About this item
Providing cyclists the know-how to take bicycle repair into their own hands this manual covers bike care without technical terms Written by a bicycle mechanic and laden with photographs and drawings this guide is a valuable resourcexAfor professional bicycle workers and commuters This updated edition includes an expanded index andxAa revisedxAresource section Topics include essential tools bicycle components on-the-road repairs scavenging locks preventing rust and more
About the Author
Sam Tracy began working as a bike mechanic in 1993, when he cut his teeth at Wheel and Sprocket in Milwaukee. After receiving a BA in political science from the University of Wisconsin, he returned to Minneapolis, where he found work as a bicycle messenger. In 1998 he moved to Arcata, CA, for a position as Managing Editor of the Auto-Free Times, a nonprofit quarterly. His first bicycle repair manual, How to Rock and Roll: A City Rider's Repair Manual, written during this period, was published by Black Kettle Graphics in 2001.In 2000 Tracy was hired to manage Calhoun Rentals in Minneapolis, a position he held for four years. Among other tasks he was responsible for maintaining a 70-bike rental fleet, a complex and challenging mission which demanded a commitment to safe and effective low-cost repair techniques. Over the winters he worked as a mechanic at Calhoun Cycles, a recumbent bicycle specialty shop, where he became immersed in the lively and experimental DIY frame-building culture for which the 'bent enthusiasts are known.After signing on with Speck Press to write Bicycle! A Repair & Maintenance Manifesto in 2003, Tracy moved to the cycling mecca of San Francisco, where he worked to further refine his repair skills at the Freewheel, a high-end commuter and road bike shop. He picked up numerous key techniques from the seasoned mechanics that really kept the place going.After releasing Bicycle! in 2006, Speck Press published Tracy's third book, Roadside Bicycle Repair: A Pocket Manifesto in 2008. Returning to the non-profit sphere, Tracy spent two years as Office Manager for HomeStart, a non-profit dedicated to ending homelessness in the Boston area. In 2008 he and his wife left to serve with the Peace Corps in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, which among other things provided exposure to a whole new level of resourcefulness in bicycle repair.Most recently, in 2010 he worked as a mechanic at the Hub Bicycle Co-op, the Twin Cities' only cooperatively owned bike shop. Tracy's first book is out of print, and his last two are now in second editions. He is currently working on a novel. He and his wife live in Riga, Latvia, where she is posted as a U.S. diplomat.
