Cycling Books

It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life

Lance Armstrong, Sally Jenkins

Amazon Price: $10.20 List Price: $15.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Berkley Trade Amazon Marketplace: 773 new & used starting at $0.01

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Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 720 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

People around the world have found inspiration in the story of Lance Armstrong--a world-class athlete nearly struck down by cancer, only to recover and win the Tour de France, the multiday bicycle race famous for its grueling intensity. Armstrong is a thoroughgoing Texan jock, and the changes brought to his life by his illness are startling and powerful, but he's just not interested in wearing a hero suit. While his vocabulary is a bit on the he-man side (highest compliment to his wife: "she's a stud"), his actions will melt the most hard-bitten souls: a cancer foundation and benefit bike ride, his astonishing commitment to training that got him past countless hurdles, loyalty to the people and corporations that never gave up on him. There's serious medical detail here, which may not be for the faint of heart; from chemo to surgical procedures to his wife's in vitro fertilization, you won't be spared a single x-ray, IV drip, or unfortunate side effect. Athletes and coaches everywhere will benefit from the same extraordinary detail provided about his training sessions--every aching tendon, every rainy afternoon, and every small triumph during his long recovery is here in living color. It's Not About the Bike is the perfect title for this book about life, death, illness, family, setbacks, and triumphs, but not especially about the bike. --Jill Lightner

A Dog in a Hat: An American Bike Racer's Story of Mud, Drugs, Blood, Betrayal, and Beauty in Belgium

Joe Parkin

Amazon Price: $14.93 List Price: $21.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: VeloPress Amazon Marketplace: 14 new & used starting at $14.22

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 64 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

A must-read for any cyclist! 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

As someone who came into cycling in the era when Parkin was a Euro-pro (mid 1980's), I totally love this book! It captures the passion I felt for a sport at a time when it was just starting to register on the American consciousness via such riders as Greg LeMond and the boys of the 7-11 team. In the 1980's, I think every cyclist wanted to make the jump over the pond; very few actually had the guts to try on their own. It leaves no doubt as to the difficulty of pro cycling in Europe, and in particular, the difficulty for someone from a traditionally non-cycling nation faces in order to be successful. It paints an honest portrait of what it takes to succeed in the world's hardest sport. My only regret in reading this book was that it wasn't about 200 pages longer - I couldn't get enough!

Editorial Review:

In this brutally frank book, Joe Parkin puts readers in the whirlwind of the extreme world of professional bicycling, starting with his first visit to his team doctor, where, strapped to a metal table and monitored by humming electrodes, his future as a professional racer is coldly determined. Parkin pulls no punches, celebrating the glory of bike racing at its best, but also exploring the harsh reality of the life behind it. The author covers it all from an insider's perspective: the drugs, the payoffs, the races bought and paid for, the misery of training, the physical agony of racing, the battles with team owners for contracts and money, the endless promises, and the betrayals by enemies, teammates, and friends. Set in Belgium, the epicenter of all that's daunting and dazzling about the sport,A Dog in a Hat is one American's story of his love affair with professional cycling.

The Bicycling Guide to Complete Bicycle Maintenance and Repair: For Road and Mountain Bikes(Expanded and Revised 5th Edition)

Todd Downs

Amazon Price: $14.93 List Price: $21.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Rodale Books Amazon Marketplace: 58 new & used starting at $9.48

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Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Automotive -> Motorcycles -> Repair & Performance
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Automotive -> Repair -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 60 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

This revised, updated, expanded fifth edition is indispensable-with all the latest models, parts, and repair techniques, and terrific money-saving tips to keep any ride in tip-top shape
Since its first publication, Bicycling Magazine's Complete Guide to Bicycle Maintenance and Repair has sold over 400,000 copies. The fifth edition is guaranteed to remain the category killer. This long-overdue update is a must-have for weekend riders and serious cyclists alike.

Whether they own the latest model or a classic with thousands of miles on it, beginners and experienced cyclists alike can depend on this book to get their bikes out of the shop faster and keep them on the road longer. They'll discover information on:
o Building a dream bike workshop
o Disc brakes, both cable-actuated and hydraulic
o Dialing in front and rear suspension shocks for
comfortable rides
o The latest crankset and bottom bracket designs
o Overhauling freewheels and cassettes for peak
performance
o Specs on all the latest handlebar and headset sizes
o Servicing clipless pedals for maximum safety

With troubleshooting sections to quickly identify and correct common problems, 450 photographs and 40 drawings to clarify all the step-by-step directions so even the complete neophyte can get repairs right the first time, and Web sites and phone numbers of bicycle and parts manufacturers, this is truly the ultimate bicycle repair and maintenance manual-now better than ever in its fifth edition!

