Most roadside fixes start with something you could have spotted at home. These five checks take less time than finding your gloves.
None of them needs a tool: only your hands, your eyes and a pump. Do them in the same order every time and the routine soon runs itself, which is the point. Once it does, anything that feels different from yesterday stands out before you are halfway down the street.
1. Tyres: pressure and cuts
Squeeze both tyres. They should feel firm with only a little give. Spin each wheel and look for cuts, glass or bald patches.
Your thumb is not a gauge, but it is very good at comparing. Both tyres should feel alike, and they should feel the way they did yesterday. A tyre that has gone soft overnight has a slow puncture or a valve that is not fully closed, and either is easier to sort out in the hallway than at the side of the road. Once a week, check with the gauge on your pump and top up to your usual number. Tyres lose a little air every day even without a puncture, narrow ones faster than wide ones, so a weekly top-up is normal.
| Tyre width | Pressure range |
|---|---|
| 28 mm | 70 to 90 psi |
| 35 mm | 50 to 65 psi |
| 45 mm | 35 to 50 psi |
Rough surfaces and wet roads suit the lower half of each range. The figure printed on the side of the tyre is a limit, not a target.
2. Brakes
Pull each lever. It should stop well before it touches the bar.
Then hold the front brake on and push the bike forward: the wheel should stay locked and nothing should clunk at the front of the frame. Do the same with the back brake while you pull the bike towards you. A lever that creeps a little closer to the bar every week is telling you the pads are wearing, or on hydraulic brakes that the system needs a look. On rim brakes, check that each pad meets the rim squarely and never touches the tyre. A squeal on the first stop of a wet morning is normal; a squeal on every stop is worth a look.
3. Wheels and axles
Check quick releases are closed and thru-axles are tight. Lift each end and bounce it: no rattles.
A quick-release lever should need a firm push to close and leave a mark in your palm. If it swings shut with no effort, it is not holding the wheel. While each wheel is off the ground, give it a spin. It should run past the brake pads or the frame without rubbing. A slight wobble can wait for Fix-up night; a loose wheel cannot wait at all.
4. Chain
A dry, noisy chain wears everything it touches. Wipe it, then one drop of lube per link.
Turn the pedals backwards and listen. A clean chain on good sprockets is close to silent: a squeak means it is dry, a grind means it is dirty. After the lube, give it a minute to soak in, then wipe the outside with a rag. Lube left on the outside only collects grit, and grit is what wears a drivetrain out.
Swap the chain at 0.5 and one cassette will outlast two or three chains.
That 0.5 is a reading on a chain checker. If you do not own one, Chain wear, explained with one ruler shows how to measure with a steel rule instead.
5. Lights
Front white, rear red, both charged. Test them even in daylight.
Batteries fade without warning, and the hallway is a better place to find out than the unlit stretch home. Point the front light down at the road rather than into the eyes of people coming the other way, and make sure a bag or a mudguard is not hiding the rear one.
Tip: Keep a pump and a tyre lever by the door, not in the shed.
The whole routine, in order:
- Squeeze both tyres and look for cuts, glass or bald patches.
- Pull both brake levers.
- Check the quick releases or thru-axles, then lift and bounce each end.
- Listen to the chain, and lube it if it is dry.
- Switch on both lights.
If a check turns up something you are not sure about, do not ride on it and hope. Take a clear photo and ask in the forum, or bring the bike along to Fix-up night, every Thursday from 19:00 at Unit 4, Mill Yard. Mechanics are on hand for gears, brakes and punctures, and the tea is free.