Ed PavelkaBicycling Magazine's Complete Book of Road Cycling Skills : Your Guide to Riding Faster, Stronger, Longer, and Safer

As a long-time car driver who just made the 'switch' to cycle commuting, I had a lot of anxieties regarding safe and intelligent operation of a bicycle on roads shared with automobiles. This book served the purpose admirably and got me riding safe and sane on the streets of Manhattan, something I wouldn't have believed possible a couple months ago.There are sections on how to equip your bike, how to follow the rules of the road, and tips and tricks bikers need to know to coexist safely in traffic. There are also sections on what to eat and drink, how to train effectively to increase your abilities, and how to get into serious long-distance touring - things which I hadn't originally been interested in but which were fun to read about. I think what I liked best about the book was that it was clearly written by enthusiasts who've spent a lot of time riding and a lot of time thinking about how to convey their skills and enthusiasms to the public.If I had a criticism, it'd be that the book suffers by being a collection of separate magazine articles not originally intended for publication in this form, so some information is repeated and coherence is sort of loose. But it's not a major criticism and I'd recommend the book anyway.

I'm an experienced cyclist and I found this a fun read. It's a collection of articles that were published in Bicycling magazine back in the 90's on various aspects on road cycling. There are sections on skills, training and nutrition and I found useful information throughout the book. I feel that the articles were chosen to have a timeless slant as there aren't many examples on equipment, most of the articles are on technique.Specifically I found the few articles on training that included examples to be helpful, like the suggested trainer routines, use of an heart rate monitor, and estimating calories burned.This type of book is what I call a bathroom book, as the short articles are perfect reading when you want something to read for a few minutes.The book is also a success in that it helps get you in the mood to go riding. There's not a lot new here, but it's fun to read someone elses opinion on something most of us already know how to do.

Even though this may be a "old" book published about a decade ago, it still provides a wealth of information for the new cyclist. As a new cyclist who started getting serious about cycling, this book has proved valuable as I read through it introducing me to terms that I was not familiar with, even though I have had over a decade of mountain biking experience. This even starts from how to pick a bike that fits to how to ride in a group, and technique a beginner can work on. I highly recommend pick this up used for it can be found for an extremely low price. This is definitely worth a read if you don't know much specifics about road cycling and some of the etiquette of riding.

If you are serious about riding then you need this book. Things you might not other wise think of, to make you a better rider in everyway. Handle the bike in turns, and in traffic. Top riders sharing their knowledge, seriously.

Even with many decades experience found this volume instructive. Also it is fun reading. Can serve as a reference for selected rereading.

I guess for $11-12 you can take your chances with the book, but I don't believe you will learn much from it unless you are absolutely new to bicycling. But even then do not expect too much. As another reviewer said, many suggestions are rather simplistic and dubious. 'Breathing through your nose' is one of them. And there are such parts as how to avoid a rock on the road. It takes the authors about 120 words to tell you how to do that. If you thought that there is some magic to their advice--there is none, their point can be reduced to "first turn the handlebar to one side, then correct your balance by quickly turning the other way." And there are four pages devoted to listing food you can get in fast food restuarants or convenience stores. I am sure you need a book to tell you that Arby's sells Light Roast Turkey Deluxe and Taco Bell has soft chicken taco without cheese. In general, what they cover on about 200 pages could be explained in 1/4 of that (or less). Further, the book is very uneven, sometimes it treats you like an idiot and sometimes gives you advice that is more appropriate for serious riders (several hundred miles a week). Considering that it has been written by the editors of "Bicycling Magazine," it is rather embarrassing... Again, $11-12 is not much today so try if you want, you may learn a thing or two, but maybe you should explore other titles first.

This is a great book, it still has a lot of information that you can relate to or learn from, but lots of it is outdated.I got it when i started about 2 years ago and i sure learned a lot from it, but would have preferred to get a book that talk about more recent bike stuff.

Well done and worthwhile

Knowledgeable book, but sadly written for those that drive on the right hand side. You then spend time trying to change sides(only sometimes).

It was bought as a gift. I've not had feedback so can't comment

Give you all the info you need when starting out. Makes it easy to understand. A book i will read over and over again

not fully read the book yet but what i have read is very good

I bought this for my Grandson as he is very keen on cycling and I wanted him to be safe on the road and he says it is a very good book