The Complete Handbook of Bicycle Cranks

It's a solid reference and I appreciate the lack of hype. The chapter on installation procedures saved me from putting my new cranks on wrong, so that alone was worth the cover price. But I felt like some sections were a bit heavy on torque specs and light on the actual riding feel differences between standards. The book is careful to stay neutral, which I respect, but it sometimes reads a little like a repair manual and less like the full picture I'd hoped for. Still, a useful shelf book for anyone who works on bikes seriously.

I bought this because I run a small shop and I'm tired of customers asking questions I can only half-answer about cranks. This gives me the language to explain the difference between a square taper and a splined interface without stalling. The troubleshooting chapter is genuinely useful; I followed the creak diagnosis flowchart and found a worn spindle cup on a customer's bike. My one complaint is that the business opportunities chapter felt a little padded, and the installation chapter assumes you already have a full toolbox. But for the technical content alone, it earns its place.

I've bought a few cranksets in the past based on weight alone, and I've paid for it with headaches. This book finally explained why a cheap crank with a worn taper arm can feel like a slipping pedal, and how a quality spline interface with a preload cap fixes that. I actually read the whole chapter on installation before I put my first Hollowtech II crank on, and it went perfectly. Minor gripe: some torque specs overlap with manufacturer manuals I already had, but having them all in one place is still convenient. The glossary and the FAQ in the back are worth a lot too.

I'm a bicycle mechanic at an independent shop, and I've had to correct at least three installations from other shops that clearly didn't understand bottom bracket spindle pinch bolts. This book made me feel like a professor every time I see that mistake now. The engineering grounding is real — it doesn't just say 'torque to 14 Nm', it explains the clamping forces and the thread direction reasoning. It's a bit academic for the casual rider, but for a working mechanic it's the clearest reference I've used. I only wish it had more photos, since some of the written instructions are dense.

Honestly the most explanatory crank reference I've come across. It explained why my off-brand 30mm spindle crank had more creak than my friend's Shimano, without trashing the off-brand. I appreciated that it discussed both the pros and cons of each standard without acting like one is better. The chapter on choosing cranks walked through realistic scenarios (fixed gear, touring, MTB) that matched my own projects. Lost one star only because it skimps on the history and legacy standards — I'm still figuring out what to do with the old triples lying in my parts bin.

Sound, thorough, and admirably non-biased, but it's not a book for the average rider — I'd say it's aimed squarely at mechanics. I'm a fast recreational rider and I found the first half heavy, but the installation chapter really is meticulous. The checklist for spindle extraction was worth the money, because I definitely mangled a crank once doing it wrong. It did get a little repetitive with the warnings about carbon spindle cranks, and the author, while thorough, tends to repeat torque values. I'll keep it as a manual but I wouldn't call it leisure reading.

I run a cycling workshop and I've stopped looking at — wait, this is the book I've been looking for. The chapter on how torque actually transfers through the crank and into the bottom bracket changed the way I train new interns. We've already had them read the installation chapter before touching an actual bike, and we've had zero crank related rework since. The most valuable part for me was the business positioning: it helped me decide which brands to stock for the workshop without just guessing. Not just a handbook — it's foundational for anyone in the trade.