As the weather warms up and people start dragging their bikes out of the garage, it is important to make sure your bike is fit and healthy.
If your bike has been hibernating in the shed during winter the tyres could be flat, the chain a little dry and brakes a bit loose. Other components may also have deteriorated and in the worst case, cracks may have appeared in the frame.
Bicycle Network recommends giving your bike a thorough inspection so that you know it is fit and healthy and isn’t going to fail while being ridden.
To make sure your bike is good to go we recommend doing an ‘M’ check where you follow the frame (which sort of looks like an M) and have a good look at everything.
Following the M check means you will be able to check the condition of everything from the chain and gears to seat, brakes, handlebars, frame, forks and wheels.
If you notice that you tyres, chain or brakes need a bit of love you can actually tend to these quite easily with help from our tips and resources page.
If you uncover any major issues it is a good idea to have a professional bike mechanic inspect the bike and give recommendations.
Doing the M check could save you from having a nasty crash caused by parts of your bike failing.
While rare, there have been times where people have crashed while riding because their bike has given up on them. Occasionally the crashes result in serious injury or worse.
Coroners reports have asked for greater attention to be paid to bike servicing and Bicycle Network takes this seriously – the last thing we want is for someone’s ride to be ruined by bike failure.
After doing a thorough M check you can do an easier ‘ABC’ check before each ride where you assess the air in your tyres, brakes and chain.
For more information about bike maintenance, see Bicycle Network’s bike preparation and Tips and Resources pages.