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The Biography of the Modern Bike Hardcover – June 2, 2015

by Chris Boardman (Author)
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 46 ratings
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Chris Boardman the Biography of the Modern Bike
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Previous page
  1. Print length
    288 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Cassell
  4. Publication date
    June 2, 2015
  5. Dimensions
    9.49 x 1.06 x 8.54 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1844037835
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1844037834
  8. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Cassell (June 2, 2015)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1844037835
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1844037834
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.25 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9.49 x 1.06 x 8.54 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 46 ratings

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
46 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Alan C. Simkin
5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding history of the Bicycle
Reviewed in the United States on October 22, 2017
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In addition to being a legendary cyclist, it turns out that Chris Boardman is also a wonderful writer. This fascinating and enjoyable book is a goldmine of information about the development of every aspect of the bicycle. This book would be my top pick for anyone wanting to learn about how the bike was born, and how it evolved into the modern ride of today.
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angela m. benson
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on March 6, 2017
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a great book for the price - comprehensive and inspiring!
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B-S
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on March 3, 2016
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A great tabletop book that is easy to pick-up and read. Interesting and well written.
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Scoop
4.0 out of 5 stars Good Book; Slow-ish Delivery
Reviewed in the United States on January 22, 2018
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Good book, written by a former pro rider who I hold in the highest regard. The book comprises a wide-ranging history of bicycles and bicycle equipment. Although it is interesting and full of some little known facts, it is written for a wide audience. Because of this, there is a lot of information that an experienced cycling enthusiast might already be aware of. Nevertheless, it is worth reading for the less well-known bits of the history of bicycle evolution, as well as the great illustrations. The only quibble wasn’t with the book. Delivery time seemed exceedingly slow— two weeks or so from clicking to receiving. To be fair, I think we tend to get a little spoiled sometimes, expecting things to show up on our doorstep almost immediately. But still.
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K. Krueger
5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Compendium
Reviewed in the United States on November 14, 2016
This is a really enjoyable book to read and then to peruse occasionally. I had been looking for a book which covers the history of the bicycle when I ran across this in the library by accident. I've always thought Boardman was interesting and particularly like his ITV commentating, so I checked it out immediately. I later bought the book for my own collection.

Biography of the Bike covers the entire history of cycling, from the 1800s to the present and gives good explanations about the technology and what led to various advances. There are a tremendous number of photos, and the book has an emphasis on road racing as opposed to commuting or touring; however, there are quite a few sections on those topics as well. It is a very dense book, packed with photos and text, maybe a little too packed. I have a tough time reading it without reading glasses, due to the small, grey, sanserif font.
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Geoff H.
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Fabulous Book
Reviewed in the United States on January 8, 2023
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Great book, you can pick it up and find something new most every time. Chris writes as good as he rode
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Top reviews from other countries

Steve Tullett
5.0 out of 5 stars Non-specialist - enjoying reading it a lot
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 5, 2015
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In retirement, I am beginning to cycle on the lovely cycle trails in Lincolnshire. Having bought cycle racks for the roof of my car I feared that I may not be always be able to lift my steel-framed bicycle up onto them and looked at lighter Boardman bikes as an alternative. So I was interested in what Chris Boardman had to say on the history of bikes. So far, I am finding the book interesting to read and have followed up by 'googling' some of the manufacturers mentioned and so it has introduced me to a whole new world of bicycles (now I can't get enough of Calfee, Vanilla Workshop, Dario Pegoretti and bamboo bikes) and cycling publications.

I am not a specialist in bicycles and do not have in-depth knowledge to critically acclaim the book. However, I have assumed Chris Boardman knows what he is talking about because I remember him riding the Lotus bike in the Barcelona Olympics and pretending to be superman when he set the 'hour-long' record. Obviously, with Boardman bikes he has inputs into their design and he has contributed to the current successes in British cycling. Others may want to comment on which bicycles are included and omitted and the factual content, but so far I am enjoying reading it a lot - so thank you Chris Boardman for sharing your knowledge.
7 people found this helpful
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Mark Pack
5.0 out of 5 stars Lavishly illustrated
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 21, 2015
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Heavily illustrated, often in full colour, Chris Boardman's lengthy book covers the development of bikes from the original boneshakers through to the modern high-tech wind tunnel-tested engineering marvels. Along the way there is a fair amount of history of professional cycle racing, such as Graham Obree's career and his pioneering of two new aerodynamic positions to race in. Fascinating stuff.
One person found this helpful
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Gill Roberts
5.0 out of 5 stars Fast & Prompt Service & Delivery
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 13, 2018
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Christmas pressie - excellent book - well packaged - but appears to have a small indent at the bottom on the pages - not really noticable - probably a manufacturing fault.
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Sox
5.0 out of 5 stars I love this book. Comprehensive, authorities, relevant and easy to read. Love dipping into it.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 4, 2020
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I love this book. Comprehensive, authorities, relevant and easy to read. Love dipping into it.
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Glenn Cornish
4.0 out of 5 stars Good for fans
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 19, 2015
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This is excellent IF you're big into the development of bikes - otherwise I fear you will find it a big yawn! Titled 'A biography of the modern bike' it follows a biography framework, in that it follows the development of the bike from very early days. It then gets more detailed towards the modern day. There is some fascinating stuff here, and the illustrations are excellent, but they are so large and numerous that the tesxt lacked quite a lot of detail compared to what I would have liked (bike-nerd alert)
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