Bicycle Mechanics Handbook

A two-volume working reference for bicycle maintenance, written by Denise Belzil of Techno Cycle (Montreal's first bicycle-mechanic training center, established in the 1990s). Step-by-step procedures with in-depth photography on every major shop-procedure category. Built around how a mechanic actually uses a book on a workbench: spiral binding that holds the page you left it on, laminated pages that survive a grease-stained thumb.

Most bike-mechanic books are read once and shelved. The Handbook is built to be re-opened: the procedure for a hub overhaul is on the same physical page where you set the wheel down on the bench, the photos at the page you flipped to show the part of the procedure your hands are doing right now, and a moment of confusion is two paragraphs of resolution away. The binding format is the difference between a working reference and a coffee-table book.

What each volume covers

The two-volume set splits bicycle service across the natural shop-procedure boundary: the bearing-and-rotation category (V1) and the drive-and-stop category (V2).

Volume 1: hubs, headsets, and bottom brackets.

• Hub overhaul: cartridge bearings, cup-and-cone bearings, freehub-body service, axle thru-axle conversions
• Headset service: standard threadless headsets, integrated headsets, tapered-steerer service
• Bottom bracket service: cartridge BBs, external-bearing BBs (Hollowtech II, BSA30, T47), pressfit BBs, Italian thread, English thread

Volume 2: gears and brakes.

• Drivetrain service: derailleur indexing, cable replacement, chain replacement, chainring service
• Brake service: hydraulic brake bleeding, mechanical brake adjustment, pad replacement, rotor truing

Each procedure is photographed at the actual step in actual workshop conditions, not in the staged-perfection style most maintenance books default to. The photos show the part of the bike you're working on, the angle the mechanic's hands are at, and the tool's engagement with the work. The visual language is workshop-honest.

Physical features

• Spiral binding that holds the book open and flat on the workbench without you needing to weight the spread. The book stays at the page you left it on as your hands move through the procedure.
• Laminated pages for grease, water, and cleaning-solvent resistance. The print doesn't smear and the page doesn't curl.
• Two volumes, sold together as the 20/12-BIKE-EN set.

Specs

• Two volumes (V1 + V2)
• Author: Denise Belzil, Techno Cycle, Montreal
• English-language edition
• Spiral binding, laminated pages
• SKU: 627300

Built in Zreče, Slovenia

Unior has been forging hand tools in Zreče since 1919, and is the official technical partner of multiple World Tour and downhill teams. The Handbook is the educational layer of a workshop tool line: the same procedures the World Tour mechanics service on team bikes are documented in the same level of detail in this two-volume reference, with the photo-and-step structure that lets a home or shop mechanic learn the procedure from the page and execute it on the bench.

Pro tip from our mechanics

Read Volume 1 before you do your first hub overhaul, not during. The procedure makes more sense on the second read; once the steps are sequenced in your head, you can follow along on the workbench without breaking flow to re-read a paragraph. The book is the reference, your hands are doing the work; the two-pass read is the difference between a mechanic-in-training and a mechanic-doing.

For the broader picture on what a home or shop mechanic should keep on the shelf, the Handbook included: What bike tools do I need? →.