15 Books on Bicycles and Bicycle Design

From the Publisher. A collection of the best and most popular bikes to be found anywhere right now, this book gives the overview of what is out there for every kind of cyclist. Whether you are a BMXtreme or mountain bike enthusiast, a keen tourer or racer, a city commuter or courier, or simply fascinated with the constantly advancing mechanics and engineering of folding and other innovative bike designs, this book has something for you.

The bikes on display come from across Europe, East and South Asia, and North America, not to mention examples from the southern hemisphere. The major bike manufacturers like Boardman, Giant, and Fuji are of course featured, but also more maverick material from Biomega, Calfee, and Daymak.

From the Publisher: The publication presents the designs of six internationally renowned bicycle builders whose embrace of the tradition of working in metal brings striking innovation to their craft. Through their manipulation of steel, aluminum and titanium, the builders of Bespoke produce racing bicycles that speed champion athletes to victory, mountain and cyclocross bicycles built to negotiate vertiginous terrain, urban bicycles that stylishly convey commuters, and randonneur bicycles elegantly stripped down for epic journeys. Candid portraits including builders’ inspirations, working methods and bicycles, lavishly photographed in great detail, highlight this exhibition at New York's Museum of Arts and Design. Bespoke offers a rich and intimate view of objects that sit squarely at the intersection of art, design, craft and performance. Includes bicycles by the following builders: Mike Flanigan (A.N.T), Jeff Jones, Dario Pegoretti, Richard Sachs, J. Peter Weigle, Sacha White (Vanilla Bicycles).

From the Publisher. The bicycle ranks as one of the most enduring, most widely used vehicles in the world, with more than a billion produced during almost two hundred years of cycling history. This book offers an authoritative and comprehensive account of the bicycle’s technical and historical evolution, from the earliest velocipedes (invented to fill the need for horseless transport during a shortage of oats) to modern racing bikes, mountain bikes, and recumbents. It traces the bicycle’s development in terms of materials, ergonomics, and vehicle physics, as carried out by inventors, entrepreneurs, and manufacturers.

Written by two leading bicycle historians and generously illustrated with historic drawings, designs, and photographs, Bicycle Design describes the key stages in the evolution of the bicycle, beginning with the counterintuitive idea of balancing on two wheels in line, through the development of tension-spoked wheels, indirect drives (employing levers, pulleys, chains, and chainwheels), and pneumatic tires. The authors examine the further development of the bicycle for such specific purposes as racing, portability, and all-terrain use; and they describe the evolution of bicycle components including seats, transmission, brakes, lights (at first candle-based), and carriers (racks, panniers, saddlebags, child seats, and sidecars). They consider not only commercially successful designs but also commercial failures that pointed the way to future technological developments. And they debunk some myths about bicycles—for example, the mistaken but often-cited idea that Leonardo sketched a chain-drive bike in his notebooks.

From the Publisher. Since the early 1980s, David has been riding a bike as his principal means of transportation in New York City. Two decades ago, he discovered folding bikes and started taking them with him when travelling around the world. DB's choice was initially made out of convenience rather than political motivation, but the more cities he saw from his bicycle, the more he became hooked on this mode of transport and the sense of liberation, exhilaration, and connection it provided. This point of view, from his bike seat, became his panoramic window on urban life, a magical way of opening one’s eyes to the inner workings and rhythms of a city’s geography and population.

Bicycle Diaries chronicles David’s observations and insights — what he is seeing, whom he is meeting, what he is thinking about — as he pedals through and engages with some of the world’s major cities. In places like Buenos Aires, Istanbul, San Francisco, and London, the focus is more on the musicians and artists he encounters. Politics comes to the fore in cities like Berlin and Manila, while chapters on New York City, and on the landscaped suburban industrial parks and contemporary ruins of such spots as Detroit, Pittsburgh, and Columbus are more concerned with history in the urban landscape. Along the way, Byrne has thoughts to share about fashion, architecture, cultural isolation, globalization, and the radical new ways that some cities, like his home town, are becoming more bike-friendly — all conveyed with a highly personal mix of humor, curiosity, and humanity.

