Patrick Brady (2)

This book is packed with information for the beginning road cyclist. I have been cycling for 37 years and this is the most complete cycling book I have seen. I am going to give it to my girl friend who is a new rider. It has great chapters on cadence, shifting, climbing, descending, riding in a group and many more topics. One feature I liked was red flags shown on bicycle components. These are things on your bike that need attention at the shop. Basic bike maintenance procedures are shown in show more a easy to follow series of pictures. I found the diet chapter to be interesting. I had never seen a formula or rule of thumb on how many grams of carbohydrates a day should be consumed. Brady advises multiplying your weight by between 2.72 and 4.54 to determine your carb level. There is also a formula for protein and fat consumption. This book is definately aimed at the high end bike rider who can afford carbon fiber updates to their rides but has good basic information on all aspects of riding. There is a funny chapter on new riders called "The Fred." A "Fred" is a newbie who may not be familar with riding etiquette and norms. show less

THE NO-DROP ZONE is a solid, mostly dry resource for the beginning road cyclist with designs on rising to the ranks of a serious intermediate. It gives great coverage to types of gear (bikes, clothes, tools, etc.), basic repair and maintenance, as well as hearty touchings-on of roadie culture.

The only quibbles to bring up with THE NO-DROP ZONE concern organization and page-padding. Examples: Reading the handy glossary at the end, one will find important information that is not addressed show more within the body of the book, such as left-hand vs. right-hand thread. The chapter "Challenges for Women" doesn't say much that couldn't have been swept into the rest of the text, and I can't help suspect a lot of women will find the idea of a "women's chapter" patronizing and insincere. Also, the pages and pages on major road races and the pantheon of great racers are beyond unnecessary.

As a casual road cyclist, with just about all of my knowledge of riding coming second-hand from my wife, I am grateful to have a reliable, if slightly flawed, guide at hand. Although, I'm sure there are a dozen similiar books that'd provide the same information just as well. This one has the benefit of being newer. show less

I requested this as an early review book even though I'm not a roadie. I'm glad I got it, there's some really good technical information on adjusting brakes and derailleurs. I wish the author hadn't insisted on using photographs for almost all the illustrations, a few diagrams would have been very helpful in the sections talking about pace lines. There is some repetition, it's a reference book that can be read out of order, but I'm not sure we needed the lists of different kinds of bikes show more twice (granted, one was a subset of the other, but still). As a transportation cyclists, I found the technical information useful, and the roadie culture stuff interesting, but the best audience for the book would be someone getting into group rides and/or racing (especially one who can afford all the carbon fibre parts that he talks about). show less

This book is awesome! Full of so much information that a beginner would find useful. As someone who will start training for the Ironman in a few years, I find myself very lucky to have received this book.

It breaks down all this information in easily digestible chunks and the writing flows. The photos are excellent, as well. The chapter on the organization of biking is appreciated and the chapter on the brief histories of previous champions makes for great reading.

My understanding of bikes show more has grown immensely! I'm grateful, that in reading this book, I will not look like a Fred (Newbie) when I start biking.

Enjoy. show less