Review; Zinn & The Art of Road Bike Maintenance

So the good folks at VeloPress sent me the newest edition of Zinn and Art of Road Bike Maintenance. I am fortunate (or not?) to have simple road bikes. They are manual, not electronic shifting with mostly external cabling. My ability to maintain my own bikes have progressed from changing a tire to being able to set up my gearing. I have changed stems, bars and posts without issues. I haven’t quite gotten to a crankset change but I am sure my time will come! The only way to really learn these things is to dig in, some lessons that I have learned;

• Be prepared for things to take 50% longer than you need
• Make sure you have the right tools for the job in hand
• Be patient
• Saturday night may not be the best time to try something new or complex if your LBS is shut on Sunday!

So with that said on with the review, from the publishers;

Lennard Zinn, the world's leading expert on bicycle maintenance and repair, has released the new fifth edition of his best-selling guide Zinn & the Art of Road Bike Maintenance. Offering simple step-by-step instructions to vintage components as well as the newest shifting, braking, cyclocross, forks, and bottom bracket systems, Zinn's fifth edition is the most complete resource for DIY bike service. Zinn & the Art of Road Bike Maintenance is the world's best-selling guide to bicycle repair and maintenance. From basic repairs like how to fix a flat tire to advanced overhauls of drivetrains and brakes, Lennard Zinn's clearly illustrated guide makes every bicycle repair and maintenance job easy for everyone.

Zinn's friendly step-by-step guide explains the tools you'll need and how to know you've done the job right. The book's two-color interior is easy to read-even in a dimly-lit garage or workshop. Hundreds of hand-drawn illustrations and exploded parts diagrams show just the right level of detail to lead you through every bicycle repair task. What's New in Zinn & the Art of Road Bike Maintenance, 5th Ed.:

• New tech covered in depth: through-axle forks,  SRAM eTap wireless shifting, second generation Shimano and Campagnolo electronic shifting, direct-mount sidepull brakes, SRAM X-Sync 1x11 cyclocross systems, tubular tire gluing tapes.
• New chapter on electronic shifting covers maintenance, service, repair, and troubleshooting of all Shimano, SRAM, and
  Campagnolo electronic shifting groups.
• New chapter on disc brakes covers maintenance, service, and repair of all hydraulic and mechanical systems.
• New troubleshooting charts
• New master guide to press-fit bottom brackets

Also covered in the 5th edition: All derailleur shifting systems (5-speed through 11-speed); all bottom bracket systems (cone-and-cup through press-fit); all brake systems (including caliper, V-brake, cantilever, and disc); all headset, stem, handlebar and fork systems; wheelbuilding for all bikes including cyclocross and disc-brake wheels; special sections on cyclocross throughout including troubleshooting, maintenance, service, repair, and equipment selection; updated and expanded torque tables; complete illustration index and complete subject index.

Lennard Zinn is the world's leading expert on bike maintenance and repair. He is a world-renowned bicycle technician, frame builder, and tech writer for VELO magazine and VeloNews.com. Zinn was a member of the U.S. national racing team and has been riding and fixing bikes for nearly 50 years. A professional frame builder for his business Zinn Cycles, Lennard hosts the popular bike tech Q&A column on VeloNews.com.

As with anything the proof is in the pudding. My recent crash at Strada Rosso prompted me to sit down and actually figure out how to dial in my SRAM chainset. SRAM was new to me as all my bikes have Shimano but while the pieces are in different places the principles were the same. I pulled the book off the shelf sat down and read it. Then with the book in hand I approached the bike. 20 minutes I was set, Rear Derailleur mastered. My only reference point was the book! Mission accomplished!

The book is broken down into 17 key areas these range from emergency Repairs to specific areas of the bike i.e. Forks or Pedals. Within each section there are sub sections which relate to the specific items in hand, in my case above I started with Section 5 cable actuated Shifting Systems then 5.3 Adjustment of Rear Derailleur and Right Hand Shifting…slow down and read the manual! Seriously easy! Each Chapter lists the tools I need and each major task has a Complexity level. This way you won’t find yourself in the deep end with no tools and an anvil tied around your ankle! There are plenty of hand drawn illustrations and a picture is always worth a 1000 words, many of which have exploded views. Personally I find these easy to understand than photographs which can be confusing.

Available everywhere, the MSRP is $26.95 I am sure this will drop in a few months.

This is definitely a book you need to have on your bookshelf and for the price of a couple of inner-tubes you can!

This Product was provided by VeloPress. See previous gear reviews in the Reviews tab above. If you have a product you’d like reviewed, contact me at quadrathon@gmail.com