Customer Reviews

Park Tool BBB-2 The Big Blue Book of Bicycle Repair - 2nd Edition

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This new Park Tool Big Blue Book of Repair - 2nd Edition (also known as BBB-2 to differentiate it from the first edition) is a superb improvement over the original edition, Big Blue Book of Bicycle Repair, which was considered by many to be THE "must-have" reference for bicycle repair by many enthusiasts, cyclists and bike shop owners.

This is a good, solid repair manual for almost any bike, be it the single-speed classic cruiser, mountain bike, BMX or road bike. At 246 pages, this new edition has hundreds of photos that will prove to be quite helpful when doing bike maintenance. Like the previous edition, it was written by Calvin Jones, whose years of experience as the Park Tool Director of Education shows.

There is a definite emphasis on tool selection (don't forget that it comes from Park Tool), but such topics as general bike upkeep, emergency repairs, on-the-road fixes and even bike cleaning tips are well covered. There's a thorough table of contents that will appeal to novice, experienced enthusiast and shop mechanic alike.

The various sections cover a wide range of topics. For example, the chapter on pedals covers everything from removal and installation to bearing service to servicing Shimano pedals. There are plenty of helpful photos in each chapter to help illustrate the repair topics. The four appendices in the back of this edition cover such topics as a tool list, glossary, the recommended torque for bike components and a bike map.

The Big Blue Book of Bicycle Repair is used as the official student textbook in a unique program for learning bicycle maintenance and repair known as the Park Tool School. Check with your local bicycle dealer to see if one of these hands-on programs is coming to your area. If so, getting this new edition will give you a jump on the curriculum covered.

Another excellent manual worth considering is The Bicycling Guide to Complete Bicycle Maintenance and Repair: For Road and Mountain Bikes, a more basic, well-written reference that is also excellent for teaching youngsters how to perform their own bike repairs.

Even if you just want to get BBB-2 as your sole bike repair manual, it's a great 5-star reference. Highly recommended.

Regular maintenance is a must for anybody who regularly rides a bicycle. There are two ways to maintain your bike; either pay somebody else to do it, or do it yourself. Having spent a great deal of money over the years paying bike shops to do tune ups and replace components, and having also had these very same professionals (at multiple shops) completely botch relatively simple operations, I have come to prefer the latter. To this end, a good bicycle repair manual is mandatory.

Based on the positive recommendations of several discussion boards and previous reviewers, I bought this particular manual. It offers a thorough set of instructions by a preeminent mechanic covering virtually every repair and maintenance operation you can expect to perform on your bicycle. Each major component of the bicycle has a chapter devoted to it. Illustrations are copious and in color, with clear notations throughout. It is actually a real treat to thumb through the chapters and soak up the knowledge contained therein, and though I am no expert, my impression is that the author has effectively transmitted his massive expertise into the written medium.

I have a few other bike repair manuals including fine editions from Zinn and Langley. I find the Park Repair Book superior in that it offers more logical steps and better illustrations. Seems to work for me. One improvement would be a larger format with a spiral binding that would lay flat... maybe the 3rd edition. That said, if you need one bike repair book, get this one.

FWIW... On several occasions in the past I have contacted Park Tool and found their service to be exceptional. Their tools cost a little more but are well designed and built to last.

I've done minor adjustments and repairs on my bike for years, and got this book to "up my game" and avoid some trips to the shop. After using it for 6 months or so, I've found this book is only marginally useful. There aren't enough illustrations and photographs, and the text is often confusing, especially if you aren't a bike mechanic and aren't familiar with the lingo. In general the videos on the Park Tools website are much easier to follow and understand than this book. They should have included them on a DVD.

I'm training for two, back-to-back centuries and found that with the amount of weekly riding I'm doing I needed to learn how to maintain my bike myself. When the book first arrived the maintenance process seemed so daunting, but once I started following the instructions and actually worked on the bike, I found that The Big Blue Book of Repair holds your hand through the entire process and makes it easy.

The book has detailed instructions that verbally walk you through the process step-by-step. It even repeats the process for other component groups. The supporting pictures are excellent and help to clarify, rather than confuse (as I've found in other tutorials). The Big Blue Book of Repair made the whole experience go from scary to fun.

It was extremely satisfying to hop on my bike knowing I had successfully made the adjustments it needed. Now I want to order a solid tool set and repair stand to pair with this book. I can't believe I'm actually excited to maintain my bikes.

This updated version of Park Tools bicycle repair book is an improvement over the prior edtion. The book with photos provides an excellent over view of the many components on a bicycle--such as the various types of brakes a bicycle can be equipped with. While a bicycle owner with a basic coaster brake bicycle will be disappointed since this type of bicycle is not covered (no info on basic bottom bracket and crank servicing such as on old Schwinns or Bendix coaster brake servicing), the book covers more modern bicycle components. The photos are good, as are the descriptions.

While not every bicycle owner may desire to repair their own bicycle, this is a useful book to inform any bicycle owner. Besides it certainly is nice to learn about your bicycle should you need to make an emergency repair. Even eventually learing to service your own bicycle can save $$$ when you see how easy it is to service some components.

