Bicycles are an engineering work of art, the most efficient machines for
directing human energy that we have invented. A proper operating bike is
designed for silence, any noise communicates a problem. Test the stability
of your bike by relaxing your hands on the bars. The bike should run
straight and not pull to the side.
Do a walkabout inspection. Is everything fastened tightly? Are the tires
pumped and clean? Are rotating parts properly adjusted? Brake check! Ensure
they have adequate stopping power. Will they stop you quickly? Gear check!
Do they change and drive with precision? Do you have proper tools? Keep your
galloping steed washed and oiled.
Tip: Put a note in the handlebar to identify your bike. Find a bike-riding
officer to help register your bike. Take a picture of your bike, then if it
s stolen, house insurance will help pay for a new one.
Bike Fitting
Your steed should be as comfortable as your favorite blue jeans.
After you chose the type of bike you want, select a frame size for proper
balance, efficiency and comfort. With your shoes off, straddle the bike, the clearance between the top tube and your crotch should be about 1” but no
more than 2”. A mountain bike clearance could be as much as 4”. Adjust the
rest of the bike (saddle, handlebars, pedals) to suit your anatomy.
Bicycle frame size is gauged by measuring from the center of the axle on the
bottom bracket to the top of the seat tube, in inches. Popular frame sizes;
Road Bikes: 19”, 21”, 23”, 25”. Mountain Bikes: 17”, 19”, 21”, 23”.
Saddle Height is measured in ผ” increment counts. The seat is the proper
height when you can sit on it with one foot touching the ground. When the
heel of your foot is on the pedal in the down position, your knee should be
slightly bent. An adjusted saddle provides comfort for neck, upper arm and
lower back. Are you losing power? It’s better to be higher than lower, but
not so high that your pelvis is tilting or you lose contact with the pedal.
Saddle Forward/back Position. Seated, place your foot/pedal/crank arm
parallel to the ground, your knee should be vertically in line with the ball
of your foot. You will enjoy knee comfort and power delivery. With one elbow
touching the tip of the saddle the handlebars should be no more than 1” from
your fingertips.
Saddle Tilt. Women start the adjustment tilted slightly downward. Men start
the adjustment level or tilted slightly upward. Adjust for comfort.
Seat Post. If you find that road bumps are transmitted through the bike and
hence hurting your spine then consider a spring loaded seat post. This handy
piece of gear is adjustable for tension and works like a charm.
Handlebar Stem Height – Adjust height for comfort and stability sweet spot,
about 1” lower than the saddle. If the handlebars are too far forward, too
low or too high, they will cause wrist strains. The handlebar should obscure
the view of the axle. The stem can also be replaced to extend your reach.
Handlebar Tilt. Adjust drop bar tips level or pointing toward the rear hub.
Select optimal crank arm Length by rpm vrs. leverage. The size marked on the
back of the arm. Here’s a guide.
Inseam (cm) Crank arm (mm)
< 74 165
74-80 170 standard
81-86 172.5
87-83 175
Measure from the center of the bottom bracket axle to the center of the
pedal axle hole.
Brake System
Didn’t we just drag our feet to a stop? How did we become so sophisticated?
Who invented brakes anyway?
Squeeze each brake lever to make sure it stops before touching the
handlebar. Make cable tension adjustments if needed. While riding, test each
brake on it’s own. The rear brake must be strong enough to skid the wheel when applied. The front brake, when applied, should lift the rear wheel off
the ground. Inspect the brake pads. If the surface is worn away, the pads
should be replaced. The forward part of the brake pads must contact the rim
first to prevent squealing. The pads must also be positioned for maximum
surface contact on the rim.
If one of your brakes appears off-center, check that the wheel is installed
straight in the fork. If the wheel is crooked, and you misadjust the brake
to compensate, you are creating two problems. If the brake is off-center, it
is often the result of too much friction on one of the cantilever bosses.
