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Urban Bikers' Tricks & Tips: Low-Tech & No-Tech Ways to Find, Ride, & Keep a Bicycle
Filled with practical tips that any adult bike owner can use instantly, this book includes advice on everything from how to handle a sore butt and choose accessories to how to avoid helmet hair and mount a bike while wearing a miniskirt. This updated edition contains new and revised information about current bike types, locks, and recent products such as the strap-on magnet that lets bikers change traffic lights to green. An updated supplier directory and list of bicycling resources, such as web sites and advocacy groups, are also included. Illustrated with step-by-step instructions on every page, this book is especially helpful for riders living in the urban jungle.
252 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 1997
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
January 15, 2011
there were a lot of pictures to help clarify the statements being made in the book - some of them were helpful...
however, there were a great many things in the book i did not agree with. numerous suggestions included blatant violations of V&T laws, weaving through stopped traffic, holding on to moving vehicles, using your U-lock to break windows on cars that cut you off, filing false police reports on aggressive drivers (one example indicated that you should rehearse your story to tell the police and say the individual pointed a weapon @ you if you were in a high crime area).
some of the "inter-modal" travel tips were useful though - how to commute using subways, rail, buses & bikes in some combination. suggestions for how to properly lock your bike and deal w/ commuting (the unsavory details of sweat and clothing) were also very relevant and helpful.
however, on balance - there was just so much violation of laws, i can't get over it. yes, it may be easier or faster to do some of these things, but as a cyclist advocating that we belong on the roadways and other vehicles have to respect us as we are required to follow the same laws as them, it is unbelievably hypocritical (and does a huge disservice) to advocate picking and choosing which laws to obey and blending the way you ride as a cross btwn driving and pedxing...
however, there were a great many things in the book i did not agree with. numerous suggestions included blatant violations of V&T laws, weaving through stopped traffic, holding on to moving vehicles, using your U-lock to break windows on cars that cut you off, filing false police reports on aggressive drivers (one example indicated that you should rehearse your story to tell the police and say the individual pointed a weapon @ you if you were in a high crime area).
some of the "inter-modal" travel tips were useful though - how to commute using subways, rail, buses & bikes in some combination. suggestions for how to properly lock your bike and deal w/ commuting (the unsavory details of sweat and clothing) were also very relevant and helpful.
however, on balance - there was just so much violation of laws, i can't get over it. yes, it may be easier or faster to do some of these things, but as a cyclist advocating that we belong on the roadways and other vehicles have to respect us as we are required to follow the same laws as them, it is unbelievably hypocritical (and does a huge disservice) to advocate picking and choosing which laws to obey and blending the way you ride as a cross btwn driving and pedxing...
August 16, 2017
I love these bike hacks. Anything to make cycling easier for the masses. Lots of practical tips to make cycling practical and sustainable.
February 18, 2012
I'm not going to pretend this is an unbiased book review - after I got annoyed by some of what the author said on certain subjects, I realized I could nitpick the thing here there and everywhere - in a box, with a fox, and so on. So, off we go!
My main complaint about this book is that it is chock full of really dumb so-called advice. Self-styled as "Mr Bike" the author says he is a certified instructor for the League of American Bicyclists - presumably for LAB courses he teaches he sticks to their instructional materials because I doubt they would support his more dubious and often outright illegal suggestions.
Mr Bike's view is that one can be a "sly biker" who "knows how to read traffic well" and therefore can "beat traffic without scaring peds or making motorists hit their brakes." That all sounds pretty good, but his specific strategies can be questionable - with yellow lights, he advocates "maintain your speed" when looking at an oncoming car waiting to turn left, but "be ready to go round the car, stop, or make an emergency turn." Slow down? No, that would "make yourself a target."
Much of the "sly biker" advice is situational and detailed and I think kind of absurd. There are six pages of left turn scenarios! Typically this advice assumes that you, the reader, have little ability to think through such things on your own, that instead you will remember Mr Bike's book and that on page 86 he covered this very type of thing and you should . . . no, that ain't gonna happen. Of course since Mr Bike seems to have little of what I consider common sense there is no particular reason for him to think you have any, either.
The bike does have bike selection and mechanical troubleshooting sections, but they aren't as detailed as the left turn information. I don't know what to do with a book that says that for a rubbing derailleur, for example, that the solution is "have a mechanic clean and adjust the derailleur."
At various places Mr Bike admits some of his advice isn't legal, but I can't really see why a LAB instructor should be advocating under "what to do about conflicts [with motorists]: fight back" that you can "grab the antenna and bend it as you go by." A helpful sidebar does opine that "in most fights between cyclists and motorists, cyclists lose." But to try to even the odds, Mr Bike notes that a U-lock is potential weapon and there is a section on acquiring and using pepper spray.
