On 10/9/2018 3:22 PM, Emanuel Berg wrote:
Frank Krygowski wrote:

I'm curious: Have you ever read a book on the
fundamentals of bicycling? There are several we
could recommend. They might answer many of the
questions you keep raising.

I have read the following books. Except for
"Effective Cycling" (too boring) and
"Praktisch Fietsboek" (I don't speak Dutch, but
it has tons of illos so in a way have "read"
it).

%%%% bikes

@book{long-distance-cyclists-handbook,
author = {Simon Doughty},
ISBN = {0 7136 5819 3},
publisher = {A \& C Black},
title = {The Long Distance Cyclists' handbook},
year = 2001
}

@book{complete-road-bike-maintenance,
author = {Guy Andrews},
ISBN = {978 1 4081 7093 9},
publisher = {Bloomsbury},
title = {Complete Road Bike Maintenance},
year = 2013
}

@book{en-cyklo-pedi,
author = {Johan Tell},
ISBN = {978-91-1-307337-8},
publisher = {Nordstedt},
title = {En cyklo pedi},
year = 2016
}

@book{effective-cycling,
author = {John Forester},
ISBN = {978-0-262-51694-5},
publisher = {Cambridge},
title = {Effective Cycling},
year = 2012
}

@book{bike,
author = {Daniel Benson and Richard Moore},
ISBN = 9781781312346,
publisher = {Aurum},
title = {Bike! A Tribute to the World's Greatest Cycling Designers},
year = 2014
}

@book{cykelbok,
author = {Staffan Skott},
ISBN = {91-550-3942-1},
publisher = {Tiden},
title = {Cykelbok},
year = 1994
}

@book{praktisch-fietsboek,
author = {Rob van der Plas},
ISBN = {90 274 9848 2},
publisher = {Spectrum},
title = {Praktisch Fietsboek},
year = 1984
}

I had in mind something like this:
https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/Boo...-srp1-_-title1

_Richard's 21st Century Bicycle Book_ by Richard Ballantine is his third
or fourth version of his book on bikes. It covers lots of fundamentals -
types of bikes, a bit of history, choices of equipment, riding safely
and well, plus some basic maintenance. It's a pretty good read, a way to
move your knowledge up from the most basic level. (Which is not to say I
agree with everything in the book.)

I also think you could learn by reading something more general, like this:
https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/Boo...-srp1-_-title3

It's full of explanations of common devices, written in an engaging way.
I think books like this give good background for understanding
mechanical things in general.

And there are books that attempt to teach very basic workshop
techniques. Those aren't as good as learning from some competent
mechanic, but they're better than nothing. They're also better than
trial and error.

--
- Frank Krygowski