Unhook the cable and try moving each cantilever by hand. They should move
smoothly and freely, and always come to rest near the same position. If you
suspect friction, unscrew the cantilever bolt that and remove the
cantilever. The surface of the boss on the frame should be smooth, free from
rust, and coated with grease. Use emery cloth or sandpaper to remove the
rust, and wipe off the dust and sand. Coat the boss with grease, and
re-install the cantilever.
A small amount of medium oil on any bare cable areas will hold back the
rust. Check that your brake cables are in good condition and not frayed.
Ensure that you carry an extra brake cable long enough to reach the furthest
brake. You will be smiling when one of those puppies snaps, and you’re
prepared.
Cleaning and Lube
If I were a millionaire, would I still wash the steed? Until then…wash the
steed once a week or after wet travel, a pressurized car wash hose works
well. Use a soapy solution to get the grease and grit off. Get into the
small spaces with a tooth brush. Never leave a wet bike with caked grit to
dry, the acidic properties of the road grit will slowly eat away and age
your bike. Never spray-cleaning solutions as they seize hubs, headsets,
bottom bracket, pedals.
Monthly Lubrication.
Lubricate & inspect chain & freewheel. To lubricate, first clean the chain and
freewheel with degreaser, then apply a teflon-based oil to the chain and wipe off
the excess.
Dust, dirt & sand are the major reasons why a bicycle drivetrain wears out.
The chain and freewheel, when worn out, must be replaced at the same time.
Replacing only one of these will result in chain “skipping” or a very noisy drivetrain. In
the event of riding in rain, snow, sand or mud, this maintenance should be
carried out more often.
Lubricate & inspect the derailleur. Lubricate the pulleys and the pivot
points at the rear derailleur. Lubricate the pivot points at the front
derailleur. Use a teflon-based lubricant for best results. After lubricating
a part, move it back and forth for maximum coverage. Ask a bicycle shop to
show you how to perform any adjustments if necessary.
The six month or annual lube. Use bicycle standard grease to lube the bottom
bracket (pack), pedals, headset, wheel bearings. You may want to have your
bicycle mechanic perform this overhaul, since it requires special tools and
expertise. Use a medium oil on shift cables and brake cables. These
procedures are essential to maximizing your enjoyment and minimizing costs
at a later time.
Derailer System
Derailers are the traffic cops of gear shifting…shifting smoothly on a
warm breezy afternoon in a small town somewhere in Fiji.
Front Derailer Adjustments. The low-gear limit stop stops the derailer from
shifting past the smallest chainwheel and throwing the chain onto the bottom
bracket shell. If it is too loose, the chain will fall off when you try to
downshift to the small chainwheel. If it is too tight, you it will be
difficult or impossible to shift down to the low chainweel. The basic
adjustment for the low-gear stop ( screw marked L ) is to set it so that the
chain just barely clears the inner plate of the cage when the lowest gear
(small front, large rear) is selected.
The high-gear limit stop is pretty straightforward. It should be set ( screw
marked H ) so that the chain almost rubs on the outside plate of the front
derailer cage when the bicycle is in its highest gear (large front/small
rear). If the shift to the large chainwheel is slow, make sure that you
aren’t pedaling too hard, front upshifting requires being ready to have the
cranks slow down when the shift takes place. If the shift is unreliable even
when you are pedaling lightly, you may be able to improve it by loosening
the high-gear stop a bit.
Rear Derailer Adjustments. The low gear limit stop (usually marked by the
letter “L”) stops the derailer from shifting past the largest sprocket and
throwing the chain into the spokes. If it is too loose, the derailer can
overshift into the spokes. If it is too tight, it will be difficult or
impossible to shift down to the largest rear sprocket.
The high gear limit stop (usually marked by the letter “H”) stops the
derailer from shifting past the smallest sprocket and wedging the chain
between the smallest sprocket and the dropout. If it is too loose, it will
let the derailer overshift past the smallest sprocket. If it is too tight,
you it will be difficult or impossible to shift up to the smallest rear
sprocket.
