Bicycle Repair Manual

Easy-to-follow photographic sequences, accompanied by detailed text, along with a handy troubleshooting guide, offer solutions to every repair and maintenance task--from simple roadside repairs to complete overhauls--for every sort of bicycle. Original.

YA-A well-illustrated guide for the repair and maintenance of all types of bicycles, with understandable instructions, including monthly and annual service guides, emergency repairs, and a trouble-shooting chart.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

This follow-up to the authors' beautiful Richards' Ultimate Bicycle Book ( LJ 4/1/92) has the same visual impact. Not for those with no familiarity with bicycles or tools, it can be used to great advantage as a quick reference by those with some prior knowledge. Repairs are divided into chapters covering brakes, wheels and tires, transmissions, bearings, and routine maintenance chores. The explanations for mechanical processes are excellent, with many sections employing photographs or illustrations to detail the repair steps. Although it is not as detailed as Tom Cuthbertson's Anybody's Bike Book (Peter Smith Pubs., 1988), the working photos and illustrations are much better. In fact, these two books can serve most libraries' needs for bicycle repair guides.
- Lisa J. Cochenet, Winfield P.L., Ill.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Once automobile owners could reasonably expect to be capable of simple maintenance and repair of their cars. With the advent of onboard computers and the constant updating of (and tinkering with) car design at all stages of automotive engineering, those days are largely past. Bicycle owners, on the other hand, may smugly rejoice that with this book to assist them, they can still perform routine maintenance and repairs on their transportational vehicles. The little manual's clear, concise writing and informative color pictures add up to easily read, useful guidance for the aspiring home bike mechanic. Ballantine and Grant cover both routine and preventive maintenance, providing a handy troubleshooting chart, monthly and annual service charts, and a glossary to abet those endeavors. Especially interesting is the emergency-repairs section that suggests replacement components a cyclist might be forced to employ in the field; this section alone is probably worth the price of the book, and what's more, the accompanying photograph--featuring a "bandaged seat" and tires reinflated with grass and leaves--would be a fine poster for a bicycle workshop (a mite small herein, though). Mike Tribby