Richard's 21st Century Bicycle Book.pdf

Bicycl e

Richard's

21st Century

'The best guide

to bikes and

cycling ever

published'

Book

Bike Events

RICHARD BALLANTINE

This book is dedicated to Samuel Joseph Melville, hero.

First published 1975 by Pan Books

This revised and updated edition first published 2000 by Pan Books

an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Ltd

25 Eccleston Place, London SW1W 9NF

Basingstoke and Oxford

Associated companies throughout the world

www.macmillan.com

ISBN 0 330 37717 5

The right of Richard Ballantine to be identified as the

author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance

with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or

transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical,

photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written

permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorized

act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal

prosecution and civil claims for damages.

1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from

the British Library. •

Printed and bound in Great Britain by

The Bath Press Ltd, Bath

This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall nor,

by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out,

or otherwise circulated without the publisher's prior consent

in any form of binding or cover other than that in which

it is published and without a similar condition including this

condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

Front cover: Carbon Windcheetah tricycle by Advanced Vehicle Design, Altrincham,

equipped with Mavic Mektronic electronic gears. Rider: Katharyn Ballantine;

clothes and accessories by kind courtsey of Condor Cycles, London.

Back cover: Windcheetah Carbon Cantilever bicycle by Mike Burrows.

CONTENTS

Introduction • vii

1. Get a Bike! • 1

2. What is a Bike? • 9

3. The Kinds of Cycles • 25

4. What is a Good Bicycle? • 41

5. Zzzwwaaaammo! • 93

6. Special Bikes and Trikes • 123

7. Some Advice on Selecting a Bike • 139

8. Buying a Bike • 145

9. Accessories • 165

10. Fitting and Gearing • 195

11. Riding Basics • 211

12. Traffic: Fast is Safe • 221

13. Urban Commuting • 243

14. Cargo Cycles and Trailers • 249

15. Mountain Biking! • 253

16. Country Roads and Trails • 267

17. Riding for Fitness • 295

18. Competition • 299

19. Veteran and Classic • 309

20. Working in Cycling • 311

21. Bike Care • 323

22. Done! • 357

Index • 360

Contents

INTRODUCTION

Dear Reader,

The 10-speed was often crude, but it showed

what was possible and thereby set in motion

a true and lasting renaissance of the bike. In a

common pattern, many owners upgraded to better

machines with quality frames and alloy compo-

nents. A new bike culture arose, flowering with

colourful new cycling magazines and books by the

score, and bike technology rapidly became more

advanced and sophisticated. By the start of the

1980s, new metals and materials suitable for mass

production of true lightweight bikes became avail-

able, and firms run by people for whom cycling

was a genuine and important life-style activity

began producing quality bikes at affordable prices.

And then, with the seminal advent of the moun-

tain hike, came an explosion of fresh designs and

energy that is still growing in magnitude.

We are now spoilt for choice, for the new

firmament glitters with bikes and components of

every description. In addition to lightweight road

and track racing bikes, there are mountain bikes

of every type, from dual-suspension downhill

screamers to cross-country racers and tourers; tidy.

well-equipped town and city bikes expressly made

for commuting; load-carrying bikes for grocery

shopping, running children to and from school,

and local deliveries; touring bikes ranging from

lightweight models for fast day rides to heavy-duty

models for extended trans-continental and world

expeditions; folding bikes and other specialized

designs for specific applications and situations;

and sleek recumbent machines with awesome

performance and unparalleled comfort and safety.

This book was first published in 1972, when adult

bikes were just of two kinds: roadsters with hub

gears, much the same as they had been since

the 1930s, and sport bikes with derailleur gears.

Although a few quality lightweight racing and

touring bikes were produced by specialist builders

and small firms, the majority of sport bikes in the

shops were mass-produced. Popularly known as a

' 10-speed', and typically built in a road racing pat-

tern with downswept handlebars, narrow saddle,

and high, closely-spaced gear ratios, this type of

machine formed the leading edge of a massive,

incandescent boom in bikes throughout the 1970s

that swelled to see, in one year alone, sales of

nearly 20 million bikes in Britain and America.

However, while the 10-speed may have looked

like a racing machine, the limitations of the steels

that could then be used in mass production meant

that low-price sport hikes had heavy frames. Basic

models had the further burden of steel rather than

alloy components. New owners out on Sunday

rides to celebrate the joys of cycling earned aching

muscles from trying to push heavy bikes with over-

size gears, and if they were luckless enough to be

on steel wheels in wet conditions, suffered from

heart convulsions caused by terrifyingly ineffective

brakes. After a few such experiences, many 'boom'

bikes were put aside and forgotten; they linger

still by the millions and millions in basements,

stairwells, sheds and garages, quietly gathering

dust and visited only by spiders.

Plik z chomika:

Inne pliki z tego folderu:

Inne foldery tego chomika: