Bicycle Technology: Understanding, Selecting and Maintaining the Modern Bicycle and Its Components

Rating:
Summary: 2 stars, for the following reasons.....
Review: It covers the different types of bicycles and parts; so frames, gearing, brakes and accessories are all covered in detail. There is a materials & construction section, although since I am a Material Scientist, I find that the alternative materials sections is still very conservative. The bit about construction methods of frames, however, is adequate.

Much of the information is out-dated, especially the bits about the various brakes. Nobody wants to know about stirrup-brakes, pivot-link brakes, u-brakes and roller-lever brakes anymore - because you simply won't find them on modern bikes - and even cantilever brakes are now obsolete. Hub brakes are really only found on BMX bikes, and let's face it, kids who ride those won't want to read this. One simple diagram would have been enough.

The author of this book should team up with the author of "The Bicycle Wheel"; you can tell from their style of writing that they're both from the "old-school" of engineering design and therefore extremely sceptical of the benefits of new technology. It is as if someone told them when they were teenagers that steel is the only legitimate material for building bicycle components. For a book that is entitled "Bicycle Technology", it is very misleading.

It has lots of hand drawn illustrations, one might say too many, because there are about two on every page. There are also many irrelevant B&W photos, which are of certain brands of parts that the author invariably favours. But there is NOT ONE single color photograph in the whole book - aside from one on the front cover!

What I DID find informative were the little sections on tire sizing, gear progression, tubing types and steering geometry. The chapter on the drive train is also okay.

This book will only really provide a general overview that will cover the existing gaps in your knowledge. A beginner won't be interested, because it is too boring, overwhelming & tedious to read, and someone who would otherwise be interested will already know most things. If you value my opinion, it's that you should seriously consider buying an alternative book. Buy a book, yes, but not this book.

Rating:
Summary: 2 stars, for the following reasons.....
Review: It covers the different types of bicycles and parts; so frames, gearing, brakes and accessories are all covered in detail. There is a materials & construction section, although since I am a Material Scientist, I find that the alternative materials sections is still very conservative. The bit about construction methods of frames, however, is adequate.

Much of the information is out-dated, especially the bits about the various brakes. Nobody wants to know about stirrup-brakes, pivot-link brakes, u-brakes and roller-lever brakes anymore - because you simply won't find them on modern bikes - and even cantilever brakes are now obsolete. Hub brakes are really only found on BMX bikes, and let's face it, kids who ride those won't want to read this. One simple diagram would have been enough.

The author of this book should team up with the author of "The Bicycle Wheel"; you can tell from their style of writing that they're both from the "old-school" of engineering design and therefore extremely sceptical of the benefits of new technology. It is as if someone told them when they were teenagers that steel is the only legitimate material for building bicycle components. For a book that is entitled "Bicycle Technology", it is very misleading.

It has lots of hand drawn illustrations, one might say too many, because there are about two on every page. There are also many irrelevant B&W photos, which are of certain brands of parts that the author invariably favours. But there is NOT ONE single color photograph in the whole book - aside from one on the front cover!

What I DID find informative were the little sections on tire sizing, gear progression, tubing types and steering geometry. The chapter on the drive train is also okay.

This book will only really provide a general overview that will cover the existing gaps in your knowledge. A beginner won't be interested, because it is too boring, overwhelming & tedious to read, and someone who would otherwise be interested will already know most things. If you value my opinion, it's that you should seriously consider buying an alternative book. Buy a book, yes, but not this book.