Systematically & Mercilessly Realigning the World of Cycling

208 pages of tedium followed by 11 pages of mildly humorous writing. I'm a big fan of Bike Snob's blog, but this book was a real let-down. In some parts it felt like he was trying too hard to be funny. Other times, it felt like he was trying to be unfunny. It just didn't hit the same chord as his web page. I'll try re-reading it in a couple weeks. Maybe I'll see some humour I missed the first time round. But right now, I wouldn't recommend this book.

Now that I've finished reading the book, I thought I might add my own 50 cents to it. First one sentence about me, so you'd know who you're handling with: I am a 41 year old city biker, who has opted for his bike (for daily commutes and weekend rides) and left his car in the garag, for good, I've spent the last fifteen years DAILY on the saddle, if not more.

Bike snob, as snob as he pretends he to be, presents himself as the unforgotten, severely underestimated bike god, who not only literally destroys his own breed in bitter words, albeit profiting immensely from the same hype these folks created, but also chooses to shake any glimpse of motivation of a person, who wants to be a part of it. Newbies beware, this is not the book, if you just got your new bike (how old and used this might be) to motivate you to sit on the saddle and feel good about it. Clichés, which the book is all about, are fed generously with ambiguous arguments, which in its sum leaves one single guy who has the right to bike his way through New York's streets. Guess who can that be? It's not funny, not even if it were considered dark humor by some standards, it is demoralizing and even discriminating.

I assume, that the SUVs, wrong lane riders, hipsters and car honks he is continuously complaining about, have left a deeper mark in his psyche than he would admit, which makes him a bitter person than a cheerful rider. Not really surprising, that the book has the same tone and approach.

I thought this small book would contain some smart anecdotes, some enlightening information or even an enticing story or two. WRONG! The book is just filled with old dribble we've seen time and time again. Nothing new about biking, the lifestyle or anything else. I had to struggle to get through it page by page just to say I didn't completely waste my money. Buy a subscription to a bicycling magazine for a year or two and get better stories, better information and the satisfaction of a good read every now and then. EXTREMELY BORING

The writer has some very clever observations, and is entertaining, at least over the the course of the first half of the book. It looks at cyclists of all sorts, and provides interesting descriptions and insights on several different cycling "types". However, the book's shortcomings are many--it is best read by folks who are from the Northeast, preferably New York--the author really makes no effort to research or even acknowledge a world beyond his own backyard. And, once the descriptions of "types" is over, it is all downhill after that--slowly and often tediously. Suggestions that helmets are a good idea but not necessarily a requirement does the sport a disservice at best, and can be quite injurious at the worst--specially for newbies who are looking for guidance as they get their feet wet on the bicycle. Most tedious, though, was the insistence that your bike, any bike, will be stolen (not a question of if, but simply when) echoing perhaps life in the Big Apple, but really not true of every place on the planet, and then to spend page after page telling us how to lock our bikes--something that could have been covered in a half page with a couple of illustrations. Always fun to read about bicycling, but only the first half really touched on that fun, while the rest made for a very tedious read, as if his imagination expired much sooner than his outline of things to cover did.

Bike Snob writes a daily blog on cycling ([...]) and has published three books. This is the first. In one of his blog posts, he wrote:

"There are rare beings who move through life and the world with grace, elegance, and aplomb. Buddha, Jesus, Gandhi, Steve 'The Gute' Guttenberg--these are people who transcend the mundane, and for whom the petty desires, concerns, and temptations in which the rest of us are mired are as immaterial as the ether. One has only to read the Beatitudes or watch the first three 'Police Academy' movies to appreciate and be inspired by their enlightenment. As for the rest of us, we spend most of our lives groping blindly, like adulterers searching desperately for our underpants in a darkened bedroom when we hear a car pulling into the driveway. If we're lucky, we may accidentally lay our hands on something that doesn't burn, sting, or zap us. We may not be able to fully comprehend it in our blindness, but we can generally sense its contours, and it may even be enough to help us orient ourselves and impart some sense of direction to our wanderings. For some of us, this object is a bicycle"

If this describes you, then you must read this book. There is nothing more to say. That is all.

This is a really enjoyable little book, great to read on rainy days when you don't feel like getting out on your bike. The Bike Snob mixes a little bit of attitude -- not too much -- with a pretty practical account of cycling and cycling culture. He's not an over-the-top advocate or even a "snob" in the more-carbon-than-thou sense, but an easy-to-take writer with intelligence and a healthy sense of humor about himself.

