The Chainbreaker Bike Book: A Rough Guide to Bicycle Maintenance [Paperback]

Shelly Lynn Jackson (Author), Ethan Clark (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 21, 2007

Here's a hand-illustrated and accesible introduction to the world of bike repair. Through working at both Plan B Bike Project and French Quarter Bicycles in New Orleans, our co-authors have gathered a wealth of experience to share with would-be mechanics. The first half of this book is a complete repair manual to get you started on choosing, fixing, and riding your bike. The second half reprints all four issues of Chainbreaker zine, whose originals were destroyed in Hurricane Katrina.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Shelley is enthusiastic about all aspects of bike culture. Her writing is packed with personal stories, advice, and historical information on bikes. A great read for anyone who is into bikes or wants to learn more about today's DIY bike culture." --Sean Stewart, NEWPAGES, THOUGHTWORM ZINE

“Shelley and Ethan obviously put a great deal of time and energy into not only riding and thinking about bicycles, but also examining their relationship to them. With warmth, charm, and knowledge to spare, Chainbreaker gives the joy of bicycle maintenance back to who it belongs: The People. One of the most inspiring, dedicated projects in the world of independent publishing.” -Golnar Nikpour, MAXIMUMROCKNROLL

“Shelley is enthusiastic about all aspects of bike culture. Her writing is packed with personal stories, advice, and historical information on bikes. A great read for anyone who is into bikes or wants to learn more about today’s DIY bike culture.” -Sean Stuart, NEWPAGES, THOUGHTWORM ZINE

About the Author

Shelly Lynn Jackson is a bike mechanic and the author of the zine Chainbreaker. Ethan Clark is the author of Leaning with Intent to Fall. They both live in New Orleans.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Microcosm Publishing; Second edition edition (November 21, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0977055736
• ISBN-13: 978-0977055739
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 7.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #358,088 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #46 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Individual Sports > Cycling > Bike Repair

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Repair Book I've Ever Read, September 21, 2008

By 

Michael Reid - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Chainbreaker Bike Book: A Rough Guide to Bicycle Maintenance (Paperback)

I've read a handful of bike repair manuals, but they all seem to assume that you are mechanically-inclined and that you have a very sweet mountain or road bike. For those of us with somewhat less impressive bikes and who have a singular inability to re-assemble anything, this book is a godsend. The book is informative, truly informative, for just those kinds of readers. Where some books' explanation leave me scratching my head, this book was full of "aha!" moments. Finally, I think I actually have a bit of an understanding of how my bike works.

And, on top of that, it's a fun read as well! The previous reviewer compared it to Pirsig's "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance," which is exactly the comparison on my mind as I read the book. I enjoyed reading this book, which makes it different from other repair books I've read (bike, car, and home stuff). Jackson and Clark have placed a bit of their souls into this book, breathing life into what could have been "just another step-by-step guide."

This book is for people who have a bike they need to maintain, but up to this point in their life they haven't had a clue as to how.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Bike Repair Book For The Rest Of Us, July 24, 2008

By 

S. SARINANA-LAMPSON (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Chainbreaker Bike Book: A Rough Guide to Bicycle Maintenance (Paperback)

It's not often that a guy with a daily schedule like mine drops everything to write a book review. But this simple little book on bike repair was one of those wonderful finds we come across every so often. Jackson & Clark have put together more than just a basic nuts and bolts tome of fixing a simple bike, they've infused their book with a way of being with a bicycle. Of having a bike as a peaceful and calming element in one's life. It's a wonderful cross between Robert M. Pirsig's "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" and John Muir's "How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive".

Written for real folks in a personal, almost conversation way, the book has a series of fun and ecclectic hand drawn illustrations which provide a great visual reference of basic bicycle parts. The simple drawings show parts very clearly labeled and easy to understand. Upon reading through the various maintenance and repair procedures presented, numerous times I found myself thinking "Oh yeah, ok...".

An added feature is a section of the book which reprints original "Chainbreaker" pages - a bicycle 'zine once laid out and produced by hand by the authors prior to the writing of this book.

This is not a book for 20+ mile daily roadracers and their carbon fiber, stealth-like machines. But then again, it does not try to be. Rather it is a great read for any weekend biking enthusiast or a first time bicycle owner. It's a great little handy book to have and worth every dime for it's insightful way of looking at the simple elegance of a bicycle.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars it's alright, February 27, 2010

By 

N. Brinkman "brinkman" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Chainbreaker Bike Book: A Rough Guide to Bicycle Maintenance (Paperback)

this book is pretty decent, but it's a little too biased to the authors views. the illustrations are cool and there is some good info on maintenance, but half the book is from the authors old zine, which may be a selling point for some, but not for me. most of all though, the authors only mention track or fixed bikes a few times, and each time they rip on them or the riders of them. i can understand that it has gone the way of the hipster lately, but come on, there is a whole other side to real track cycling, and it could have deserved some attention; especially for someone like me, who rides only track bikes. keep the biased opinions to your zine, not your tech book. i noticed most of the drawings however were single speed bikes, most likely because they're easier to draw.