The Bike Deconstructed: A grand tour of the road bicycle - Tapa dura

Do you know the difference between a head tube and a headset? Can you tell whether a frame is made from steel or carbon fibre? Do you know how a derailleur works and why it revolutionized bike design? If not, this is the perfect guide for you. The Bike Deconstructed celebrates bicycle design by looking at its individual components, large and small. Their historical roots are explored, key features identified and principal uses (and sometimes misuses) revealed. Along the way, you'll lean how they are made, how they function, and why we need so many different variations.

Richard Hallett has been writing about cycles and cycling for 25 years and is noted for his knowledge of the intricacies of cycling technology. An enthusiastic cycle tourist and an occasional mountain biker since buying his first mountain bike in 1987, Richard enjoyed considerable success in competitive road and track cycling in his youth, and, to this day, prefers riding hilly time trials: he still holds the tryicycle course record for the Isle of Man TT circuit, 30 years after setting it. For five years editor of RoadCyclingUK.com, Richard has written for Rouleur, Procycling and Cycling Plus magazines, and was technical editor of Cycling Weekly and Cycle Sport. He is currently working to perfect his TIG welding technique.