me balance exercises that I did not know. Lots of the book just repeats stuff that can be found elsewhere but that is valuable too. Shouldn't there be one compendium that captures 95% of the knowledge on a subject? This is a wonderful book and very well priced. 5 stars (Ned, the Lung) - Ned is one of the finest examples of a athlete. He is one that just wont quit, he loves the sport, the competition and most of all he challenges himself. Its great when such a athlete stops and takes some time to help out his fans by writing such a helpful book. Some of it most experienced riders will already know, but still the book contains tips and such to fine tune your skills. The biggest help for me was his tips on fitting the bike. After following his tips my S-Works feels and handles all so much better. Its the little things. For the cost of book you cant beat it. Instead of subscribing to a cycling magazine in hope of finding new help, save yourself some money and time and get it all in one source. Ned is a great guy, rides some of the best bikes made, he knows his stuff.. Although he is a busy guy with Xtera and all he even takes some time to meet, email and answer questions. The book itself will make techniques make more sense and easier to concur. Buy it for yourself or a friend, its a great gift! 5 stars (Ned Overend proves he's a Champion) - Great tips for riders of any level. This book contains descriptions and examples from Ned's years of experience in mountain biking, all very helpful and easy to follow. If you enjoy mountain biking, this book will help you get to the next level. Without a doubt the best [money] you will ever spend for mountain bike equipment. This book should be sold with every mountain bike!! ...
Rodale Books :: Sports & Recreation & Cycling :: Training :: Sports & Recreation :: Sports :: Cycling - Mountain Biking :: Cycling - General :: All terrain cycling :: Ed Pavelka :: B :: Mountain Bike Like a Champion

Bicycling Magazine-s Complete Book of Road Cycling Skills - Your Guide to Riding Faster- Stronger- L

3 stars (Literary equivalent to the energy bar) - This book is broken down into short chapters which can each be read in about three to five minutes. Like Bicycling magazine itself, it manages to be accurate and somewhat helpful, albeit completely insubstantial. I found that reading this book inspired me to ride, which is always a good thing. The subject of road cycling, however, is treated in such a superficial and scattershot manner that the book will probably be of little long term benefit. Like a cliff bar, it's sugary, fast acting, short term fuel for the road. 3 stars (A good book for the the strait racing bike. ) - This book was written primarily for the strait road/race bicycle, (the one with the curved handlebars). If this is your bike I recommend it, even more so if you intend to race. However, except for a brief topic of converting a mountain bike for the road, there is no mention of hybrids in the book. Maybe the book was made before they were available, hence the info on converting a mountain bike for the road. If you have a road bike with upright handlebars, (hybrid, comfort, touring), you won't find any mention of your bike in the book. And the pictures and info in the chapter on bicycle parts is all geared toward the road/racing bike. However the book is still worthwhile reading, particularly the chapters on safety, and road skills, dealing with exhaustion, heat, and cold among other helpful topics. I wouldn't recommend it for the advanced cyclist, or those that don't have a dedicated road/race bike, as a first book. But there is still some good stuff here. The black and white drawings of streetwise safety ideas I found particularly helpful. fiannor 1 stars (rather embarrassing...) - I guess for $11-12 you can take your chances with the book, but I don't believe you will learn much from it unless you are absolutely new to bicycling. But even then do not expect too much. As another reviewer said, many suggestions are rather simp...
Rodale Books :: bicycles :: Sports & Recreation & Cycling :: Training :: Sports & Recreation :: Sports :: Cycling - General :: Bicycle racing :: Ben Hewitt :: :: Bicycling Magazine-s Complete Book of Road Cycling Skills - Your Guide to Riding Faster- Stronger- L

The Complete Book of Long-Distance Cycling - Build the Strength- Skills- and Confidence to Ride as F

5 stars (The long and very long of it) - So you're getting old and fat and still are as compulsive as ever, what do you do? If you've been successful in the racing circuit a decade ago, cycling doesn't seem such a bad idea. Still, those years that you could ride 30 miles in an hour make your current 20 look rather pathetic. No problem, go far. With this philosophy in mind I bought this book by Pavelka and the late Burke two years ago to get some instruction on long distance riding. After doing a complete 200/300/400/600 Brevet series and 24 hour fleche ride earlier this year, I can assure you the value of this text. While this book contains sections that are aimed at cyclists with a significant experience in the over 100 mile range, it is very much an introductory text. All aspects are discussed in a simple, but elementary fashion. Bikes, position, nutrition, training schedules, night riding, injuries etc. etc. Unfamiliar with distances beyond the 200 mile mark, the continuous hammering on nutrition and injury may seem overbearing, but once you have been there and done that you will appreciate the wisdom of the authors' words. Some reviewers have commented on the introductory level of this book. That is correct. Yet, I would like to counter that this book contains all the instruction needed to go the distance. Especially, when it comes to training schedules, those provided here are just guidelines. It goes without saying that those who train at least 20 hours a week, will be moving on to the more racing oriented literature for more targeted information. In all a very clear, no nonsense book. Next year Boston-Montreal-Boston will be on the agenda and I am pretty certain that it will help me over Middlebury Gap. 5 stars (Thorough Lessons to Learn the Easy Way) - This book pretty much covers it all, from how to adjust your saddle to what to do about hallucinations on your ultra long-distance ride. Although I have a fair amount of experience training for centuries...
Rodale Books :: Sports & Recreation & Cycling :: Training :: Sports & Recreation :: Sports :: Cycling - General :: Cycling :: Ben Hewitt :: Edmund R Burke :: :: The Complete Book of Long-Distance Cycling - Build the Strength- Skills- and Confidence to Ride as F

The Lance Armstrong Performance Program- Seven Weeks to the Perfect Ride

4 stars (Lots of information) - Love this book!! Tells you alot of stuff you need to know if you are a beginner in the bike world. I reread parts of it alot and know it will be checked many times again for its valuable information. 5 stars (Great fitness aid) - As a beginner to cycling, I was looking for a book to help me improve both my skill level and my fitness. I purchased this book based on some of the recommendations provided by other readers, and am very glad I did. It has been a great tool in helping me achieve both of my goals. Lots of useful information about planning your fitness/training program, and good schedules for beginning cyclists. It may be a bit too basic for the more advanced cyclist. 3 stars (Not for Beginners) - First, let me start by saying I am a Lance Fan! I admire his accomplishments and believe he is one of the good people on our planet. Now about this book. It is a good book full of pratical ideas and plans to improve one's cycling, however, I think that a beginner might have difficulty in following all of the terms,descriptions and detailed plans provided. I have been cycling for over 20 years and I believe that my experience allowed me to grasp the concepts presented. In addition to the valuable information provided there are the obligatory chapters covering fitness, diet and mental preparedness. I believe a reader with years of fitness experience will find this information to be basic. It is information you would have most likely read in other fitness training type books. If your intent on buying this book is for training I would recommend it (with the caveat previously mentioned). If your intent is to be motivated and you are a Lance fan - buy "It's Not About the Bike" and "Every Second Counts". ...
Rodale Books :: Sports & Recreation & Cycling :: Training :: Sports & Recreation :: Sports :: Nutrition :: General :: Cycling - General :: Bicycle racing :: Peter Joffre Nye :: Chris C :: The Lance Armstrong Performance Program- Seven Weeks to the Perfect Ride