The book combines three things -- a little bit of cycling history, a description of cycling culture, and a little bit of introduction and encouragement to people who aren't yet strongly into cycling. He talks quite a bit about the dangers of cycling -- how to ride in traffic, etc. -- and how to get over fears. He also talks about some of the more inane cycling fads -- like stubby-barred brakeless fixies ridden by anybody other than a bike messenger.

I confess he caught me out with his description of the different types of cyclists. I knew I was a roadie, but he tweaked me a little bit with his description of the "fetishist." Yes, I have one vintage show-bike that I like to look at more than ride. I do have others that are purely for riding, so I escaped the paragraph with my self-esteem intact.

Reading the book made me like the writer. I'll be a more regular reader of his Bike Snob blog at bikesnobnyc.com -- I just added it to my RSS reader.

If you are a very sensitive and good hearted person who believes we all need to be positive, you may not enjoy this book. Any one else will either love this book or be the butt of its jokes. If you are on a bike or enjoy sharp humor this is a book well worth every, well, most, OK there are some rambling parts in the middle but most pages had me spraying my tea from my nose.

On a more serious note it sums up bicycling history, catalogs all of the bicycle sub-cultures, warns of all the follies to avoid, advocates sensibly safe biking, and manages to share a fair amount of the author as well. He is a lover of bicycling and he does an excellent job of imparting that love. I imagine a fair amount of people inspired by his writing have gone out and purchased a bike to sit forgotten in their garages. (For some reason he never discusses that type of cyclist)

Very personal writing style with strong off hand humor and plenty of obscure references. Being a religious Jew I found the Jewish references particularly funny. The book is a bit crude at some points which made me hesitate before sharing a link on facebook.

This book is not a reprisal of BikeSnobNYC's blog. It is a book that is made possible by the blog, and it is a book that many people have tried to write, but few have succeeded in riding the thin line between advocacy and obnoxiousness.

In his blog BikeSnobNYC, has poked fun at all aspects of bicycling subculture for many years. This has earned him a broad and somewhat eclectic following. His writing on the blog is rapier-sharp, but it far toned-down in the book, which is apparently aimed at a wider audience.

This book basically tells why BikeSnob thinks cycling is great; what cycling is all about; and a little bit about how to enjoy life and not get killed on the street.

As a cyclist myself, and a semi-regular reader of BikeSnob's blog, I enjoyed the book immensely. But beyond, that, this is the type of book I would give to my non-cycling friends who just need a little nudge to get them on a two-wheeler of their own.

Insightful, hillarious and a breeze to get through for those who know what he is talking about (anyone who has been on a bike that is) ... a good book to cosy up with if banned from riding and wrapped in bandages. The laughter will speed up all the required healing... surprisingly verbose for a bike-kie but you will find mirth when you meander with the Snob through his labyrinth of thoughts where he shares his observations and insights.

Loved it.

A wonderful book, it fills a huge gap that nobody else could or would have filled...and if they'd tried, it wouldn't have succeeded nearly as well. It's not a book of facts, though there are facts in it, and although it's billed as a book-o-rants, it's way more than that, I'd say.

If you take it sentence by sentence or section by section, you won't fully appreciate its contribution, which is that here, now, in the midst of sharply dilineated cycling factions, against each other as much as we are against the non-cycling world, BikeSnob shakes us all by the shoulders, gently slaps our faces to get us to snap out of it, and says "Look at what you're doing and laugh at yourself and reexamine everything you think about the totem pole of bike riders."

It is funny, but not trying-too-hard funny, and that's a tough little tiny dot to hit. Eben comes off as casual, one of us, but has a way with words that belies his mid-30s age and his authorookieship. He has a style, it's polished, and I like it a lot. It's a cheap book--$16.95. You'll get many times that out of it in a new personal and global bike perspective, information, and entertainment. A whopping success, I'd say.

GP

I loved it. I attribute the negative reviews to people either not understanding this is meant to be a satire of sorts, certainly all humor, with some neat info mixed in, OR they just don't have the same sense of humor as I do. Perhaps this book is best for fans of shows such as South Park where no group is off limits to be made fun of (especially those pesky hipsters), but all is (mostly) in good heart.