Mr Bike contradicts himself. Much of his advice advocates the sort of cyclist behavior that motorists do in fact notice and that causes more motorist-cyclist friction - but in places he shows an awareness that it would be good if folks thought better of cyclists - "when biking in crosswalks or on sidewalks, slow down and always yield to people walking. That way peds will think well of bikers." Until the peds get back into their cars and meet you on the road, anyway, if you follow this book's advice.
Mr Bike's use of statistics to make some points is peculiar - for example, in a sidebar advocating cycling on roads, he notes "you've already taken bigger risks - more bike crashes happen on off-street paths than in traffic. Why? On paths, people bike next to walkers, runners, skaters." Well, yes - if by "bigger risk" he means risk of a crash, that's true, but the risk of a serious crash as far as consequences to the cyclist are higher when you are out with the cars.
Under "special techniques" he advocates drafting behind motor vehicles - vans are good if you can see through their windows, now there is a helpful hint - and "skitching" or grabbing onto a vehicle and hitching a ride. One is just dumb and the other is both dumb and illegal.
My daughter commented, "maybe he is just kidding?" I wish.
In addition to all that, there is a "do it on the cheap" advice that I think isn't very good. For example, there is a complex explanation of how to build a "do it yourself" headlight system for less than 100 bucks, but even when this book was published you could buy over 100 lumens of LED headlight for under $100 - now you can get 150 lumens for say $65. No urban biker needs more than that.
The title page lists 11 illustrators and two photographers, contributing to an extremely random and often busy graphic look for most pages. (Just thought I'd add that while I'm complaining.)
On the plus side, the photographs of how to load a bike onto a transit bus bike rack are clearly taken in Seattle and are so old, the buses are still ones that I drove when I lived there more than twenty years ago. (No, I don't recognize individual buses, just the series numbers.) Seattle no longer uses bus bike racks like the one shown in the book, but most cities do, I think. Mr Bike makes this into an 11 step process that looks pretty complicated.
I could go on, but I think you get the idea.
My main complaint about this book is that it is chock full of really dumb so-called advice. Self-styled as "Mr Bike" the author says he is a certified instructor for the League of American Bicyclists - presumably for LAB courses he teaches he sticks to their instructional materials because I doubt they would support his more dubious and often outright illegal suggestions.
Mr Bike's view is that one can be a "sly biker" who "knows how to read traffic well" and therefore can "beat traffic without scaring peds or making motorists hit their brakes." That all sounds pretty good, but his specific strategies can be questionable - with yellow lights, he advocates "maintain your speed" when looking at an oncoming car waiting to turn left, but "be ready to go round the car, stop, or make an emergency turn." Slow down? No, that would "make yourself a target."
Much of the "sly biker" advice is situational and detailed and I think kind of absurd. There are six pages of left turn scenarios! Typically this advice assumes that you, the reader, have little ability to think through such things on your own, that instead you will remember Mr Bike's book and that on page 86 he covered this very type of thing and you should . . . no, that ain't gonna happen. Of course since Mr Bike seems to have little of what I consider common sense there is no particular reason for him to think you have any, either.
The bike does have bike selection and mechanical troubleshooting sections, but they aren't as detailed as the left turn information. I don't know what to do with a book that says that for a rubbing derailleur, for example, that the solution is "have a mechanic clean and adjust the derailleur."
At various places Mr Bike admits some of his advice isn't legal, but I can't really see why a LAB instructor should be advocating under "what to do about conflicts [with motorists]: fight back" that you can "grab the antenna and bend it as you go by." A helpful sidebar does opine that "in most fights between cyclists and motorists, cyclists lose." But to try to even the odds, Mr Bike notes that a U-lock is potential weapon and there is a section on acquiring and using pepper spray.
Mr Bike contradicts himself. Much of his advice advocates the sort of cyclist behavior that motorists do in fact notice and that causes more motorist-cyclist friction - but in places he shows an awareness that it would be good if folks thought better of cyclists - "when biking in crosswalks or on sidewalks, slow down and always yield to people walking. That way peds will think well of bikers." Until the peds get back into their cars and meet you on the road, anyway, if you follow this book's advice.
Mr Bike's use of statistics to make some points is peculiar - for example, in a sidebar advocating cycling on roads, he notes "you've already taken bigger risks - more bike crashes happen on off-street paths than in traffic. Why? On paths, people bike next to walkers, runners, skaters." Well, yes - if by "bigger risk" he means risk of a crash, that's true, but the risk of a serious crash as far as consequences to the cyclist are higher when you are out with the cars.
Under "special techniques" he advocates drafting behind motor vehicles - vans are good if you can see through their windows, now there is a helpful hint - and "skitching" or grabbing onto a vehicle and hitching a ride. One is just dumb and the other is both dumb and illegal.
