Bicycle!: A Repair and Maintenance Manifesto

At their finest hours bikes exist on a level above mere machines, and there’s no reason why the joy should end when the ride is over. Providing cyclists the know-how to take bicycle repair into their own hands, Bicycle!, covers everything you need to know to feed and care for your ride. This book cuts through the obtuse techno-speak and delivers maintenance clarity with a touch of photographs, illustrations, humor, and radicalism, while categorically denying mechanistry’s supposed dreariness. With detailed descriptions of all maintenance tasks and repair situations, clearly illustrated with photographs and drawings, this guide will serve the need for a serious rider’s manual. Professional bicycle workers—messengers, mechanics, pedi-cab drivers—as well as bicycle commuters have been waiting for this book. Sam Tracy writes about bikes from a practiced Midwestern perspective. Having biked through many snowy winters in Minneapolis, including five as a messenger, Sam is currently living and biking in Latvia. This updated edition includes an expanded index and a revised resource section. Topics include essential tools, bicycle components, on-the-road repairs, scavenging, locks, preventing rust, and more.