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Bicycle Workshop

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by Jim Langley Contents Excerpt See inside Delivery

$19.95 eBook Bicycle Aficionado Press 68 pages 201 photos and illustrations PDF file size: 12.4 MB

There are 14 great reasons to have a home bike workshop . . .

and master mechanic Jim Langley covers them all before arriving at this bottom line:

"Perhaps the best reason—and plenty of cyclists who have shops have told me this—is that working in and designing, building and tweaking your home bicycle workshop can be every bit as satisfying as riding the bicycles you service there."

Jim's love of working on bikes has spurred him to write Your Home Bicycle Workshop. This eBook is unique in cycling, detailing exactly how to create a pro-quality repair & maintenance area in your home, garage or other suitable location (see contents).

When there's a home workshop trick only an expert would know, rest assured that you'll find it in this eBook.

Your Home Bicycle Workshop isn't about fixing bikes—very good repair guides already exist and Jim's website also describes various procedures. Instead it goes into great detail about what it takes in tools, equipment and workspace design to handle any mechanical job in efficient, productive, comfortable surroundings.

With Jim Langley's guidance it's easy to build a home bike workshop you'll love spending time in.

And this eBook goes a giant step farther by showing you—not just telling you—about the shop setup and bike tools Jim recommends. It contains an amazing 201 color photos and illustrations.

Says Jim:  "I've tried hard to give you information you can't find anywhere else. So the TOOL LIST is more extensive than others and provides links to how to use the tools. There's also a helpful list of SMALL PARTS you need in a home workshop. That's a hard list to find too."

For those who want to economize or prefer to make their own stuff, Jim provides tips on constructing different types of repair stands at a cost between $5 and $60 (see his instructions for the "Home Depot" stand that's easy to make). Also explained are two low-cost ways to make a truing stand.

A thoroughly detailed index makes this eBook handy if you print it and don't have access to the computerized search function. When you're reading the eBook on your computer, the index is linked to the contents, giving you another way to find specific information you want and instantly click to it.

In fact, Your Home Bicycle Workshop works like a website. It's the most technically advanced eBook we've seen for cyclists.

Check this—in addition to dozens of internal content links and external links to helpful sites, this eBook features 92 mouse rollovers. Where tools are listed, simply move your cursor over each diamond-shaped symbol and a photo appears. Very cool! And extremely helpful as you decide which tools to add to your personal bike workshop.

To see this exclusive rollover feature in action, click here to open a PDF of page 29 and move your cursor over the diamond symbols. (The green hyperlinks may not be operational in extracted pages.)

BONUS!  Your Home Bicycle Workshop contains numerous interesting and fun vintage bike ads, photos and illustrations from Jim Langley's extensive collection. Some of these are extremely rare and could be printed and framed to decorate your home workshop or office.

Please note:  This eBook displays best with newer versions of Adobe Acrobat Reader, a utility that's factory installed on most computers. If it's not on yours or you'd like to upgrade an older Reader, you can download the latest version for FREE by clicking here.

With the new Acrobat Reader you'll enjoy all of the unique features of Your Home Bicycle Workshop. Order this eBook today for instant delivery to your RBR customer account.

Remember!  One purchase puts five copies of this eBook in your account. Then for no cost you can download an additional copy for any reason—even upgrade to newer editions for FREE, no matter if there is a price increase!

Author Jim Langley worked as a professional bicycle mechanic or service manager in seven shops from New Hampshire to California between 1972 and 1999. He also served as technical editor of Bicycling magazine and designed the bicycle and product testing facilities in the magazine's West Coast office. Throughout this period Jim has had a garage-based home bike workshop, meager to begin with but now one of the nicest on the planet. In Your Home Bicycle Workshop he shows you how to create the perfect shop for your needs without trial and error or expensive (or dumb) mistakes. It's simply the most helpful book about home bike workshops ever written.

Here's an excerpt from chapter 2, "The Workbench." It illustrates Jim's friendly, easy-to-read, non-technical approach to the information. Creating a home bike workshop should be enjoyable, and Jim makes sure that learning how is part of the fun.

EXCERPT: Workbench Dimensions

Before you do any bench building (or buying), carefully consider how tall you want yours to be. This is a function of your height and preference. Obviously taller folks usually like higher benches. Yet if other people will use it, a high bench might make it more difficult for them to work, so it’s best to shoot for a height compatible with all users.

I’m about 6 feet tall, and the 1970s Sears workbenches I use in my shop are 34 inches high, which I feel is the ideal height. I’ve worked on benches 36 inches high, and those two extra inches are enough to make the benches feel a little too high for me. If I’m working on something lying on the bench, say regreasing a hub on a wheel, the height of the wheel and the tools I’m using raise my hands outside my comfort zone. I can still get the job done, but on the lower bench I have more control and don’t have to fight to do the job.

You don’t have to build prototype benches or guess at what height you like. Instead just go around your house measuring your other work surfaces, such as your kitchen and bathroom counters. Don’t measure desks and tables, because those are made for sitters, so they’re usually too low, though they might be just right if you’re a vertically challenged bicycle mechanic. When you find a counter that seems about right, do some projects there to get a feel for working at that bench height and see if it’ll work for you.

Also consider how large your bench will be. If you have the room I recommend a bench that’s in the range of 6 feet long and 2 feet wide, which is what I use. That’s enough surface to lay components out and still have a place for your tools and manuals. More space is even better, because it lets you leave extended projects without them tying up your main bench. For this I have multiple benches, though if you have room another solution is to build a larger bench.

At Bicycling magazine, for example, where I devoted one wall of the room to the bench, I built one 8 feet long. One end was for projects in progress waiting for things. Keep in mind that if you build a workbench and decide you need a larger top, it’s usually easy to put one on if the bench base is up to the task of supporting it. In fact, some workbenches you buy don’t come with tops allowing you to add whatever size you wish.

(Next, Jim explores a key workbench question: "To Buy or Build.")

TOC:  Your Home Bicycle Workshop

See Inside . . . .

• Electrical & Lighting (p. 3)

• The Best Stands (p.18)

• Bicycle Repair Resources (p. 49)

Contents Acknowledgements Introduction Safety First   1. Your Work Space 2.  The Workbench 3.  The Repair Stand 4.  The Truing Stand 5.  Tools and Supplies 6.  Tool Organization 7.  Bicycle Storage 8.  Parts Organization 9.  Resources Index   Excerpt