Customer Reviews

Mountain Bike!: A Manual of Beginning to Advanced Technique

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you're like me, listening to someone explain the proper way to do a wheelie hop or shift your weight during hill climbing, is about as exciting as watching old people eat, and about as gratifying. If you need something visual to clue you in, then check out Mr. Nealy's fine illustrations. Once you finish laughing your guts out, you'll realize that this guy really knows what he's talking about when it comes to biking. Studying this book can shave years off your learning curve. I absolutely HATE the fact that what I had to learn through 8 years of experimentation and pain, my buddies picked up in 3 months by pouring over this book on every trip to the john. Buy it. Read it. Use it. Then ride like a bat outta hell.

As a novice scrambling for info, I have found Nealy's book to be extremely useful. Though initially put off by the cartoons (sensitive novice ego at work), after a few minutes with the book I was pleased to find it full of information. The illustrations actually illustrated the author's points quite well, in addition to their humorous value. I enjoyed reading it and am industriously trying to turn the information gained into actual skills.

Loved the book. From the 1st time I picked it up I learned skills that I could master within a very short time. Now - one season later, I'm discovering that by rereading the same information, I am refining my skills and learning even more. A great book for everyone. I dare not put it down or my partner, a much more advanced rider than I , picks up the book and is lost in it. As a female rider just past 50, it's great to find a book that is geared to all ages and genders and will help me improve. This book's focus is on success, not failure - a great attitude. Everyone will learn something from it. Thank you William Nealy!

This is NOT a coffee table book, as someone unscrupulous suggested below. This is bone-crunching heart-stopping mind-blowing Mountain Biking we are discussing and besides an increased heart rate, this has nothing to do with coffee.

I am not going to jump on a "This is the best mountain bike reference ever published for all skill levels" bandwagon, even though I am selling a copy. Hey, got to be honest... I picked up this book after my somewhat reckless $1,500 investment into a full-suspension Trek rig having virtually no mountain biking experience whatsoever. Being a sucker for details (comes naturally - I am a network engineer) I wanted to learn my new hobby in a methodical and structured way. My desire to learn on other people's mistakes was further strengthened by my first visit to Rockville mountain bike park in North Bay. This ride has positively kicked my butt humbling and scaring me witless into buying some sort of "Mountain Biking for Morons" equivalent. This is how I came across William Nealy and his weird little manual. Alas, I end my digression and give you the skinny.

The manual is easy to read; it's offbeat and slightly wacky just like the sport itself is. An occasional use of well-hidden expletives reinforces presented concepts and also prepares one for what's inevitable - pain. The comic book style is original and pictures are fun to look at even if you don't plan to join NORBA (e.g. my wife). Concepts are well organized and presented in an easy-to-digest fashion. Reading it for the first time, many notions completely escaped me thus I recommend to re-read the book a few times, while riding, riding, riding at the same time. I appreciated an abundance of mountain bike-specific jargon and some of my advanced amateur freerider friends were intrigued by Nealy's explanation of various advanced moves, which come to them naturally but are so hard to explain.

In conclusion, I give this book 4 sprockets (out of 5). Hey, if this was a 5, I would already be sponsored by Fox Racing or Marzocchi. But seriously, I believe this was a worthwhile purchase. I don't know if this is the greatest mountain biking manual ever written, but it was certainly the most helpful one to me. Of course, all the advice of this manual would have been worthless if I have not been following the reading with an actual riding. I am nowhere near a professional, but I sure can pedal with the rest of them, and this book has helped a lot. Thanks, William!

This book was given to me as a gift after I had been riding about a year. I read it from cover to cover with great interest. It has helped me improve my riding skills greatly. I can now ride over logs, do the bunny hop, climb rock steps, and ride stuff that I would have walked a year ago. Now I am re-reading it again and ordering some copies for friends who will also benefit from it. Try it as a gift for a beginner or intermediate rider.

This is a well written, illustrated, and entertaining book on mountain biking skills, but it suffers from being quite outdated. Anyone who is more interested in contemporary mountain biking than ancient history would be better served with a more up to date tome that includes techniques more applicable to today's modern mountain bike technology. For example, toe clip pedals are not the cutting edge! Check out the Ned Overend book, Mountain Bike Like a Champion. There is also a video, Performance Mountain Biking that may be of interest.

If you only have one book in your personal mtn bike library, this is the one. Funny! Interesting! Great illustrations! Originally purchased back in the old school days of the sport and is still the number one to have, mine is on the coffee table...and another copy in the office...

I began mountain biking in January 2000, learning whatever I could from watching the other bikers (and in this sport, there's no time for others to stop and explain!) Don't want to go through the "University of Hard Knocks" to learn more of the sport? Here's the solution!

Whether if you are a new mountain biker or an experienced downhill maniac, this book will teach you the basics and perfect your technique. It provides great details on everything a mountain biker should know about arm & leg technique, taking falls, pedaling tricks, trail use and care, emergency repairs, survival techniques, mountain biking "etiquette", no-no's and even what's fashionable and what's not on the sport.

I would've rated this book 5 stars, had Nealy provided more help on mud trail mastering techniques, making clipless pedals easy and maybe a couple of dog-dodging and cow/bull evading techniques. (Mud, rocks, dirt, grass, rivers, dogs and even bulls are common on a same trail, in a country like mine - Costa Rica) Perhaps we'll see it in a second edition?

The bottom line: This book in its easy-to-understand and funny cartoon format is a must for anybody and everybody who loves mountain biking! So what are you waiting for? Another spectacular crash? Hit that "Add to Shopping Cart" button now!

Whether you are an experienced mountain biker, a beginner, or just someone interested in the sport, if you only buy one book - this is it. It's very informative and funny. The information helped me quite a bit years ago when I was a beginner...now I just reread it every year or so for the entertainment.

I have been mountain biking for only a couple of months now and I have to say that this book has saved me from a couple of close call wipe-outs. It teaches techniques to keep from "face planting" yourself as well as basic techniques ( with illustrations) to keep your ride enjoyable.

Good job