A couple books were just released that’ll make for an interesting read. Both showcase a tweedy, handmade, back to the basics bicycling aesthetic that’s so often forgotten when racing and performance take over.
Just Ride by Rivendell founder Grant Petersen reflects his philosophy that bicycling should be fun. Pieced together are 89 micro essays with length averaging about 400 words on topics like riding, dressing, safety, tech, and more. He deems the book a manual for the “Unracer”, a bicyclist that isn’t down with all the fancy commercialized tech that’s been crowding the industry. Petersen provides insight, instruction, opinion and recommendations on how to ride bikes without developing an anti-fun racing mentality.
Pricing is $14 at the Rivendell website. Click ‘more’ for the Bike Owner’s Handbook…
The Bike Owner’s Handbook by Rapha photographer Peter Drinkell is a simple 112 page manual illustrating the basics of bike maintenance.
Flexible and pocket sized, it measures 5.25 x 6.75 inches and mimics moleskine design with a bungee latch. Marketed toward commuters that are getting down the basics, topics range from changing tires, brake maintenance, cleaning components and more. Each technique gets step-by-step instructions with illustrations. Also on top of instructions, all topics have a QR code that if scanned by a smartphone pulls up detailed videos of the processes.
Pricing is $15 at Artbook.com. Excerpts below.