Rear derailers use two wheels in a spring-loaded cage to regulate the
tension of the chain as it runs over different sized sprockets. The upper
wheel is called the “jockey” wheel which actually guides the chain from one
sprocket to another. The lower one is the “tension” wheel because it adjusts
the tension of the chain. These wheels should be kept clean of grit to
provide smooth operation.
DriveTrain & Gearing System
The great thing about shifting is that you have complete freedom, no one
says when to shift, it becomes intuitive. Shifters are the hand controls for
a gear shifting system. It’s important to ensure they have the proper torque
as not to slide or be too stiff. Check the cables from the shifters to the
deraillers to ensure they era not damaged or frayed. Carry a spare shifter
cable, the length to the rear derailler, and save yourself a world of grief.
Tip: If a cable breaks and you don’t have a replacement use your waterbottle
braze-on screw to hold the cable in a gear to get you to a bike shop. Also a
spare nut and bolt with an eyehole can splice your cable until you get to a
shop.
Most times, shifting problems are due, not to any problem with the
derailers, but from too much friction in the cables that control them. The
usual effect of cable tension is to make the derailer move sluggishly when
the return spring is pulling it toward a smaller sprocket. A small amount of
medium or teflon oil will remedy this problem. The most common area for this
problem to arise is the short loop of cable housing that leads from the rear
stay to the derailer. The front end of this housing is exposed to road spray
from the front tire, and the resulting rust can seriously degrade shifting.
Once again, clean and oil this area. Another problem area is the cable guide
where the cables run under the bottem bracket. In addition to sluggish
upshifting, friction in this area can cause spontaneous upshifting under
load.
A Freewheel is the mechanism that makes coasting possible. A ratchet
mechanism that allows the rear sprocket to drive the wheel when pedaled
forward, but allows the wheel to turn forward independently even when the
sprockets are not turning. In other words, the freewheel is the part which
makes coasting possible. Freewheels are normally sold with the sprockets
attached, and are usually replaced the same time as the chain, since they
tend to wear and mesh together. Replace the freewheel every 3000mi. Pedal
hard in each gear to check for skipping cogs. Replace worn cogs or entire
freewheel. Clean by removing wheel and running a rag between cogs.
Tip: Try to get an 18,20,24” lower “granny” gear to climb steep hills fully
loaded, pace 6.8km/h, cadence 80rpm, for self-contained touring this is a
godsend. Ask your bikeshop to get the cogs.
A Chainring is a toothed wheel or gear that is part of a chain drive. The
front sprockets are also commonly called chainwheels or chainrings. The term
“sprocket” is perfectly correct to refer to either front or rear, but use
most adult cyclists use this term mainly to refer to the rear sprockets. The
rear sprockets individually are also commonly called cogs or gears; as a
group they are referred to as a block, cassette, cluster or freewheel.
Replace the chain every 1500mi. If the chain breaks, you can afford to
remove one link if you don’t have a replacement link. Replace chains that
have rusted or have frozen links. Remove dirt and lubricate with chain lube
where the chain passes over freewheel. When you lubricate the chain, there
should be no excess (dripping) lubricant – if there is, wipe away with a
rag. Chains stretch considerably over time from the force exerted in
downward pedal motion. In most cases a link can be removed to compensate for
a stretched chain. For the most part, the chain is replaced at the same time
as the freewheel sprockets.
The Bottom Bracket is the part of the frame around which the pedal cranks
revolve, also the bearings and axle assembly that runs through the bottom
bracket shell of the frame. These bearings should be lubed and/or replaced
once a year by a professional mechanic.
Crankset — Creaking noise indicates a loose chain ring or crank arm bolts.
Replace chain ring that has worn or broken teeth. Make sure the cranks are
tight by rocking from side to side – they should not move laterally.
Repair a Flat . . .be fabulous
Dismount, flex your form, wave energy bars, find another to “slave and
patch” while keeping your hands clean of the matter. Otherwise carry on…
Select a small sprocket for your chain to rest easily. Release your brake
cable. Remove your wheel. Remove your valve cap and nut.
Insert a tire lever away from the valve but under the bead of the tire, tilt
gently to disengage the tire from the rim, avoid pinching the tube. Hook the
opposite end of the lever on a spoke.
