Boneshaker Bicycle Stories Volume 2

This volume of Bicycle Stories from Boneshaker magazine is the second collection of highlights from previous issues, and is equally eclectic and enjoyable as the first one.

• Pros: Introduces you to the best of this delightful magazine
• Cons: If you like what you read, you can't get any more

The team from Boneshaker magazine have been a regular presence at Bepoked shows, no doubt finding a receptive audience for their beautifully crafted products amongst those who appreciate fine workmanship.

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Back at the 2016 show they displayed the first volume of Bicycle Stories, which we reviewed here. Since then there have been a few developments at Boneshaker magazine: some expected and welcome, and others unexpected and less welcome.

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In the former camp is this second volume of 'greatest hits', covering the last 10 issues; in the latter camp, the team have announced that issue 20 will be the last one.

The formula is just the same as before, so 'this volume brings together just a few of our favourite moments from Boneshaker issues 11 to 20'. The page count is the same (at 220), although the number of chapters falls by 16 to 41: this is probably a reflection of the changing nature of features in the magazine, which have grown in average length over the years.

There is a wide-ranging mix of articles and poems, enhanced with photographs and illustrations to varying degrees; as before, the contributions focus on the sort of areas that regular magazines don't, 'celebrating creativity and freedom, wanderlust and activism'.

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As is often the way with any such collection, some articles will be of more interest than others, but there is enough variety here to ensure that everyone will find something to enjoy.

My highlights included extensive coverage of 'tall bikes': I am unlikely to have one, but am interested in knowing about them. How tall is a tall bike you might ask? The answer is tall enough that if you have a Bluetooth speaker at the bottom of the bike, and a phone up with the rider, the connection can be unreliable. The tallest reached 20 feet, 2 1/2 inches, and earned a Guinness World Record.

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Another highlight for me was the inspiring article about 'the Piratas', who have half the number of legs (and sometimes arms) of most of us, yet manage to achieve twice as much as most people on a bike. It has encouraged me to seek out the documentary about them, which passed me by when it first appeared in 2014.

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Bicycle Stories will not offer regular readers of the magazine anything new – except the chance to complete their collection. For others it represents the best opportunity to discover what is on offer at Boneshaker, although ironically, if you do like what you see, you will only have the remaining back issues available to satisfy you.

> Read more road.cc reviews of books for and by cyclists here

Verdict

A welcome collection of highlights from a rather different style of magazine