I got a great laugh from it, and it was a great book to read in a coffee shop while the weather was certainly NOT conducive to riding (unless of course, you are the BikeSnob and like a honey badger, don't care)

I kept turning page after page expecting....HOPING to find some redeeming quality about this book. I reached the end very disappointed and let down. This is essentially page after page after page of some cranky, jaded Über biker whining and complaining about "hipsters" and people that don't ride bicycles in the same fashion and for the same reasons that he does.....but mostly it's just page after page after page of hipster jabs and bashing. Ultimately what I gained from this book is that THIS guy HATES hipsters; hipsters and fixed gear bikes. Actually I think he may LIKE fixed gear bikes, but he hates them because hipsters like them.
If you don't like hipsters, or the popularity of fixed gear bikes, you'll LOVE this book.

disclaimer: I am NOT a hipster...i'm just a regular guy that drives cars, rides motorcycles and rides bikes.

Although it has its flaws. Any fool can point out flaws. His hatred toward "hipsters" makes sense to me. I've always said that when fashion takes precedence over intelligence, idiots multiply. And some of them risk other peoples life to be cool.

I had fun reading it. Wish there was more to read. Glad he found a way to get paid for writing. And if you missed the piece of humble pie...then you probably missed the point.

It was a celebration for cycling. Liked the quotes too!

If you ride a track bike without breaks in traffic, your endangering other peoples lives, never mind your own. Its clear your DNA should be weeded out!

Just finished the book and thoroughly enjoyed it.
The book had me laughing. All in all, a good read & good fun. Not sure why some reviewers were so put off by some descriptions of the cyclist types. Don't buy the book if you want a serious/comprehensive "how to" cycling manual. Do read it if you ride, plan to ride, and want to be entertained.

A joking commentary on all things cycling, told through sarcasm. I kept hoping the book would teach me something but was disappointed by every segment. The only real insight comes when the author explains the value biking can bring physically, emotionally, and spiritually. I didn't find it funny at all, but I can see how others do. I guess I just chose the wrong book, I was looking for something more informational. It's a fun read if you're starting to notice the different types of cyclists and want a kind of witty explanation on why they do what they do.

Written from the experience of a true "cyclist," BSNYC makes known the experiences we find ourselves in each day. While he appeals to your humor, he'll also have you asking,"Why can't everyone understand the cyclist's point of view!?" Take it for a spin, it has my approval.

A humor book offering social commentary on the opinions & attitudes of different groups of cyclists (Roadie, Mountain Biker, etc). The author makes clever observations on human kind he expresses in colorful & memorable characterizations ("If you're unfamiliar with the newspaper, it's something people used to read before the internet. Basically it was like reading a giant tablecloth . . ."). While lewd comments are a tradition in humor going back to Chaucer the author mentions pornography, sex and genitals a little more frequently than is necessary. After reading the introduction a woman I know was put off and did not read further. At the very least this is a book for guys.

Perhaps because I didn't go into this book already a fan of the Bike Snob blog, I wasn't able to fully appreciate it. I'm somewhat new to the adult cycling world, and thought this book would be a fun way to learn about different areas of cycling I was never aware of, and be a fun commentary. This book generally had no useful information, the area near the end of the book that referenced maintenance and repair was only there to say "I'm not going to go into details because you can find this information online, but it's something everyone should know". I read through this book in two days, and that wasn't because it was entrhalling. It there are three real sections of this book. The first a short history on cycling, the second section, the vast majority of the books felt like at was all about how "Hipsters are douchebags". The final third of the book was about the information you "needed to know" as a cyclist, but he never details what they are, or how to do them.

How does this stuff get published!!!!?? it costs $20! I paid $3 at a thrift store and feel ripped off!

This is a marketing scam pure and simple. The snobs wife is in the publishing industry and no doubt pulled some strings. This is nothing but a series of sophomoric rants that one would skip over on the internet. Typical NYC dribble... Nothing cleaver or insightful or funny etc...I was shocked to see it's ratings! You have got to be joking! One star is generous!

Not so much about bikes and riding as a platform for the snobs self righteous attitude.

A real head ache...avoid...

W

It is interesting to read how bicycle riders like this author think. As a sometimes rider who does not commute to work on a bicycle, I do not intend to dodge in and out of traffic --- ever, nor do I insist on sharing the road when a perfectly good sidewalk is unused alongside. That is the only law I will break on my bicycle. This writer seems to think that occasionally running a red or weaving around cars at a traffic light is okay and I do not. He is not a speed racer type, but somewhat militant about his rights still. I don't see the point actually. In my view, cars are bigger than me and my bicycle will lose a confrontation with them so I avoid such confrontations. The self-proclaimed bike snob is far braver than me, or is that more foolhardy? Definitely a younger perspective than mine. His book is quite a lot of fun to read and includes some tips and techniques that are of great value to any cyclist. He writes in a casual entertaining style and his books and his blog are well worth the cost of admission. Every cyclist should have this book on his her shelf.