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Chargement... It's All About the Bike: The Pursuit of Happiness on Two Wheelspar Rob Penn
   Aucun Actuellement, il n'y a pas de discussions au sujet de ce livre.   ) bsmashers | Aug 1, 2020 |  I listened to the audiobook version, and it was excellent in that format. (  ) patl | Feb 18, 2019 | ) eclecticlibrarian | Nov 3, 2015 | On the face of it this book sounds like a guy with money to spare and time on his hands designing his dream bike, and if that were all that it was I would have hated it. But Penn's breadth of knowledge on every aspect of the bicycle makes up the bulk of the book. Each chapter covers one cycle part (wheels, tires, frame, etc), and in this way the reader learns the history of the bicycle part by part. Plus you get to see the culmination of all that history as you meet people working in the industry today. The stasis of the bike, more or less unchanged since the 1890's, has meant that essentially the same knowledge has been passed down from generation to generation of bicycle designers, owners and mechanics. The more I understood this the prouder I felt to be a part of that unending bicycle chain of events. It really emphasizes the global community of cyclists. And it motivated me to finally get out there and learn how to tune up and adjust my own bike, which is something that most casual cyclists know nothing about, I've discovered. Finally, there is an hour long BBC documentary available on YouTube that follows Penn around as he collects his parts and assembles his perfect bike. I recommend watching this ONLY after reading the book. It cuts out a great deal of the information and focuses more on the people working at these companies and small workshops all around the world and on Penn's personal journey. Basically, without the book to reinforce the documentary it comes across more like the-book-that-could-have-been back at the beginning of this review. However, after reading the book it is a great way to put faces to many of the names that you've come to know over the course of five chapters. ( ) Booktacular | Aug 31, 2014 | It’s All About the Bike is about Penn’s own love affair with cycling. This guy is a serious lover of bicycles, and it comes through in his writing. The book has sort of a dual narrative — his quest to build the perfect bike, as well as a history of the bicycle. I found both parts interesting, for different reasons. I hadn’t known much of the history of the bicycle when I started, and felt like I learned a lot. It’s one of the few things that was invented back in the 1880s that is relatively the same today — the materials are different, but the concept is the same. I also thought Penn’s search for the different parts of his bike was enjoyable. I love how he eschewed the new carbon fiber race bikes and built himself a steel bike that could make it around the world (you can weld steel…you can’t weld carbon fiber!). It was really interesting to learn more about the world of custom bikes. It made me want to get out there and ride more! Read my full review here: http://letseatgrandpa.com/2013/08/02/book-review-12-its-all-about-the-bike-by-ro... (  )1  letseatgrandpa | Oct 8, 2013 |
 In this gem of a book Mr Penn, cycling fanatic and bike nut first, journalist and writer second, describes his quest to build the perfect bicycle, mixing in an entertaining dose of cycling history and culture in the process.
"The bicycle is one of mankind's greatest inventions and the most popular form of transport in history. Robert Penn has ridden one most days of his adult life. In his late 20s, he pedaled around the world. Yet, like cyclists everywhere, the utilitarian bikes he currently owns don't even hint at this devotion. Robert needs a new bike, a customized machine that reflects how he feels when he's riding it - like an ordinary man touching the gods. It's All About the Bike is the story of a journey to design and build a dream bike. En route, Robert explores the culture, science and history of the bicycle. From Stoke in his native UK, where an artisan hand builds his frame, to California, home of the mountain bike, where Robert tracks down the perfect wheels, via Portland, Milan, and back to the UK to Coventry (birthplace of the modern bicycle, natch), this is the narrative of our love affair with cycling. It's All About the Bike is, like Penn's dream bike, a tale that's greater than the sum of its parts but those parts are nothing to sneeze at. His components set the standard in reliability, craftsmanship and beauty. A cheerful and charming tour guide, Penn tells how the bicycle has changed the course of human history, from the invention of the "people's nag" to the bike's role in the emancipation of women, and from the engineering marvel of the tangent-spoked wheel to the enduring allure of the Tour de France. It's the story of why we ride, and why this simple machine remains central to life today"-- Aucune description trouvée dans une bibliothèque |
Critiques des anciens de LibraryThing en avant-premièreLe livre It's All About the Bike de Rob Penn était disponible sur LibraryThing Early Reviewers.  Discussion en coursAucunCouvertures populaires
 Google Books — Chargement...GenresClassification décimale de Melvil (CDD)629.2272Technology Engineering and allied operations Other Branches Automotive engineering Vehicle Types Cycles BicyclesClassification de la Bibliothèque du CongrèsÉvaluationMoyenne: (4.05)
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