Customer Reviews

The Dancing Chain: History and Development of the Derailleur Bicycle (3d Ed. 2009)

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For over 30 years, since my freshman year at UCLA, I have been an avid recreational and utility cyclist and "gear-headed" bicycle collector, tinkerer, and restorer. Since I always enjoyed Frank Berto's technical articles and insights on the design and operation of bicycle transmissions, I eagerly awaited publication of "The Dancing Chain." I was not disappointed! This well-illustrated and well-researched tome is the only comprehensive reference I have ever seen on the history of bicycle transmissions. It is a great read for any bicycle fan with an interest in history or technological evolution. My only nit-picking gripe is that the organization of the chapters sometimes makes it a little difficult to follow the chronology of a specific product line or manufacturer, although the material is all in there. I share Berto's appreciation of SunTour's innovative slant planograph rear derailleur design, which has since been almost universally copied by the competition.

The Dancing Chain by Frank Berto dvanhook 06/18/01 01:48 pm EDT rating:

An invaluable reference document for vintage bicycle enthusiasts! It is well and thoroughly researched and fully illustrated with photographs and beautiful line drawings of bicycles and bicycle parts as they have developed over the past one hundred years. It also contains a many helpful and interesting graphs and charts. This beautiful book is as complete and authoritative as is possible, but is very readable even for those with no technical background. It is certain to become a collectors item and was published as a very limited edition.

I am very glad I purchased this book. This book involves much more about the history of bicycles than the title may lead you to believe.

Now in an updated and expanded second edition, The Dancing Chain is the in-depth story of the history and development of the Derailleur Bicycle. The Dancing Chain offers the culmination of 10 years of research - 5 poured into the first edition, and now another 5 into the second, and focuses especially upon the past 100 years. Black-and-white photographs and illustrations reveal how bicycles adapted to the challenges of traveling faster on level ground and climbing better uphill. The Dancing Chain does not shy from technical detail, yet remains informatively accessible to the lay reader making it a fascinating resource for leisure reading, as well as hard research for academia. Highly recommended for bicycle enthusiasts and historians alike.

If you love bicycles, this is a must have. Berto et al has done an outstanding job of presenting the evolution of the bicycle since the first idea of shifting gears. Great photos and illustrations. You won't be disappointed.

Frank Berto's 'The Dancing Chain' is a fascinating, exhaustively-researched look at the evolution of the bicycle. Starting with the high- wheeled bikes of Victorian times, the author shows how the development of the multi-geared drivetrain made the bicycle more versatile & practical for everyday use. Most interesting to me is that many modern "innovations" (indexed shifting, epicyclic hubs, auto-shifting)were actually in use nearly 100 years ago! Lavishly illustrated (including many line drawings by the famed Daniel Rebour), the book also covers how these changes affected the evolution of bicycle racing & touring. Highly reccomended!

Fantastic book, but only for readers already somewhat knowledgable on the topic; too technical for the casual reader. Otherwise, this is a fairly comprehensive and engrossing history of the topic written by a true authority in the field.

The best book on the history and development of the
bicycle in my lifetime that I have had the pleasure
to read; written by a guy who was pretty much in the
best place to watch it happen.

This book would be a real bargain at three times the
price. Thank you Mr. Berto, thank you very much.
Such books are rare in the time and place in which we
live.

I read the first edition of this book from cover to cover when I was 15. Instantly I was more learned in lore than any of the old-timers in my local bike club. I got fired from my first job as a bike mechanic because I was constantly correcting my boss about who invented what when. Since its humble beginnings, this book has become the de facto bible of bike history for those in-the-know.

Side effects of memorizing this authoritative work, for me, have included an immense love for Suntour components, an insatiable desire to collect old bike parts, and being hated by veteran cyclists for knowing more than them. I also find that after reading this book at such a young age, most of the information has stuck in my head even through the brainwashing of college. I still remark on the components of many bikes I see, much to my non-cycling girlfriend's chagrin. "The Dancing Chain" taught me to find the extraordinary in the ordinary, and has fundamentally changed the way I think about bikes. I recognize great bike parts among what most people consider "old junk" to the point where it is very cheap for me to build very good machines with parts that are now neglected by the average ignorant cyclist, but were ahead of their time

If nothing else, reading this book is a great lesson in bike history, and it will really teach you what to look for in a good derailleur or gear system. After reading "The Dancing Chain", you will distinguish yourself from the common ignorant cyclist who does not know a slant-parallelogram from a jockey pulley.

A great book. Thorough, well researched and well written account of everything to do with gearing. The truly surprising part of the book (for me, at least) was the part that dealt with developments up until about 1910. It just goes to show that there is nothing new under the sun. There were some astonishingly advanced designs.

Moving forwards, Berto shares my opinion of Suntour (the best-shifting derailleurs for quite a few years, until their patents ran out) and Shimano. There is quite a deal of humour in the book, and I found the sections dealing with French radonneur bicycles particularly enlightening. All in all, a great resource, and one that you will refer to over and over again. Thoroughly and warmly recommended.