Frank Berto RIP

Maybe this has already been discussed and I missed it. Frank Berto
passed away about a week ago, per Jan Heine's blog. I remember reading
his stuff 40 years ago, always very informative.

On 12/14/2019 2:43 PM, Tim McNamara wrote:
Maybe this has already been discussed and I missed it. Frank Berto
passed away about a week ago, per Jan Heine's blog. I remember reading
his stuff 40 years ago, always very informative.

I hadn't heard about that. I'm sorry to see him go. He did good work.
I've got a couple of his books.

--
- Frank Krygowski

On 12/14/2019 1:43 PM, Tim McNamara wrote:
Maybe this has already been discussed and I missed it. Frank Berto
passed away about a week ago, per Jan Heine's blog. I remember reading
his stuff 40 years ago, always very informative.


Sad to hear that. I was unable to find an obit.

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

On Sat, 14 Dec 2019 16:40:08 -0600, AMuzi wrote:
On 12/14/2019 1:43 PM, Tim McNamara wrote:
Maybe this has already been discussed and I missed it. Frank Berto
passed away about a week ago, per Jan Heine's blog. I remember
reading his stuff 40 years ago, always very informative.


Sad to hear that. I was unable to find an obit.

I couldn't find one either. He was apparently 90 years old from what
did pop up on the interwebs. I enjoyed "The Dancing Chain" very much,
quite a labor of obsessiveness and detail. Berto was pretty good at
poking a few holes in the nonsense that pervades cycling (well, nonsense
is pretty universal and these days is getting universaller).

On Saturday, December 14, 2019 at 2:57:02 PM UTC-8, Tim McNamara wrote:
On Sat, 14 Dec 2019 16:40:08 -0600, AMuzi wrote:
On 12/14/2019 1:43 PM, Tim McNamara wrote:
Maybe this has already been discussed and I missed it. Frank Berto
passed away about a week ago, per Jan Heine's blog. I remember
reading his stuff 40 years ago, always very informative.


Sad to hear that. I was unable to find an obit.

I couldn't find one either. He was apparently 90 years old from what
did pop up on the interwebs. I enjoyed "The Dancing Chain" very much,
quite a labor of obsessiveness and detail. Berto was pretty good at
poking a few holes in the nonsense that pervades cycling (well, nonsense
is pretty universal and these days is getting universaller).

We need more minds that can write books about bicycling.

On Sat, 14 Dec 2019 19:07:45 -0800 (PST), Tom Kunich
wrote:
On Saturday, December 14, 2019 at 2:57:02 PM UTC-8, Tim McNamara
wrote:
On Sat, 14 Dec 2019 16:40:08 -0600, AMuzi
wrote:
On 12/14/2019 1:43 PM, Tim McNamara wrote:
Maybe this has already been discussed and I missed it. Frank
Berto passed away about a week ago, per Jan Heine's blog. I
remember reading his stuff 40 years ago, always very informative.


Sad to hear that. I was unable to find an obit.

I couldn't find one either. He was apparently 90 years old from what
did pop up on the interwebs. I enjoyed "The Dancing Chain" very
much, quite a labor of obsessiveness and detail. Berto was pretty
good at poking a few holes in the nonsense that pervades cycling
(well, nonsense is pretty universal and these days is getting
universaller).

We need more minds that can write books about bicycling.

Aye, especially books that are actually useful and not just fashion
statements or vanity press. There are some interesting historical books
out there, like Jan Jeine's history of Rene Herse which covers most of
the history of French cycling in the 20th century (other than the Tour
de France). But I don't need another "The Curmudgeonly Cyclist" book
nor a "Slavish Devotion to the Latest Tech" one, either.

I don't mind memoirs of bike tours and such, but these days so much of
that is readily available online that there's not much reason to put it
in a book. I read quite a bit of Jin Jeong's www.universewithme.com;
she has spent something like 7 years touring the world with one of the
most seriously overpacked loads I have ever seen (she was carrying a
drone at one point to make videos). The bike may outweigh her. But she
has ridden from Canada down the Americas, then up Africa to northern
Europe (touring Finland in the dead of winter), then the Middle East to
China, etc. Her journals haven't caught up with her, apparently she is
now in New Zealand or somewhere thereabouts and she's a year or two
behind in her writing. Excellent photography much of the time,
interesting places and she has a knack for meeting the locals. Sort of
a female Korean Hans Stucke.

