Barnett's manual opinions wanted.

[RonSonic]

Christmas is coming up and I can't afford the cross bike of my dreams, so I'm
thinking I deserve the Barnett's manual. The sample chapters on the web look
good. In fact, their organization and clarity looks like something technical
writers should aspire to, but....

I am ignorant in many phases of bike repair and can't gauge factuality or
thoroughness. So just how accurate, sensible and complete is this thing? It's a
fair bit of change for a hobbyist mechanic, but should be good for the rest of a
life considering my avoidance of cutting edge technology.

Thoughts and comments please.

Happy owners?
Ungruntled workers?

What think ye?

Ron

 

[vegaz]

In article <[email protected]>,
RonSonic <[email protected]> wrote:

> I am ignorant in many phases of bike repair and can't gauge factuality or
> thoroughness. So just how accurate, sensible and complete is this thing? It's

Good stuff, actually. Sometimes even TOO MUCH detailed. If you're
relatively new to bike repair, consider the manuals written by Lennard
Zinn. A little bit easier but by no means incomplete.
Just my 2c

 

[[email protected]]

Barnett's manual for 2004 was posted to alt.binaries.e-book.technical
about a month ago. If you check your newsserver you might still find
it there...

 

[RonSonic]

On Mon, 05 Dec 2005 23:41:07 +0100, vegaz <[email protected]> wrote:

>In article <[email protected]>,
> RonSonic <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> I am ignorant in many phases of bike repair and can't gauge factuality or
>> thoroughness. So just how accurate, sensible and complete is this thing? It's
>
>Good stuff, actually. Sometimes even TOO MUCH detailed. If you're
>relatively new to bike repair, consider the manuals written by Lennard
>Zinn. A little bit easier but by no means incomplete.
>Just my 2c

Thanks, I've read his books and they are good, and I'd recommend them for any
beginner. I'm more skilled than that and am looking to take on bigger problems.

Ron

 

[Vee]

RonSonic wrote:
> On Mon, 05 Dec 2005 23:41:07 +0100, vegaz <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >In article <[email protected]>,
> > RonSonic <[email protected]> wrote:
> >
> >> I am ignorant in many phases of bike repair and can't gauge factuality or
> >> thoroughness. So just how accurate, sensible and complete is this thing? It's
> >
> >Good stuff, actually. Sometimes even TOO MUCH detailed. If you're
> >relatively new to bike repair, consider the manuals written by Lennard
> >Zinn. A little bit easier but by no means incomplete.
> >Just my 2c
>
> Thanks, I've read his books and they are good, and I'd recommend them for any
> beginner. I'm more skilled than that and am looking to take on bigger problems.
>
> Ron

I'm curious as to what kinds of problems you're thinking about. The
Barnett's Manual is useful to bike shops because it covers suspension
fork and boutique hub overhaul, and because it provides specifications
for things nobody can remember (headset and bb dimensions, bearing
pitch, gear inch charts, etc.)

In a personal library, I think much of the content would be
dispensable. It does make for interesting reading when you're in the
mood, though... I guess I wouldn't buy the manual for my own personal
use, but I wouldn't complain if somebody gave it to me, either.

-Vee

 

[RonSonic]

On 5 Dec 2005 19:54:39 -0800, "Vee" <[email protected]> wrote:

>RonSonic wrote:
>> On Mon, 05 Dec 2005 23:41:07 +0100, vegaz <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>> >In article <[email protected]>,
>> > RonSonic <[email protected]> wrote:
>> >
>> >> I am ignorant in many phases of bike repair and can't gauge factuality or
>> >> thoroughness. So just how accurate, sensible and complete is this thing? It's
>> >
>> >Good stuff, actually. Sometimes even TOO MUCH detailed. If you're
>> >relatively new to bike repair, consider the manuals written by Lennard
>> >Zinn. A little bit easier but by no means incomplete.
>> >Just my 2c
>>
>> Thanks, I've read his books and they are good, and I'd recommend them for any
>> beginner. I'm more skilled than that and am looking to take on bigger problems.
>>
>> Ron
>
>I'm curious as to what kinds of problems you're thinking about. The
>Barnett's Manual is useful to bike shops because it covers suspension
>fork and boutique hub overhaul, and because it provides specifications
>for things nobody can remember (headset and bb dimensions, bearing
>pitch, gear inch charts, etc.)

Suspension forks are very much on the list. Also, Barnett's covers how to's in a
depth that Zinn and nobody else has. There are a lot of sections I'm sure to
read only once, but I'll learn and remember a lot from them. I don't work on
race cars, much, anymore, hardly at all, but Carroll Smith's books are also
great lessons in How Things Work and How We Fix And Improve.

Even the simple stuff, there's a lot I've read on wheel truing and some stuff
I've learned the hard way, the clear procedural understanding of the subject
that Barnett presented turned the job into a minor task instead an irritating
day long mess. That's from a sample chapter I downloaded.

>In a personal library, I think much of the content would be
>dispensable. It does make for interesting reading when you're in the
>mood, though... I guess I wouldn't buy the manual for my own personal
>use, but I wouldn't complain if somebody gave it to me, either.

Besides, I'm a geek and if there's a really cool book for a subject I'm on it.

Ron

 

[Qui si parla Campagnolo]

RonSonic wrote:
> Christmas is coming up and I can't afford the cross bike of my dreams, so I'm
> thinking I deserve the Barnett's manual. The sample chapters on the web look
> good. In fact, their organization and clarity looks like something technical
> writers should aspire to, but....
>
> I am ignorant in many phases of bike repair and can't gauge factuality or
> thoroughness. So just how accurate, sensible and complete is this thing? It's a
> fair bit of change for a hobbyist mechanic, but should be good for the rest of a
> life considering my avoidance of cutting edge technology.
>
> Thoughts and comments please.
>
> Happy owners?
> Ungruntled workers?
>
> What think ye?
>
> Ron

The references are the best part, That is, lengths, gauges, pitches,
etc. Actual hands on stuff I think is covered better by Zinn's books.
Get all of them and I think with Google and Zinn's books, you will be
better armed to work on your own bici.

 

[[email protected]]

If you want to check it out before buying it, go to alt.binaries.e-book.technical
and politely ask for a repost. It gets posted there fairly often.

On Mon, 05 Dec 2005 15:09:41 GMT, RonSonic <[email protected]> wrote:

>
>
>Christmas is coming up and I can't afford the cross bike of my dreams, so I'm
>thinking I deserve the Barnett's manual. The sample chapters on the web look
>good. In fact, their organization and clarity looks like something technical
>writers should aspire to, but....
>
>I am ignorant in many phases of bike repair and can't gauge factuality or
>thoroughness. So just how accurate, sensible and complete is this thing? It's a
>fair bit of change for a hobbyist mechanic, but should be good for the rest of a
>life considering my avoidance of cutting edge technology.
>
>Thoughts and comments please.
>
>Happy owners?
>Ungruntled workers?
>
>What think ye?
>
>Ron
>