Weight Training for Cyclists: A Total Body Program for Power and Endurance

Ken Doyle, Eric Schmitz

Amazon Price: $12.89 List Price: $18.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: VeloPress Amazon Marketplace: 8 new & used starting at $12.89

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Subjects -> Sports -> Training -> Bodybuilding & Weight Training

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

A Complete Off-The-Bike Fitness Program! 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 4 people found this review helpful.

I've always read in cycling magazines that one should lift weights but the information given is never specific enough and rarely are diagrams shown. This book gives reasons behind the exercises and exactly what part of your body is benefiting, and how it will help your strength on the bike. The book is really well laid-out and easy to understand. I just started the program and am looking forward to dropping my riding buddies on our local climbs in no time.

Editorial Review:

Since the publication of the first edition of the only cycling-specific weight training book on the market, time spent in the gym has become a standard part of every cyclist’s training schedule. This new edition, with updated material on core strength and nutrition, brings together the most current research on strength building and the most recent and effective equipment innovations. Authors Ken Doyle and Eric Schmitz explain clearly how strength training in the weight room translates to endurance and power on the road. How should an athlete fit weight training into an already demanding cycling program? How does the approach to lifting change from the beginning of the season to the end? Which exercises are best on what days? How many repetitions are needed? Doyle and Schmitz address all these questions and more in easily grasped, lucid language. More than 60 exercises are illustrated and described in detail, and ten sample programs guide riders through their season.

We Might As Well Win: On the Road to Success with the Mastermind Behind a Record-Setting Eight Tour de France Victories

Johan Bruyneel, Bill Strickland

Amazon Price: $16.50 List Price: $25.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Houghton Mifflin Amazon Marketplace: 51 new & used starting at $12.50

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Subjects -> Sports -> Miscellaneous -> Sports Psychology

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 22 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

On the tour and inside the mind of Johan Bruyneel, the winningest team leader in cycling history and the mastermind behind the success of the world's most celebrated champion, Lance Armstrong

Johan Bruyneel knows what it takes to win. In 1998, this calculating Belgian and former professional cyclist looked a struggling rider and cancer survivor in the eye and said, "Look, if we're going to ride the Tour, we might as well win." In that powerful phrase a dynasty was born. With Bruyneel as his team director, Lance Armstrong seized a record seven straight Tour de France victories. In the meantime, Bruyneel innovated the sport of cycling and went on to prove he could win without his superstar -- in 2007 he took the Tour de France title with a young new team and a lot of nerve, sealing his place in sports history forever.

We Might as Well Win takes readers behind the scenes of this amazing nine-year journey through the Alps and the Pyrenees, revealing a radical recipe for winning that readers can adapt from the bike to the boardroom to life. We witness Bruyneel's near-death crash and comeback as a rider. We are privy to the many ways he and Armstrong outsmarted their opponents. We listen in on the team's race radios to hear the secret strategies that inspire greatness from a disparate team. We learn how to make sure "not winning" isn't the same as "losing" as Bruyneel struggles to prove himself -- post-Armstrong -- with new riders, new strategies, and skeptics around every corner.

Whether mounting a difficult climb, or managing a team of thirty riders and forty support staff from a miniature car hurtling along narrow European roads, or looking a future legend in the eye and willing him to believe, Bruyneel is, and has always been, the consummate winner. Readers will relish this inside tour.

Zinn and the Art of Road Bike Maintenance (2nd Edition)

Lennard Zinn

Amazon Price: $16.47 List Price: $24.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Velo Press - Model: VP-ZR2 Amazon Marketplace: 50 new & used starting at $14.24

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Features:

• Paperback
• More than 300 illustrations

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 33 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Just ok. 3 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Not enough detailed information. Needs more pictures, more examples. Otherwise the info is good and all aspects of what you need to know are covered. Just be prepared to be frustrated when you can't figure things out by the limited picture drawings. This book needs a serious overhaul.

Good Buy 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This book offers a great deal of information to someone like me who is just now getting in to cycling and is not familiar with the terms and would just like to get a better sense of their bike. It lays out a very helpful maintenance guide that tells you the general amount of time needed between cleanings and replacements.

Generally Comprehensive & Detailed 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I bought this book and Down's (more popular) book at the same time. Both books have good illustrations, but this book is by far the more detailed and helpful. Down's book is VERY basic and leaves out detail needed to really tune anything to any extent.

Having said that, this book does a decent job of showing how to tune a number of bike features, as well as doing routine maintanence/repairs. However, if you are a gear-head, you probably won't be happy with less than Barnett's painfully exhaustive 4 volume set--which is likely overly detailed for anyone short of a professional shop-set.

Though a complete novice can use this book, it seems geared more to people who have at least a common sense knowledge of bikes & tools when they are looking at them right in front of them. [Down's book spends time describing things that should be obvious at a gance, while leaving out detail you need to fix something.]

Definitely a recommended buy from me....very useful.

