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Zinn & the Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance

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In this book, Lennard Zinn explains and demonstrates how to completely and properly maintain every component of a mountain bike, including chains, derailleurs, shifters, wheels, brakes, cranks, bottom brackets, pedals, saddles, seatposts, suspension systems, handlebars, stems, headsets, forks, and frames. He describes and rates every repair and counsels the novice bike mechanic how to decide whether or not to take the bike to a bike shop for professional attention. Extensive line drawings show how parts fit together and illustrate the tools required for every type of bike. Also explained are emergency on-trail repair tricks.

304 pages, Paperback

Published September 27, 2001

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Lennard Zinn

8 books5 followers

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5 stars
252 (47%)
4 stars
187 (34%)
3 stars
83 (15%)
2 stars
12 (2%)
1 star
2 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
Profile Image for Uriah.
29 reviews1 follower
July 20, 2017
if you have a mountain bike, you absolutely need this book.
Profile Image for Tonya Hardin.
99 reviews
June 20, 2018
Very helpful but lots of reading. Less images to follow. But not so hard to follow along.
Profile Image for Tom C..
173 reviews5 followers
March 25, 2019
The best there is for garage maintenance. Too bad there arent shop manuals from the manufacturers, but this does the trick in lieu of.
Profile Image for Błażej.
154 reviews2 followers
December 17, 2022
No teraz już nie będę płacił za pracę, która nie została wykonana a ja nawet o tym nie wiem. Bo sam to zrobię.
Profile Image for Jamie.
778 reviews6 followers
June 2, 2016
Detailed and helpful for hybrid bikes as well as mountain bikes. I have two main problems with getting bike repair info from the Internet. One, it's like drinking from a fire hose; too much at once. Two, half the time I don't even know what I need to look up. A book like this is extremely helpful for me because it is organized (unlike a Google search) and has a helpful sequencing of tasks, which are ranked from one wrench to three wrenches. And that also corresponds to the tool kit given in the beginning--some tasks are Level 3 not so much because of difficulty as because they require an expensive, unitasking tool.

My first day with the book, I discovered that my tires were underinflated and my brakes were crooked. My second day, I fixed a nagging gear-slippage problem. I looked through the whole book to get a sense of what's in it (that was the author's advice) and plan to, as time permits, familiar myself with one bike system every week or so and maybe do basic maintenance on it.
Profile Image for Dan Martinez.
13 reviews
April 24, 2008
With this book in hand I went, in the space of a summer, from being someone who barely knew how to fix a flat to being someone who stripped his bike down to the frame and replaced every last component for the sheer fun of it.

It's written with deep love and knowledge of the subject, accompanied by hundreds of simple, clear illustrations.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. If you have a mountain bike, and want it to be something other than a black box that you pay the folks down at the shop to maintain, buy yourself a copy.
Profile Image for Paul  Perry.
418 reviews211 followers
May 3, 2011
My bible of bike repair and maintenance. Zinn not only knows everything about bikes, he explains what to do in a wonderfully clear, concise manner, easy to read and understand and sprinkled with a little humour. The book covers everything from basic maintenance, through emergency repairs to stuff that almost everyone will take the bike to the repair shop for. Add to this an excellent set of appendices, troubleshooting tips and a superb index, and this book should be on the shelf of any mountain bike owner.
Profile Image for Keith.
994 reviews63 followers
August 5, 2023
Bought and read the same day. The first few chapters were fascinating. Especially Chapter 3 "Emergency repairs: How to get home when something big breaks or you get hurt." That chapter made the book, and I had to read the rest of it right away.

In truth, I skim read much of the rest of the book. I really don't need to read right now details such as how to repair all the different kinds of front shocks that have been made. Again, the chapter on emergency repairs really made the book.
Profile Image for Mark.
Author 14 books30 followers
July 29, 2011
Probably the more-referenced of the two bike repair books on my shelf. Tells you just what you need to do, why, and when to do it. If I had to pick on over the other it would be this one. Being someone who bikes every day (and has dropped sixty pounds over the past two years to prove it) this is indispensable, since whatever can go wrong with your bike probably WILL go wrong, if you're not watching...
Profile Image for David.
33 reviews
June 8, 2010
I had eyed this book for a while since we have copies of it sitting in the shop that i work at. To say the least, this was informative to even myself, a seasoned bicycle mechanic who has worked in a shop for over a year and has worked on bikes my entire lifetime. The knowledge is down to earth and available, and there is not one page that goes to waste.
Profile Image for Matthew.
14 reviews1 follower
November 30, 2010
I really just wanted to know how to properly adjust a front derailluer, but it's great to learn the "right" way to do basic bike maintenance. Plus it's got me covered for any future upgrades/repairs. Nicely illustrated and comfortably written.
Profile Image for Danette.
133 reviews
May 1, 2012
On its own the walk through of any repair is easy to understand. Pair this book with any video you find on YouTube and you are able to fix anything that could possibly go wrong on the bike! I now know more than my husband! LOL
Profile Image for Laurel.
67 reviews13 followers
Read
October 1, 2007
I will be quite effing pleased if and when I manage to fix my bicycle.
13 reviews20 followers
Want to Read
September 4, 2007
Steve, the most avid biker of the FioLab group, recommended this book to me. I'll read it when I get back from Australia.
8 reviews1 follower
August 1, 2008
great MTB reference book. The dvd that came with it is good too, but they could have improved the quality of filming
Profile Image for Chris.
10 reviews2 followers
December 10, 2008
This is an invaluable resource for anyone that wants to get more involved with taking care of his/her bike.

Mine has my greasy fingerprints all over it!
2 reviews1 follower
Currently Reading
August 12, 2010
Super comprehensible guide for people who don't want some asshole at a bike shop to rip them off when doing repairs. Very entertaining and informative.
32 reviews6 followers
April 6, 2012
This is an indespensible book for those inclined to do their own bicycle maintenance. If you ride a bike at all, you need this book!
Profile Image for Melissa.
21 reviews1 follower
May 4, 2012
This is the best book for Mountain Bike maintenance. An excellent reference.
Profile Image for Stew.
215 reviews52 followers
June 21, 2012
In my opinion, this is one of the best bike maintenance manuals available. It is simple enough for the average Joe but is thorough and complete. Very good stuff.
12 reviews1 follower
July 9, 2013
Great info, as a bike self maintenance beginner I learned a ton from this book. If you are a beginner like me, start here with this guide.
31 reviews43 followers
October 7, 2013
EXTREMELY HELPFUL I highly recomend it to anyone who owns a mountain bike. It's saved mine on many occassions.
3 reviews
May 30, 2020
Even in the age of YouTube tutorials, this book is still a great go-to guide for the home bike mechanic.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews