Prepared Pedaler. Warm weather, high gas prices, and growing concern about the environment will undoubtedly have bicyclists out in droves this summer. Unfortunately, both commutes and pleasure rides will sometimes be interrupted by flat tires, broken spokes, and faulty brakes. Former bicycle mechanic and messenger Sam Tracy has written his second bike repair book, Roadside Bicycle Repair: A Pocket Manifesto (Speck Press, 978-1-933108-1-6). This one is small enough to be stuffed in a backpack for long-distance or risky rides.
Tracy advises readers to perform a quick "flight check" before setting off, but detailed instructions and clear photographs are meant to help fix problems on the road. He begins by listing the tools that a savvy rider should have on hand at all times. They include a patch kit, tire levers, a pump and Allen and socket wrenches. The chapters that follow explain, with humor and candor, how to resolve issues with wheels, seats and seatposts, handlebars and stems, brakes, and drivetrains. "For practical purposes," he writes about the dangers of loose crank bolts, "imagine demons slumbering in the bottom bracket: riding it loose awakens them. The longer this continues, the angrier they become, eventually pulverizing the bearings and grease into silvery paste."
Novices may have to look up terms like headset and derailleur, but the clear instructions will guide even these beginners through their first flat tire or brake pad replacement.

Sam Tracy’s pocket-sized follow-up to "Bicycle! A Repair and Maintenance Manifesto" is the perfect precautionary passenger on any bike ride, covering repairs on everything from wheels to handlebars. As the title implies, "Roadside Bicycle Repair: A Pocket Manifesto" approaches repairs that can be done on the sidewalk, not the shop, and covers the tools necessary for the job. A Boston-area resident, Tracy has melded a career of urban riding and writing since the early 1990s, working as everything from bike ‘zine publisher to bike messenger to bike mechanic, and now works for a homelessness nonprofit.

If your establishment caters to bike riders, you might want to have a copy of this handy "just in case." If you offer small books and magazines, keep this for sale near the counter. Printed at 7.5 x 4.75" and doused with tons of photographs, this "how to" survival guide can, and should be, with every bike rider's arsenel.
Listen: walk-up, ride-up business is going to keep expanding as gas pushes more consumers to shop locally. Be on top of this culture-changing trend by carrying the simplest and best guide to everything from fixing a flat to seats and brakes. From novice to expert, there's expert advice and it's all clearly shown. Sell it, give it, and you'll be a hero. Recommended. --MB