Of course with modern bicycle features special tools are sometimes required and not every cyclist desires to purchase such tools. To that extent this book does identify the Park tools necessary and it is somewhat of a sales tool for Park--that is why I gave the book 4 stars not 5.

Still with this book, I have read other bicycle repair books (Glenn's New Complete Bicycle Manual, Haynes Bicycle Book Revised, Cuthbertson's All-In-One Bike Repair Manual) to compare notes and confirm information about the repair I am undertaking or having a bicycle shop repair. The other books available, used or new, are better, if not equal to this book.

I've been repairing my own bicycles for years, but I recently upgraded my bike. The new bike came with the latest brakes chain, sprocket, derailers and well I figured I should upgrade my knowledge of repairing to match. To that effect, this book is great. As in for a person who is handy with tools, knows something about bicycle repair already, this book is just what you need. It's concise, clear photos, and diagrams will get your bike in top shape. However, if you have never done any repair work, I wouldn't start with this book. It is good that with the photos and instructions you can tell pretty well what is the level of skill needed to do the repair, but if this had been my first book it would have been not quite enough information. I rate it akin to those cookbooks which do tell you everything you need to know but do it in a language that experienced chefs understand, and thus beginners are lost.

For a beginner I'd recommend Anybody's Bike Book: A Comprehensive Manual of Bike Repairs and the Park Blue book. Or Glenn's Complete Bicycle Manual and this book.

For a well versed bicycle mechanic go for it. It's as good as Park Tools are, which is excellent.

I received this book during a Park Tools introduction to bicycle maintenance class at my local REI. I have found it to be quite the useful tool when trying to determine how to go about fixing my bike or performing maintenance tasks. The color pictures are detailed enough to be helpful, and the explanation of each picture also helps you figure out what you are looking at. This book definitely sets itself apart from the other bike maintenance books available with its detailed level of instruction, the coverage afforded to each of the different types of derailleurs, brakes, shift levers etc., as well as the excellent pictures. The only negative, and obviously it is not too negative as I gave the book 5 stars, is that since the book is from Park Tools it will of course only suggest using the Park version of a tool or stand even if something cheaper or better may exist. This is definitely something I would recommend to anyone setting up their home workshop or who needs some detailed instructions on bicycle maintenance from the most basic of flat repairs to rebuilding the headset.

I've found this book to have all the illustrations I need to properly maintain my bike. The book most frequently recommended on this site, The Bicycling Guide to Complete Bicycle Maintenance and Repair: For Road and Mountain Bikes(Expanded and Revised 5th Edition) I've found to be great on theory but horrible for practical applications.

This book, the Big Blue Book, on the other hand has tons of practical applications. I feel its the perfect book for people who want to spend more time fixing their bikes and less time discussing what angle a fork or seatpost should be at.

One picture that stands out is taking apart the rear hub, how many different types of fittings you can expect to find. It's very straight forward and something a beginner mechanic definitely needs, and a good reference for anyone of any skill.

I've used the 1974 2nd edition of the classic book - The Complete Book of Bicycling (4th Edition) to repair my bikes, but technology has changed. So I picked up the Big Blue Book in the bike shop. I've repaired my own bikes for over 40 years, mainly by trial and error. So when I was greasing the ball bearings in my back wheel and missed putting one of them back I thought it was time to see how to do it properly. The Big Blue Book had the answer - use a magnetized needle (I'm going to magnetize our meat skewer) to move the ball bearings back into place - I had actually used a magnetized screwdriver - the trouble being that the screwdriver would pull out an adjacent ball bearing when I was trying to push another one in. So this book had an immediate solution.

It's full of useful hints like the ball bearing trick, all beautifully illustrated with colored drawings. Detailed steps tell you how to carry out maintenance tasks, and when to take your bike to a shop for more difficult jobs.

Since the book is sponsored by Park Tool, and I already had a few of their tools, it tells you which of their tools to use. Now some of the tools are really specialized for bikes - like the third hand tool to grip a cable. Other tools you may not need to buy if you have a good quiver of hex wrenches.

The book starts by telling you how to get started in bike repair, get a good bike stand and organize hang up your tools on pegboard. It then gives a maintenance schedule for your bike - I'm a little surprised it recommends checking for chain stretch every 100 miles - some must pedal their bikes much harder than I do! It goes on to describe basics like how to mend a flat tire, but then gets into wheel and hub maintenance. Crankset removal is quite tricky unless you have the right tools and it is here where the book shines as it tells you exactly what you need to install or maintain cranks. The book continues with maintenance procedures for gears, brakes, handlebars and headsets.

I like the way the book uses tables to describe the tools required for parts from different manufacturers. At the end of the book is a table with the names of Park Tools that are available by generic tool category. There's also a comprehensive glossary of biking terms. If you have a torque wrench there's a table that explains how much torque is required for certain bike fixtures.

Whether you are just starting to maintain a bike or are an old pro who needs some up-to-date advice, this is a most useful book.