Reddit reviews Zinn & the Art of Road Bike Maintenance

I think Zinn & The Art of Road Bike repair could be useful

Finally, something I can answer:

I have two books in my repertoire:

Bike Science 3rd Ed. - This breaks down the physics of what's happening. It goes in depth about materials, history, really everything bike related. It doesn't go into detail about makes and models though.

Zinn and the Art of Road Bike Maintenance - Where Bike Science is the why, Zinn gets down to brass tacks and gives you useful information on how to fix a bike (note that there is also a Zinn book for Mt. Bikes and triathlon bikes which I haven't read yet...). This is my go-to reference when something goes wrong with my bike.

BikeForums.net - So I don't know everything about anything but this is the place to do research. SRAM vs Ultegra? Trek vs Cannondale? Someone has already asked the question and it's on BikeForums somewhere. I trust people who've actually ridden/owned a bike I have a question about far more than some online review that was vetted by the manufacturer.

Hope it helps.

How about Zinn and the Art of Road Bike Maintenance?

Devour this

See if your bike shop has this.

or this.

The standard book that most will refer to is Zinn & the Art of Road Bicycle Maintenance.

As for terminology, AASHTA (as always Sheldon has the answer)

I have found Zinn's books good for beginners:

Mountain Bikes

Road Bikes

i personally love this book.

Zinn and the Art of Road Bike Maintenance and youtube were my best friends when I built up my road bike from a frameset and components (new and used).

I had to replace a rear derailleur one time and Lennard Zinn Art of Road Bike Maintenance was a major help. If you like a quick witty read check out the Bike Snob

According to Zinn About 70 N•m of torque.

You've gotten links to Sheldon Brown's website. His site is an incredible resource.

Past that, I like Zinn and the Art. He has some great illustrations that really see you through some situations.

Also useful is Park tools webpage. It is basically the BBB (Big Blue Book) in electronic form.
Don't be afraid to spend on tools - they are invaluable. Just use your mechanical intuition, and think things through before doing them.

The easiest would be to just go to a local bike shop, ask them what needs to be done, and have them do it.

It sounds like you are interested in getting your hands dirty and doing the work yourself. In that case, the usual advice would be to get to your nearest bike coop, take one of their bike maintenance classes or rent space in their shop and have someone help you out figuring out what you need to do and how to do it. But it looks like your closest bike coop might be in Sacramento, which is a bit of a hike. There is apparently a guy in Chico who is in the process of starting a bike coop, so you might want to try contacting him.

Beyond that, you can try striking out on your own. A few good resources for learning about bike maintenance are Sheldon Brown's website (ignore the crappy 90's style design, he has tons of good information on his site) and the Park Tool website (they have lots of good repair info, and they will sell you all of the tools you might need). If paper is more your thing, then good beginning books would include Zinn and the Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance, Zinn and the Art of Road Bike Maintenance, or the Park Tool book. And I know you've already been redirected to /r/bicycling from AskReddit, but for bike repair questions, /r/bikewrench might be more helpful (check out the sidebar here on /r/bicycling for links to FAQs and other relevant subreddits).

As far as not riding like a douchebag, if you ask 10 cyclists you'll probably get 11 different answers (and if you ask non-cyclists, you will probably get a lot of dangerous advice). There will be endless debates as to whether it's OK to run red lights, whether you should pass on the right or split lanes, whether bike lanes are a good thing or not, whether you should wear a helmet, etc. Some of the more universal tips: ride with lights at night. Don't ride on the sidewalk. Don't be a bike salmon (riding the wrong way in traffic). Be predictable. I find that BicycleSafe.com has some practical tips on safety without getting too much into the endlessly debatable points.

And finally, welcome to cycling! I hope you enjoy it; it can be a lot of fun, get you some exercise without even really trying, and is so much cheaper and less hassle to deal with than driving a car.

[boom]
(http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/1934030422/ref=sr_1_1_olp?ie=UTF8&qid=1346883908&sr=8-1&keywords=zinn+and+the+art+of+road+bike+maintenance&condition=used)

A friend of mine got Zinn and the Art of Road Bike Maintenance, and it's been more than adequate for everything repair and adjustment he's had to make.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1934030422/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=1884737994&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1KCTVATNCSPMYSXX8EJV

They have one for mountain bikes, too.

I bought an old 12 speed racing Peugeot 3 months ago and I am delighted with it.

Since I live on a steep hill and had not done any kind of exercise in years, I asked a LBS for a solution and they put a mountain freewheel on it. I changed the tires (got bigger tires, good quality) and brake pads, cables and housing myself (some googling and checking my new knowledge at the LBS did the trick).

In other words, I went for the second hand, vintage (but a good make) bike because I was not sure I would stick to biking. With the tires I have, my road bike can handle gravel but certainly not trails with rocks and the likes.

Maybe the friend you borrowed the bike from could help you with a second-hand purchase.

If money is not an issue, put the money into a decent cyclocross bike but go to a reliable shop and discuss your options with them.

Oh... and I bought this book, it has got everything on bike maintenance (it is no rocket science... what is hard is to figure out components compatibility when you want to upgrade an old bike. If you are just maintaining your bike, it is pretty basic).

Unless you live in a very hilly area, basic biking is not that hard: the bike carries your weight. Essentially, you have to keep in mind that you should strive to pedal at a regular cadence and use your gears astutely. Increasing the length of your rides is probably what you are aiming for, if you enjoy the touristy aspect of riding. If you are more into fitness/cardio, well... I don't know (pedal faster, probably).

The only problem I encountered is finding a good saddle (it seems my last purchase might do) and finding raingear that does not make you feel like you are sitting in a hot bath.

I find this very good also

http://www.amazon.com/Zinn-Art-Road-Bike-Maintenance/dp/1934030422/ref=la_B001JP36Q0_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1343795038&sr=1-2

is this the book you're talking about?
http://www.amazon.com/Zinn-Art-Road-Bike-Maintenance/dp/1934030422/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1332775060&sr=8-2

Thanks for the advice. I have Zinn as reference for essential tools.