From the Publisher. A beautifully illustrated survey of more than 65 years of work by one of the most pioneering and influential names in bicycle design. Since Cino Cinelli began making frames in Italy in the 1940s, Cinelli has set the standards for bicycle and component design. Cinelli has led the evolution of professional cycling and defined the ideal of the classic bicycle: from the classic Supercorsa racing frame to the cutting-edge MASH fixed-gear pursuit bikes ubiquitous on the urban riding scene; from innovations such as the first plastic racing saddles to the controversial Spinaci handlebars, banned from competition; and from timeless components, such as the Alter stem, to iconic meetings of art and design such as Keith Haring’s treatment of the hour record-setting Laser. With contributions by legendary riders such as Felice Gimondi and Gilberto Simoni, and by collaborators, from artists like Mike Giant to designers such as San Francisco’s graphic impresario Benny Gold, and featuring a conversation between fashion designer Sir Paul Smith and Cinelli president Antonio Colombo, Cinelli is the definitive look at how beauty and technology can meet in this simplest form of design.

From the Publisher. The Competition Bicycle will inspire cyclists and design lovers alike. The evocative, detail-rich photographs display the history of the bicycle, from racing high-wheelers to modern racing bikes with carbon-fiber disc wheels. Exceptional handcrafted machines ridden by great champions illustrate milestones in the mechanics and craftsmanship of bicycle design. This volume also features iconic bicycles that played an important role in the history of the sport, from the bicycle that sent Eddy Merckx over the finish line in his last world championship win, to those of tandem teams who tackled the hour record, motor-paced track racers that exceeded 80 mph on the wooden boards, to California’s mountain-bike pioneers. Historic images complement the stunning new photography that illustrates each machine in exquisite detail while celebrating the evolution of the sport, object, and machine. The Competition Bicycle is sure to be treasured by all who appreciate magnificent masterpieces of vintage and contemporary design.

From the Publisher. One spring day in 2012, fresh from his circumnavigation of the British Isles, English designer Nick Hand set off on his bicycle from Brooklyn, New York, and pedaled north along the Hudson River toward its source in the Adirondack Mountains. His leisurely pace suited his simple agenda, to talk to the artists and craftspeople he met along the way. Conversations on the Hudson is a visual record of his five-hundred-mile journey through the hills, mountains, and countryside of the Hudson Valley. Hand's casual approach brings out the best in people, who eagerly open up their studios and workshops and share their personal stories. This one-of-a-kind collection pairs Hand's beautiful photographs alongside visits to a seed librarian, a printer and publisher, a brewer, a stone sculptor, a sheep farmer, a distiller, a maple syrup producer, and a boat restorer, among others.

George gets a brand-new blue bicycle for his third anniversary with the man in the yellow hat. He rides off and gets into all sorts of trouble, but he eventually saves the day.

From the Publisher. For every way to ride, there’s a bicycle to fit the need. An homage to the beauty of the bike, Cyclepedia showcases the innovations and legacies of bicycle design over the past century. Join longtime bike enthusiast and avid collector Michael Embacher for a tour of 100 bicycles, from the finest racing bikes and high-tech hybrids to the bizarrely specific (such as a bike designed to cycle on ice). Captivating photographs, detailed component lists, and anecdotal information illuminate the details that make each bicycle unique. Also including a foreword by cyclist and designer Paul Smith, Cyclepedia is the ultimate coffee-table book for devotees of the two-wheeled life.

