Barnetts cycle mech manual - online



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Call Me Bob

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I don't know if this is *supposed* to be online (copyright an' all that), but, Barnetts Manual is
available in pdf format here:

http://www.d.umn.edu/~bjer0078/bike/manual/

I've never seen this before but it is a great resource. Thirty eight chapters covering all areas
of bike mech'ing in considerable depth. It's far and away the best tech guide I've seen, online
or in print.

Bob
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Call me Bob wrote:
> I don't know if this is *supposed* to be online (copyright an' all that), but, Barnetts Manual is
> available in pdf format here:
>
> http://www.d.umn.edu/~bjer0078/bike/manual/
>
> I've never seen this before but it is a great resource. Thirty eight chapters covering all areas
> of bike mech'ing in considerable depth. It's far and away the best tech guide I've seen, online or
> in print.

I've read bits of it before. It does look good but it is over-detailed and complicated, IMO. I think
people will end up better equiped to solve problems if they learn how to figure much of it out for
themselves through experimentation* rather than use a step-by-tiny-step guide for everything.
Afterall, no manual can cover every product or stay up-to-date.

I still prefer the Park Tools and Sheldon Brown websites, and I like the approach Richard Ballantine
takes in his books - which is more to explain how the principles work.

* There are dangers in this but I've not actually broken that much through bad mech'ing over the
years ...or maybe I'm blanking the bad stuff from my mind! :)

~PB
 
Had a quick look. They're excellent. My brother's just about to start building a new bike so should
be useful for him too.

Didn't know they existed. Going to check Amazon to see if they have a hard copy 'cos I want one on
my bookshelf...

--
...meandering mule...
 
"mule" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Had a quick look. They're excellent. My brother's just about to start building a new bike so
> should be useful for him too.
>
> Didn't know they existed. Going to check Amazon to see if they have a hard copy 'cos I want one on
> my bookshelf...

Be sitting down when you see the price. Otherwise you might hurt yourself as the shock
knocks you back.

: )
 
On 22 Aug 2003 11:49:06 GMT, mule <[email protected]> wrote:

>Had a quick look. They're excellent. My brother's just about to start building a new bike so should
>be useful for him too.
>
>Didn't know they existed. Going to check Amazon to see if they have a hard copy 'cos I want one on
>my bookshelf...

I had a google for it last night, you can buy the book in four volumes from the Barnett Bicycle
Institute here:

http://www.bbinstitute.com/

It ain't cheap though, $115 *cough*.

It seems that they've been doing downloads of single chapters from their own website and
Specialized.com, a different one each month. The link I posted is the full collection of the
freebies and is effectively the full manual, just not the very latest edition.

Bob
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On Fri, 22 Aug 2003 09:59:17 +0100, "Pete Biggs" <pLime{remove_fruit}@biggs.tc> wrote:

>I've read bits of it before. It does look good but it is over-detailed and complicated, IMO. I
>think people will end up better equiped to solve problems if they learn how to figure much of it
>out for themselves through experimentation* rather than use a step-by-tiny-step guide for
>everything. Afterall, no manual can cover every product or stay up-to-date.

I quite like the level of detail myself, when trying to learn something from a written source, as
opposed to someone showing me, I want as much info as I can get. I can discard what I don't need
or is over obvious. Still, I agree about the "figuring it out" approach, I just prefer to be going
in armed :eek:)

>I still prefer the Park Tools and Sh*ldon Brown websites, and I like the approach Richard
>Ballantine takes in his books - which is more to explain how the principles work.

Not encountered any of Ballantines work (unless he also distills the whisky of the same name!) but
I'm with you all the way about Park Tools and Sheldons sites, both excellent and have helped me
out no end.

Bob
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Mail address is spam trapped To reply by email remove the beverage
 
Call me Bob wrote:
> I quite like the level of detail myself, when trying to learn something from a written source, as
> opposed to someone showing me, I want as much info as I can get. I can discard what I don't need
> or is over obvious. Still, I agree about the "figuring it out" approach, I just prefer to be going
> in armed :eek:)

Fair enough. I must admit that I always enjoy discovering more detail. ....How much does a ream of
paper cost now? ;-)

re: Richard Ballentine - His "Richard's Bicycle Book" was invaluable to me in the eighties when I
didn't have much of a clue. I'm not sure how useful his latest tech books are. The maintenance
section has been greatly reduced in the "21st Century" edition of the Bicycle Book but it's still a
great general full intro to all things cycling and bikes for beginners (and a pleasant read for
everyone).

~PB
 
Cheers, a nice source of info.

Thanks, John "Call me Bob" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I don't know if this is *supposed* to be online (copyright an' all that), but, Barnetts Manual is
> available in pdf format here:
>
> http://www.d.umn.edu/~bjer0078/bike/manual/
>
> I've never seen this before but it is a great resource. Thirty eight chapters covering all areas
> of bike mech'ing in considerable depth. It's far and away the best tech guide I've seen, online or
> in print.
>
>
>
> Bob
> --
> Mail address is spam trapped To reply by email remove the beverage
 
You're right about the price. £79! It's good but is it that good...we'll see. I guess I'll have to
keep an eye open in book markets then...

--
...meandering mule...
 
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