Editorial Review:

A senior technical writer for VeloNews and Inside Triathlon, Lennard Zinn shares his experience and insight. Each chapter is devoted to a specific part of the bicycle, maintenance and emergency on-the-road repairs.

Campagnolo: 75 Years of Cycling Passion

Paolo Facchinetti, Guido Rubino

Amazon Price: $26.37 List Price: $39.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: VeloPress Amazon Marketplace: 6 new & used starting at $26.37

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

As Leica is to cameras and Ferrari to racing automobiles, Campagnolo is to cycling: designer of the finest parts for bicycles ever made. Campagnolo's jewel-like brakes, pedals, derailleurs, cranksets, and wheels have been ridden to more race victories than any other brand, yet the same components are available to cycling enthusiasts worldwide. "Campagnolo: 75 Years of Cycling Passion" is a celebration of this legacy that will be cherished by every cycling fan.Campagnolo's rich history began with the founder, Tullio Campagnolo, a racer who turned to creating better bicycle parts when he found the equipment of the day not adequate for the rigours of professional competition. Blending exotic alloys with sound engineering, Campagnolo created a series of patented designs that are still in use today as the fundamental standards upon which modern parts are based.With its deeply researched history (much of it from the company's private archives), spectacular colour photography, rich text and lavish presentation, "Campagnolo: 75 Years of Cycling Passion" is a book for every lover of the sport of cycling, as well as connoisseurs of the bicycle itself.This book features colour and black-and-white photos and illustrations throughout. It comes in a hardback with jacket.

Jupiters Travels: Four Years Around the World on a Triumph

Ted Simon

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Subjects -> Sports -> Miscellaneous -> Motor Sports

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 36 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Facinating Journey 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This book is about Ted Simon's experince of riding around the world. Not only does he write about his actual experinces, but he also writes about how he feels. Some parts of the trip are glossed over in just a paragraph while others take pages and pages. It was very interesting to see hwo he felt the trip changed his life. I would have given the book five stars, but it bogs down in places. This book is more about an adventure around the world than it is about motorcycling. Overall, it is a great story and worth reading.

Good read 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I purchased this book after reading about it in a motorcycle article. I found it to be a pretty good read, although I find it hard to believe someone in the 1970's would choose a triumph motorcycle to do this trip on, knowing their history and reputation during the 70's! I thoroughly enjoyed Ted Simons' writing about his experiences and would recommend this book.

Editorial Review:

Simon rode a motorcycle around the world in the seventies, when such a thing was unheard of. In four years he covered 78,000 miles through 45 countries, living with peasants and presidents, in prisons and palaces, through wars and revolutions. What distinguishes this book is that Simon was already an accomplished writer. In 25 years this book has changed many lives, and inspired many to travel, including Ewan McGregor.

The Cyclist's Training Bible

Joe Friel

Amazon Price: $15.61 List Price: $22.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: VeloPress Amazon Marketplace: 52 new & used starting at $13.35

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 46 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Good Book 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This book is great. If you're looking to get in to racing, this is the one you want.

Joe Friel's cyclists training bible 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.

A great book with all the necessary information to turn you into your own coach.

This is now my bible 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

The author suggests that the target audience of this book is more focused on people with a few years of racing experience, however, as a first year racer, I've found the book to be one that I cannot do without. I consult the book each week when planning my weekly rides, and I look forward to revisiting several parts of the book again once I hit the off season and need to come up with an overall plan to move ahead in racing next year.

Editorial Review:

"Periodization," nutrition, stretching, peaking--who knew that so much went into riding a bike? Joe Friel's The Cyclist's Training Bible is jam-packed with information, easily the most authoritative book on cycling to date. Friel, a lauded coach and masters athlete from Colorado, adopts the principles of Dr. Tudor Bompa, whose periodization training methods were used first by the dominant Eastern European athletes of the 1960s before becoming popular in the United States.

Roadie: The Misunderstood World of a Bike Racer

Jamie Smith

Amazon Price: $14.93 List Price: $21.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: VeloPress Amazon Marketplace: 38 new & used starting at $12.74

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 20 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Great book! 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

This was a very funny read. I am a racer myself and loved the book. This book is even better for friends and family who do not fully understand what is means to be a racer. Very light read, easy to get through, funny, all around awesome book!

Now go buy it!

Editorial Review:

In the world of cycling, there are enthusiasts and then there are "roadies" — the cyclist whose passion for bike racing cannot be tamed. A confirmed roadie will go to any length to better his record — from shaving his legs to dropping a fortune on a bike — and the reactions to a roadie's determination can vary from disbelief to outright scorn. Jamie Smith is a confirmed roadie, and in this unique book, he sets out to explain the often-misunderstood world of roadies, delving into the groups many neuroses and lightheartedly illuminating just what it is that keeps these extreme cyclists coming back for more. Accompanied by amusing illustrations from a nationally syndicated cartoonist, this look into a bike racing subculture is sure to convert even the most hardened skeptics.