The call of the open road should never be ignored, but it pays to make sure your bike is ready.
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by Tamia Nelson | April 7, 2015
Summer sportsmen* and sunshine cyclists beware. The roads may be losing their winter garnish of snow and ice, but you don’t want to be in too much of a hurry to hop onto the saddle. If your bike has spent the last few months hanging around in your garage or cellar, it pays to take an hour or two to make sure it’s ready for the road.
In short, it’s time to spring-clean your bike. Now here’s a checklist to start you off:
- Give your bike a complete going-over. Fix any mechanical problems you discover, and…
- Pay special attention to the chain and drivetrain; clean it if necessary.
- Give your bike a wash, or at least wipe it down.
- Inspect the tires and bring their pressure up to the recommended PSI.
- Lube all moving parts.
- Take an inventory of the tools in your seat pack or saddle bag, and…
- Don’t forget the spare tube!
These are good ideas even if you gave your bike a thorough overhaul at the end of the last season. Tires go soft as the months pass, and a surprising amount of gunge can accumulate on a bike’s drivetrain when it sits in a garage all winter. An hour spent ensuring that your machine is roadworthy is always time well-spent.
Done already? That wasn’t hard, was it? Now hit the road!
*Not that I’ve got anything against sportswomen, you understand. I don’t. But I’m not a whole-hearted convert to the new gender-neutral English vocabulary, either. “Sportspeople” just doesn’t cut it, I’m afraid, and “sports” is susceptible to misinterpretation. Got that, Sport?
