Zinn Wisdom circa 2006

WHAT: Zinn & The Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance WHERE: Velopress.com HOW MUCH? $25

Long-time VeloNews writer Lennard Zinn has taken his comprehensive bicycle bible and brought it up to date for 2006. With over 400 pages of the most comprehensive amateur bicycle repair and maintenance tutorials in print, Zinn’s 4th edition addresses an inconceivable range of fixes, adjustments, installations and overhauls.

The book’s text is written in concise, colloquial language, and avoids the excessive techno-babble shorthand that makes manufacturer instructions so frustrating. Indeed, the book even develops a quirky Zinn-like sense of humor, taking a jocular tone as it warns against some of the more boneheaded pitfalls of bike work.

Though the book makes basic bike repair possible (if not fool-proof) for even the most novice wrench, the real meat of the book addresses some of the more sophisticated mechanical aspects of bicycle repair and it does so clearly and cogently.

The plenteous hand-drawn illustrations are explicit and accurate, but a little cartoony in sections—there are still several complicated procedures explained in the text where color or photography (or both) would feel like a gift. But the use of the black and white drawings serves the book surprisingly well, and keeps the price of such a behemoth volume in a reasonable range; after all, thrift is probably half the reason you’re repairing your own bike to begin with. And whether that bike is right off the showroom floor or fresh out of cold storage, chances are Zinn describes the neccessary maintenance at length.

The book addresses an impressive array of old and new products by manufacturer so you’re always looking at the proper procedures for your specific componentry. As all-knowing as this book may seem, don’t write off your local bike shop just yet—unless you’re willing to sink a few grand into all the required tools and equipment.