From the Publisher. An acclaimed photographer introduces the incredible variety of stylish cyclists pedaling through city streets in this stunningly illustrated book. No city boasts of a more fashion-forward population of bicyclists than London. Photographer Horst Friedrichs meets his subjects in their own milieu: zooming around the city's streets on two wheels. There he encounters a dazzling array of style and a surprising amount of substance. In tweeds (both Harris and hipster) and Saville Row suits, in hightops and stilettos, in flowing skirts and the skinniest jeans, wildly tattooed and impeccably manicured, sporting bowler hats and racing caps, London's cyclists are jubilantly exercising their fashion freedom. Whether they're leisurely filling their baskets from market to home or pedaling purposefully to an important meeting, experiencing the city as cycling tourists, or getting from place to place in the most economical way possible, Friedrichs' subjects share a love of the bicycle culture that is sweeping the streets of London and the rest of the world.

From the Publisher. Part of the Design Museum Fifty series published in conjunction with London's prestigious Design Museum. The bicycle is the world's most popular form of transport. From the penny-farthing, the Dandy-horse and the Velocipede the design of the bicycle has evolved over the decades both in terms of style and technology. From high-performance cycles to practical run-arounds, conceptual bikes to commercial models, here are the 50 most important, pivotal bicycles from around the world.

Photographs of bicycles in New York City. “Since moving to New York I have found these derelict bikes to be a symbol of the city. The city takes from you as much as it gives. I feel people glancing at them and quickly thinking: that’s New York. Imagine if all the bikes tied at poles were brand new and immaculate; it wouldn’t be The City. The toll the city takes on these bikes is so visible that you cannot help but wonder about the toll on people over the years.”—Michele Castagnetti.

From the Publisher. A simple, appealing aesthetic and ease of maintenance has made fixed gear bicycles (fixies) and single-speeds a favorite of urban cyclists in a growing movement spanning from San Francisco to Melbourne and Tokyo to Berlin. The appeal of single-gear bikes is undeniable; creating your own bike by recycling a grimy old road bike stripping unneeded parts, adapting new components, and perhaps even re-painting is a rewarding experience. Getting greasy while customizing and building one's own ride is an essential part of the process. One Gear is a unique, much needed contribution to the culture that explains in simple, easy to understand language the steps required for a beginning or intermediate bike mechanic to learn how to rebuild and convert a geared bicycle into a slick, personalized fixie or single-speed. One Gear also contains chapters on single-speed variants such as flip-flop hubs, torpedo hubs and modern coaster brakes, as well as pictorial essays featuring frame builders ranging from classic standard bearers such as Cinelli and De Rosa to contemporary practitioners like Icarus Frames.

From the Publisher. “I spent a year of my life as a fly on the wall of Richard Sachs studio and tape-side at cyclocross races across New England. For over 40 years, articles, short films, and internet ramblings have poured out about Richard Sachs. All along building this mystery with limited access to his bicycles. With so much interest in the man behind the Ray-Bans I wanted to tell his story in a way it hasn't been done before, while telling no story at all. The beautiful thing about photographs is we create our own story, our own scenario, and our own emotions. I'm not here to tell you how great Richard Sachs is or how long his wait list might be. What I want to do is offer you a glimpse into his world, a collection of private and public moments. Follow along as he builds, races, and lives bicycles. The final result: Richard Sachs: Bicycle Maker.” — Nick Czerula

From the Publisher. Choosing to ride a particular bike conveys an attitude and a way of life. Velo—2nd Gear illuminates and celebrates contemporary bicycle culture’s diverse scenes. From classic racing bikes to high-tech speed machines, from rough fixies to fashionable city cruisers and hardworking cargo bikes, this book showcases today’s most outstanding and unusual bicycles and their riders.

Velo—2nd Gear not only introduces coveted manufacturers, specialized boutiques, and historical tours. It also explains how each bike-related scene cultivates its own distinct codes through the choice of certain frames, jerseys, caps, or bags or by visiting specific events or key establishments. In doing so, the book shows why, for more and more people, bicycles have now replaced cars as the vehicles that best express their identity.