My daughter commented, "maybe he is just kidding?" I wish.
In addition to all that, there is a "do it on the cheap" advice that I think isn't very good. For example, there is a complex explanation of how to build a "do it yourself" headlight system for less than 100 bucks, but even when this book was published you could buy over 100 lumens of LED headlight for under $100 - now you can get 150 lumens for say $65. No urban biker needs more than that.
The title page lists 11 illustrators and two photographers, contributing to an extremely random and often busy graphic look for most pages. (Just thought I'd add that while I'm complaining.)
On the plus side, the photographs of how to load a bike onto a transit bus bike rack are clearly taken in Seattle and are so old, the buses are still ones that I drove when I lived there more than twenty years ago. (No, I don't recognize individual buses, just the series numbers.) Seattle no longer uses bus bike racks like the one shown in the book, but most cities do, I think. Mr Bike makes this into an 11 step process that looks pretty complicated.
I could go on, but I think you get the idea.
December 12, 2014
90% of this book is helpful and practical advice from basics of picking out a bike that will serve your purpose to how to ride in heavy traffic. It's full of illustrations on different kinds of intersections, ways to lock your bike so it is the most secure, etc. But then there is the 10% of advice that is rather disturbing. The author seems to advocate extremely aggressive, sometimes illegal and often dangerous biking (running red lights, grabbing onto a truck and catching a ride, squirting water into a driver's face if you are mad at them. After detailing these techniques there is a warning that it's not a good idea -- but then why is it in the book at all? The worst is the advice to file a false police report against a driver if you are mad at them and tell the police that they pointed a gun at you. It even says you should practice your statement so you sound believable. If you got rid of that 10% of the book I would rate it 5 stars.
May 22, 2008
This is a good visual reference for biking, as it is written mostly in cartoons that show you how to do the things described. There are some really good, clever bits of advice (my personal favorite is how to "uglify" your nice bike so thieves won't be interested). However, there are some very bad pieces as well, most notably to rehearse saying that a motorist pointed a gun at you in order to get them in trouble with police after a bike-car run-in. However, each person can read this and use what works for them. Overall, a good read for cyclists of any level.
October 1, 2009
I can't say this is an indispensable guide, but I did enjoy it and got a few important pointers from it. Some of its recommendations seem out of date at this point; it was published in 1998, so that's not surprising. But after about four years of riding a bicycle in very urban environments (Oakland-Berkeley, San Francisco and now Sacramento) I've realized that a lot of street biking knowledge is extremely specific to time and place, so the only way to learn how to bike in the city is to get out there and do it. This is a good general guide.
August 25, 2008
My bike is my main form of transportation, but I had not really ridden a bike since college. I also know nothing about bikes. This book caught me up toot sweet. The layout of the book is what I love the most. The chapters flow in the order of the questions as I had them. You go from buying a bike, fixing a bike, foiling thieves, beating traffic, handling trouble, etc etc etc. Great book for someone who is new to bikes as urban transportation.
February 7, 2014
It's a pretty quick read, being an illustrated guide to urban/suburban bicycle riding.
Most of the advice is pretty good, although a few things were a little off-putting. For example, the diagram of a car's windshield with guidelines of exactly where 'not' to hit, with say your U lock, in the event of a dispute with a driver, because the indicated spot was the weakest point on a car's windshield where it 'just might' shatter fairly easily.
Most of the advice is pretty good, although a few things were a little off-putting. For example, the diagram of a car's windshield with guidelines of exactly where 'not' to hit, with say your U lock, in the event of a dispute with a driver, because the indicated spot was the weakest point on a car's windshield where it 'just might' shatter fairly easily.
January 4, 2013
This is a pretty useful guide to riding a bicycle in an urban envrionment without pissing off motorists, pedestrians or other cyclists. More people need to read this. There are useful instructions for basic maintenance, shopping guides and riding techniques when dealing with particular situations or environments.
September 18, 2008
A quick read of tips so that your bike doesn't get stolen and so you stay safe in traffic situations. It had good points that I wouldn't have considered unless in those situations so I feel more comfortable riding now.
April 4, 2010
some useful stuff. I am so glad I got the bike -- lots of this stuff doesn't apply (at least I hope), such as how to use pepper spray and how to recover your stolen bike.
I need a basic bike maintenance book...and more time to ride
I need a basic bike maintenance book...and more time to ride
November 15, 2012
One of the tips from this book is to tell a cop, if you need to report an instance of harassment on the road, that the motorist pointed a gun at you. To get them to take you seriously, the author suggests. Don't do that, this is a bad book.
November 24, 2008
read it!! ride it!!!
December 6, 2011
Great sequential organisation! An illustrated, quick read for beginners. As always, some of the advice should be used with discretion.
August 30, 2015
Fun layout. Some reasonable tips; some unreasonable.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews