Two new cycling books out in September

We all like a bit of light (and not so light) reading on the subject of bikes, so here's a heads up about two new books that'll be hitting the shelves in September.

First up is Vélo, by Paul Fournel. Reading the cover notes we learn that "Vélo is a unique look at the bike. Through a series of short essays, Paul Fournel beautifully evokes the experience and spirit of of all aspects of cycling"

Sounds good, non? The astute amongst you might be thinking, "That sounds quite a lot like Need for the bike by the same author," and you'd be right: Vélo is an amalgamation of that tome with Paul's columns from Rouleur, illustrated by the inestimable crayoniste and road.cc contributor Jo Burt.

Vélo is a highly enjoyable collection of memories, asides and opinions on everything from cyclist's tan (above) to maps, flat tyres, even the smell of cycling. It's a great book to dip in and out of when you want to be inspired to go for a ride...

The book is scheduled to be released in September (we'll let you know when it's on sale) and will cost you £21 from Rouleur books. We'll give it the once over too, so keep your eyes open for a review.

www.rouleur.cc

Also out in September (the 13th, to be precise) is Bike! A tribute to the world's greatest cycling designers by acclaimed cycling author Richard Moore and Cyclingnews.com managing editor Daniel Benson. It's a potted history of 49 of the most famous marques in cycling, from Atala to Wilier via Bianchi, Cervelo, Cinelli, Giant, Gitane, Mercian, Peugeot, Serotta, Time, Vitus and loads more. 37 more, in fact. We won't tell you exactly who's included so you can be indignant when you get your copy that your favourite obscure maker isn't there...

The histories are varied and interesting with lots of peripheral detail and interesting anecdotes for the fact-hounds among you, and they're backed up by excellent photography throughout. With 350-odd pages this is one for the coffee table rather than the hand luggage, but it looks like excellent value at £25 for the amount of learning you'll be doing and nice pictures to look at.

That Rob Penn has weighed in with a foreword too. Bike! is published by Aurum Press and will be available from all good book retailers, and probably some bad ones. Look out for a review on road.cc.