Zinn & the Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance is the world?s best-selling book on mountain bike maintenance and repair. This smartly organized and clearly illustrated guide?now in two colors for easier reference?can make a bike mechanic out of anyone.

Lennard Zinn?s expert advice makes quick work of mountain bike repair. Newcomers and experienced mechanics alike will benefit from the hundreds of illustrations, the exploded views of how components go together, and Zinn?s practical, time-saving tips. Zinn?s friendly advice and years of experience make tackling even the most daunting task fun and easy.

All the latest high-tech equipment is covered in this new edition, but Zinn does not neglect older bikes. Indeed, no matter what mountain bike you may have in your garage, chances are you?ll find it?and the way to fix it?in these pages.

The book uses illustrations instead of photos, so it's easy to tell what's going on, and it covers all the different types (and eras) of components that you'll find. Coverage ranges from the basic (changing a flat tire) to the complex (changing your fork or bottom braket) but is clear throughout.

I highly recommend this to anyone who's doing serious riding and wants to learn more about how to tune and fix their bike. As your bike grows older and you take longer rides, things WILL break or wear out, and knowing what to do in those cases is well worth the price of the book.

The book is a large format with two columns of text per page and hand drawn figures (basically no photos). Each part of the bike is covered in great depth in pseudo-outline form.

The only downside is that the figures can be a bit difficult to understand. I can see how they can be more clear that photos, but some combination of the two or perhaps just more figures would have helped. I've found it is always best to look at the figures alongside my bike so there is no ambiguity.

A mechanic by trade, I rely heavily on manuals for working on unfamiliar machinery. I have run the gamut of manual quality. This manual rates on the top of my list with very few others. It is written in plain english and there is an excellent glossary for the uninitiated. I highly recommend it for the beginner as well as the seasoned mechanic. After reading the wheel building section I feel confident enough to attempt building my first wheel. I can't wait.

After a recent mountain bike holiday in Spain, my cousin and I both replaced our 8- or 9-year old bikes. I meant to send her a copy of Bicycling Mag's book, but the reviews for Zinn's looked better. I sent her one, and ordered one for myself as well.

I'm glad I put myself in the loop. I'm impressed by Zinn's thoughtful attention to detail: He seems to always answer the "yeah, but" question in my mind. His writing style is easy-going and humorous, but not much is left out. I especially appreciate some of the appendices, including a trouble shooting index, torque table, pedal-cleat compatibility chart, and others.

This is from my cousin's thank-you note:
"I got the birthday present that you ordered for me. I actually got it a few days ago and have been with my nose in it ever since. I have fine-tuned my cleats and am now going to make a few adjustments on my shocks. I feel better just having a clearer understanding of the mechanics of my bike. Doing routine maintenance is something I always wanted to do but in the past was too intimidated to try---no more!"

My wife doesn't care for the book too much though because she has now become a mountain bike widow. I spend about an hour or two a day rereading this book and tweeking my bike. The must have spares part of the book saved me from pushing my bike home one day as I would not have normally had a spare chain link with me. Unfortunately I also went on to break my collar bone that same day and this was not addressed in the book. Seriously though, I'm contemplating buying a second book, a working copy (the dirty one) and a reference copy (the clean one) I can bring in the house.

You won't be sorry if you buy this book.

This book will give you confidence to do most of the regular maintenance on your bike...if you feel comfortable holding a chain tool and a wrench, Zinn will teach you how to save yourself some money (and maybe even have some fun) by doing it yourself.

Highly recommended!

It is in depth enough that if you already have some experience repairing bikes, that it can give you some pointers you may never have thought or heard of.