Video vault for May 2012
Although today's weather does not indicate how nice it has been around the Puget sound area lately we have all seen what tremendous weather we have had over the last month or so. Recently, the "Vaults eye" has seen quite a few folks out in the area riding their bikes in many different places across the Puget Sound region. One common theme I have noticed is people repairing their bikes on the side of the roads and that is what prompted me to write this article.
Not only is that not any fun, but is very unsafe as well. So I asked a few of them as I was walking in the area what had happen and the most common reply was that they had not done any upkeep or maintenance on their bikes before they jumped on them and started to ride. Some even took them right from the garage and put on their bike racks and went to the park only to find out the tire was flat or the chain had come off the sprocket.
That made me to think how can I help?
Well, here are a few of the things that I did as soon as I got home, and found that my own bike had a flat tire and a dried out chain.
Pump it up: The general rule is, if you bought your bike at a big-box store, you can go to a gas station and use the air pump. If you bought your bike at a bike store, you may have a different kind of valve and you should use a foot pump with a pressure gauge. You do not want over inflate your tire and blow up that inner tube, which I hate to say... I have done that.
Lube it up: About half of all the parts of a bicycle are in the chain, so be nice to it. Apply a light coat of lube to the middle bushing; rotate the chain to work in the lube. Wipe off the excess lube. Don't use WD-40, the experts say it is too corrosive and will eat chain lube.
Brake check: Check your brake pads front and back, if the pads look thin, unevenly worn, old, or cracked, you probably should replace them. If you know how you can do this, but may be safer to have a bike shop replace them. If all you need to do is adjust them, turn the barrel adjuster on your brake cables to tighten or loosen them.
Gear up: This is a little more tricky, again if you know what you are doing and can handle this simplyIf gears slip or clunk or don't shift, adjust tension on the barrel adjuster on the rear derailleur near your rear wheel cog or at the cable adjuster on the right-hand shifter near your handlebars. But if this is out of your of your league a bike shop is the best place to have this done.
Sit on it: Do you remember who said that line? Well I am talking here about testing the seat and making sure it is in a good solid position for your ride. There are a couple ways to adjust the seat for proper height: Experience riders shouldsit on the bike with one pedal all the way down, your leg should be 90 percent straight or slightly bent, and you should be able to reach the ground only on tiptoes. If you're new to biking or nervous about riding in traffic, lower the seat so both feet can touch the ground more comfortably. That is how I adjusted my seat.
I would like to say all these ideas came from my own experiences, and most of them did, but I checked with Andrew Fiore, service manager from the Bike Gallery downtown and listened to his recommendations as well.
I hope this will lead to safe riding and less repair on the side of the road.
I will see you next month.
Remember, Flygare & Associates want you to be safe and enjoy your summer fun.
~Christopher A. Lewis,
Legal Video Specialist