Rating: 
Summary: A good book for the the strait racing bike.
Review: 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
Rating: 
Summary: From a recreational cyclist who wants to be competitive
Review: As a long-time car driver who just made the 'switch' to cycle commuting, I had a lot of anxieties regarding safe and intelligent operation of a bicycle on roads shared with automobiles. This book served the purpose admirably and got me riding safe and sane on the streets of Manhattan, something I wouldn't have believed possible a couple months ago.There are sections on how to equip your bike, how to follow the rules of the road, and tips and tricks bikers need to know to coexist safely in traffic. There are also sections on what to eat and drink, how to train effectively to increase your abilities, and how to get into serious long-distance touring - things which I hadn't originally been interested in but which were fun to read about. I think what I liked best about the book was that it was clearly written by enthusiasts who've spent a lot of time riding and a lot of time thinking about how to convey their skills and enthusiasms to the public. If I had a criticism, it'd be that the book suffers by being a collection of separate magazine articles not originally intended for publication in this form, so some information is repeated and coherence is sort of loose. But it's not a major criticism and I'd recommend the book anyway.
Rating: 
Summary: Cobbled together, but a comprehensive guide
Review: As a long-time car driver who just made the 'switch' to cycle commuting, I had a lot of anxieties regarding safe and intelligent operation of a bicycle on roads shared with automobiles. This book served the purpose admirably and got me riding safe and sane on the streets of Manhattan, something I wouldn't have believed possible a couple months ago. There are sections on how to equip your bike, how to follow the rules of the road, and tips and tricks bikers need to know to coexist safely in traffic. There are also sections on what to eat and drink, how to train effectively to increase your abilities, and how to get into serious long-distance touring - things which I hadn't originally been interested in but which were fun to read about. I think what I liked best about the book was that it was clearly written by enthusiasts who've spent a lot of time riding and a lot of time thinking about how to convey their skills and enthusiasms to the public. If I had a criticism, it'd be that the book suffers by being a collection of separate magazine articles not originally intended for publication in this form, so some information is repeated and coherence is sort of loose. But it's not a major criticism and I'd recommend the book anyway.
Rating:
Summary: A first class book for the cyclist who wants to do more.
Review: Being new to road biking I wanted a book that covered the basics as well as one that gave guidance as to how I could improve once over the initial stage of riding. This book is very comprehensive in this regard. It is particularly useful in some of the training areas in that it makes suggestions that are not too overly structured, as some books are inclined to do, but at the same time maintain the overall training effect.It reinforces this approach by relating training regimes with real life experiences of riders, rather than adopt a "textbook" approach.I found the book extremely useful and fully recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Basic Cycling Skills
Review: Good overview of basic cycling skills which anyone - from novice to experienced rider - will find helpful. Well organized and well written
Rating: 
Summary: rather embarrassing...
Review: 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 simplistic and dubious. 'Breathing through your nose' is one of them. And there are such parts as how to avoid a rock on the road. It takes the authors about 120 words to tell you how to do that. If you thought that there is some magic to their advice--there is none, their point can be reduced to "first turn the handlebar to one side, then correct your balance by quickly turning the other way." And there are four pages devoted to listing food you can get in fast food restuarants or convenience stores. I am sure you need a book to tell you that Arby's sells Light Roast Turkey Deluxe and Taco Bell has soft chicken taco without cheese. In general, what they cover on about 200 pages could be explained in 1/4 of that (or less). Further, the book is very uneven, sometimes it treats you like an idiot and sometimes gives you advice that is more appropriate for serious riders (several hundred miles a week). Considering that it has been written by the editors of "Bicycling Magazine," it is rather embarrassing... Again, $11-12 is not much today so try if you want, you may learn a thing or two, but maybe you should explore other titles first.
Rating:
Summary: From a recreational cyclist who wants to be competitive
Review: I have been cycling recreationally for a number of years, and want to learn more and improve. I have looked at a couple of books, but this one is excellent:
1. All the chapters are short, relevant and written in plain understandable English
2. Within a couple of pages you have several useful tips
3. It has helped me dramatically improve very quickly
Rating:
Summary: A Good Primer
Review: I really enjoyed reading this book. As somone who is just getting into cycling I found it to be a good sampling of information wtth the right amount of technical depth for the beginner.
Rating:
Summary: A Good Primer
Review: I really enjoyed reading this book. As somone who is just getting into cycling I found it to be a good sampling of information wtth the right amount of technical depth for the beginner.
Rating:
Summary: Just the best
Review: It taught me a lot I did not know before
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