Get all 3 tire irons hooked in to lift the tire bead over the rim, careful
not to pinch the tube. Lift the rest of the tire by hand or run the iron
around the rim.
Remove the tube, inflate and locate the hole, wet it to see bubbles to make
sure you have it. Decide if you can repair the tube or to replace it. Check
for holes or debris in the tire.
Roughen the area on the tube with sandpaper. Spread a thin layer of glue and
let it dry for 2 min.
Remove the foil from the patch and apply the patch to the tube with pressure
for about 5 min. Pump the tube and ensure it is repaired. Remove any debris
in the tire and tape protruding spokes.
Insert the tube on the rim and inflate it slightly. Use your hands to work
the tire bead into the rim. Use tire irons when necessary and be careful not
to pinch the tube.
Inflate the tire some more. Pat the tire to ensure the beads are set and the
tube is positioned well.
Inflate your tire to it’s final pressure. Install the wheel and reconnect
your brake. Ride on and be fabulous all the more.
Steering System
Ever notice that we simply don’t move the handlebars very much during a
turn, we tend to lean into the turn with a sort of centrifugal balancing
act.
To adjust the height of the handlebar, first loosen the expander bolt in the
stem. Gently tap the bolt downwards with a hammer ensuring that the head of
the bolt is protected from damage. Adjust to the required height and
retighten the expander bolt securely. For most cases, the handlebar is the
same height as the seat. On the part of the handlebar stem which is inserted
into the front fork there is a limit mark, indicating the maximum permitted
height for your handlebar. For safety reasons it is extremely important to
observe this maximum height.
After deciding on your final handlebar and stem positioning, test the
security of the handlebars within the stem and the stem within the fork
steerer tube. Stand in front of the bike facing the handlebars. Grasp the
grips and lock the front wheel between your knees. Try to move the bars
backwards, forwards and from side to side. There should be no movement.
Check the headset adjustment. This is done by applying the front brake and
“rocking” the bicycle back and forth. If there is play, the headset requires
adjustment.
Wheels
Tip: If you thrash your rim and become the envy of the art world, be glad,
then remove it and bend with your feet. Remove dents with an adjustable
wrench. Tighten or loosen equal numbers of spokes to chase down the wobbles.
Test the tension by squeezing pairs of spokes together. It will become
ridable again.
Repair a major rim wobble. Mark the wobble range on the rim. Tighten the
spokes on the side that you want to pull the rim for truing, loosen the
spokes on the opposite side, ฝ turn increments. Spin the wheel and true
until spokes are tensioned. This will get you to the next bike shop.
True and balance your wheels before a serious tour, or your jazz singing
spokes may snap under load and go two stepping to the next
country-music-town.
You can replace a broken spoke without deflating the tire. Remove the old
spoke and feed a new one through the hub eye, into the nipple and tighten to
tension.
Try and use a presta valve over shrader, they will leak less when using a
hand pump.
Mr. Tuffies are inserts that provide puncture resistance. Consider
installing one in the back wheel, since 80% of flats are at the rear. Mr.
Tuffie will get you there, and you won’t get a flat.
Buy good rubber to also prevent flats.
Check pressure once a day to ensure an enjoyable ride.
Prevent flats by inflating the tire to max. pressure, this will repel
objects, on hard bumps the tube won’t get punctured.
Tire pressures
(width) (psi)
2” 40-60
1 3/8”, 33mm 60-80
1 ผ” , 30mm 80-100
1 1/8” , 28mm 90-110
Tire sizes – Mountain=26”, Road=27” or 700c.
Tires — Look for rips or cuts, sidewall bulges, cracking or loss of tread.
Replace if needed before tube is damaged.
Spokes — Check for bends or breaks. Tighten loose spokes. Broken spokes may
mean a bent rim needs to be replaced.
Rims — Bulging spoke holes and sidewalls affect breaking. Try to flatten
spoke hole bulges by squeezing with pliers.
Hubs – Ensure the hubs are greased before a tour.