On 12/15/2019 11:38 PM, Tim McNamara wrote:
On Sat, 14 Dec 2019 19:07:45 -0800 (PST), Tom Kunich
wrote:
On Saturday, December 14, 2019 at 2:57:02 PM UTC-8, Tim McNamara
wrote:
On Sat, 14 Dec 2019 16:40:08 -0600, AMuzi
wrote:
On 12/14/2019 1:43 PM, Tim McNamara wrote:
Maybe this has already been discussed and I missed it. Frank
Berto passed away about a week ago, per Jan Heine's blog. I
remember reading his stuff 40 years ago, always very informative.


Sad to hear that. I was unable to find an obit.

I couldn't find one either. He was apparently 90 years old from what
did pop up on the interwebs. I enjoyed "The Dancing Chain" very
much, quite a labor of obsessiveness and detail. Berto was pretty
good at poking a few holes in the nonsense that pervades cycling
(well, nonsense is pretty universal and these days is getting
universaller).

We need more minds that can write books about bicycling.

Aye, especially books that are actually useful and not just fashion
statements or vanity press. There are some interesting historical books
out there, like Jan Jeine's history of Rene Herse which covers most of
the history of French cycling in the 20th century (other than the Tour
de France). But I don't need another "The Curmudgeonly Cyclist" book
nor a "Slavish Devotion to the Latest Tech" one, either.

Among the bike books I've especially enjoyed have been the ones that
were engineering oriented, as opposed to "Bike Tech" oriented in the
"Buycycling" magazine manner. I mean books that pay more attention to
mechanical (and biological) facts than to extolling the negligible
virtues of whatever is currently being advertised.

Example: _DeLong's Guide to Bicycles & Bicycling_ from the 1970s was my
first encounter with bicycle engineering info.
_Bicycling Science_ by Wilson was a lot deeper.
_The Dancing Chain_ by Berto was fun historically and technically.
_The Bicycle Wheel_ by Brandt was logical and practical.
and _Bicycles and Tricycles_ by Sharp was interesting engineering
history. It's amazing what engineers knew back in the 1890s.

I also like books on how to ride competently. It always amazes me that
so many cyclists get so committed to cycling, but don't bother to learn
how to operate a bike properly on real roads.
_Street Smarts_ by Allen is just 50 pages and often available free.
_Cyclecraft_ by Franklin is very good, and very detailed. (There should
probably be a Readers' Digest condensed version.)
_Effective Cycling_ by Forester laid the groundwork, but it's probabbly
best to skip Forester's polemics.
_Urban Biker Tips and Tricks_ by Glowacz is an engaging presentation and
has some value, but I disagree with some of his flagrantly illegal "tricks."


--
- Frank Krygowski

On Saturday, December 14, 2019 at 11:43:26 AM UTC-8, Tim McNamara wrote:
Maybe this has already been discussed and I missed it. Frank Berto
passed away about a week ago, per Jan Heine's blog. I remember reading
his stuff 40 years ago, always very informative.

Probably better to ask this on comp.os.linux.misc, but...

When I put Berto and Dancing Chain into google all I get is places to buy the book.
My local library does not carry it.

What's the proper search term to find the actual *text* somewhere instead of the incessant promotion of commerce?

pH "Am I just frugal or an actual skinflint?" Aptos

pH wrote:
On Saturday, December 14, 2019 at 11:43:26 AM UTC-8, Tim McNamara wrote:
Maybe this has already been discussed and I missed it. Frank Berto
passed away about a week ago, per Jan Heine's blog. I remember reading
his stuff 40 years ago, always very informative.

Probably better to ask this on comp.os.linux.misc, but...

When I put Berto and Dancing Chain into google all I get is places to buy the book.
My local library does not carry it.

What's the proper search term to find the actual *text* somewhere instead
of the incessant promotion of commerce?

pH "Am I just frugal or an actual skinflint?" Aptos


49.95 CAD from Amazon. Doesn’t look like you will find the text for free
if that’s what you mean...

On Sun, 15 Dec 2019 17:20:38 -0800 (PST), pH wrote:

On Saturday, December 14, 2019 at 11:43:26 AM UTC-8, Tim McNamara wrote:
Maybe this has already been discussed and I missed it. Frank Berto
passed away about a week ago, per Jan Heine's blog. I remember reading
his stuff 40 years ago, always very informative.

Probably better to ask this on comp.os.linux.misc, but...

When I put Berto and Dancing Chain into google all I get is places to buy the book.
My local library does not carry it.

What's the proper search term to find the actual *text* somewhere instead of the incessant promotion of commerce?

pH "Am I just frugal or an actual skinflint?" Aptos

"Frank Berto+Dancing Chain"
--
cheers,

John B.