How to Build a Bike: A Simple Guide to Making Your Own Ride

This simple, straightforward, and fun manual will take you from complete bike building beginner to confident bike builder in a series of fully-illustrated instructions. It will show you how to build a bike from scratch using parts that are easy to buy, and guides you in the art of choosing the best frame (track? shopper? step through?) to finding the most suitable handlebars (drop? flat? riser?). It shows you how to take apart a vintage bike (for its parts), and how to piece together a brand new single speed ride from the crucial positioning of brake levers to wrapping your bartape and popping on a bell. Get to know your bottom bracket from your brake lever, and your stem from your chain stays, and learn how fun, creative and satisfying making your own bike can be. With a few simple tools and a bit of inspiration, anyone can build a bicycle that will bring many years of happy riding.