I guys,

I have been riding for about 3 years now, just XC, trail sorta stuff. I have been doing the basic maintenance stuff but feel its time to get to know my bike more intimately!

can you recommend any books for me that might help with the more technical stuff?

cheers

youtube is good for most things. A moving pictures usually better than a book but if you want a book for in the garage then you cant go wrong with a park BBB1 it covers most areas well

Probably better off checking Park Tools website for "how to" section, it'll be far more up to date than any books available.

youtube is good for most things. A moving pictures usually better than a book but if you want a book for in the garage then you cant go wrong with a park BBB1 it covers most areas well

zinn and the art of bicycle maintenance

I have Zinn and the Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance which is excellent

Big Blue Book 2 is out by park tools. Found myself using it today.
£15 well spent.

+1 for the Park Tool website – it's absolutely invaluable and seems to be non-manufacturer specific too.

Youre in the same position as I was about 2/3 weeks ago! Buy: " zinn and the art of mountain bike maintenance" – superb,easy to understand instructions. Supplement with you tube vids, sheldon brown and yes singletrackworld bike forum.
One point, a good set of tools is essential and will cost, but once you have them then you have them for life. Park tools are very good but not their cheaper torque wrenches! A torque wrench is essential if you can't estimate that sort of thing – the BBB torque wrench from chain reaction is very good and I also have the halfords one for bigger jobs. Also a good set of allen keys is a must.
If I didnt have any tools I would seriously consider the Park tools pack which is £499 but which you can get on ebay for £399.
Hope this helps 🙂

I have Zinn, but beware that any book will never be able to keep up with all of the different makes of brakes / suspension forks / rear sus bits that change every year.

Basically Its nice to have a book, but MTBs have so many different componenets that change so often the web is the best. The books are good for things like how to true wheels or index your gears, change a tyre / tube, however beyond that they become out of date very quickly.

And thats the same with tools – although you may be able to get a complete kit far cheaper (from the likes of Decathlon / LIDL) than the cost of all the individual tools, chances are yuo'll never use 90% of them. Buy them as you need them – some things are worth it or can be found from the likes of Screwfix that do the same thing but far cheaper