Cyclist
RideLondon bike check: 5 maintenance tips and what to avoid ahead of the big day
RideLondon is one of the biggest events on the UK’s cycling calendar and, for many people, is the pinnacle of their year’s cycling goals. With multiple distances on offer it’s a chance to test yourself on closed roads, riding with thousands of other cyclists.
Whatever your goals for the day are, the one thing you definitely don’t want to experience is bike problems. So, to help you avoid mechanical mishaps, we’ve put together a bike check list with the key areas to look at, as well as some crucial dos and don’ts to avoid RideLondon bike drama.
Why do a bike check?
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If you’re dusting off your bike for the first time in a while ahead of the event, it may seem fairly obvious to give it a once-over (or better still a twice-over) to make sure everything’s in working order. For regular riders, this step may seem unnecessary.
‘I just serviced my bike,’ we hear you think to yourself. But when exactly was that? Because, chances are, it’s longer ago than you thought and no one wants cooked brake pads or a snapped chain to ruin their RideLondon fun, especially if you’ve had it marked in your calendar for a while.
What to check
Brake pads
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Checking your brake pads is, in our opinion, the most important thing to do before any big ride because it comes down to safety, for you and those around you. Other components may help with speed or comfort but brake pads are essential for the control of your bike.
This is doubly important at events like RideLondon where lots of riders are cycling in close proximity, at varying speeds and accelerating/decelerating in the bunch.
Rim brake pads are relatively simple to check. Almost all rim brake pads will have a line marked on the top, which denotes the minimum thickness they can safely be used at. If your pads are approaching this line, it’s worth changing them out before big rides as you never know how much you’ll need to use them during the event.
Disc brake pads can be slightly harder to see, as they are housed within the caliper. The easiest way to check them is to take your wheel out and shine a light into the caliper. If the inner side of the pad – the actual braking surface – is reaching half the thickness of the pad backing, it’s worth replacing them.
It can be tricky to gauge wear with disc pads so it can be worth popping into your local bike shop and asking them to have a quick look. Most will do this for free and will be able to advise you on what pads you will need if they ought to be swapped out.
Chain
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What brake pads are to slowing down, your chain is to actually moving forwards. The chain is one of the three main elements of your drivetrain, alongside the cassette and chainrings, and is the first of three to wear out. General guidelines suggest that a chain will last anywhere between 1,500 and 2,000 miles, but factors such as dirt, rust and dryness can accelerate the process.
It’s nigh on impossible to know if a chain is worn out by eye alone, so it’s recommended to use a chain checker to measure the wear. A chain checker assesses chain ‘stretch’, which is the increase in the distance between chain’s pin spacing.
Chain checkers come in all shapes and sizes, and it’s worth noting that different speed chains will require changing at different wear intervals. The higher the number of gears, the more precise the chain needs to be and the less wear it can withstand and still function accurately.
For example, a 9- or 10-speed chain can be used until it reaches 0.75% ‘stretch’, whereas 11-, 12- and 13-speed chains are better off being changed around the 0.5% mark.
Not changing your chain when worn will speed up the degeneration of your cassette and then your chainrings, all of which can be costly to replace. Buy yourself a chain checker – they’re not pricy – and save yourself and your wallet.
Cables
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Gone are the days when traditional metal cables were ubiquitous on our bikes but many of us still use them for braking, shifting or both. Inner cables run inside protective housing that allows them to slide smoothly backwards and forwards when actuated by the levers. Or so is the case on brand new cables.
Over time, water and debris can cause rust to build up inside the cable housing, affecting the cable’s ability to slide freely and thus perform its task, whether that’s changing gear or actuating your brake calipers. Our advice is to change your cables once a year, more so if you regularly ride in poor weather conditions or leave your bike outside.
A key point to note is that new cables need time to bed in after being fitted. The cable outer will compress slightly after the first few rides, and the inner cable tension will need nipping up, generally after a few weeks of riding.
So, while it’s important to have functional cables for safety and efficiency, it’s worth bearing this in mind if you’re planning to get new cables fitted ahead of the big day and plan a follow-up trip to the bike shop accordingly.
Bottom bracket
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The bottom bracket: bearings that groan with every pedal stroke are the scourge of many a would-be silent ride. Not only is the sound irritating, but it could also be doing damage to your frame and/or components.
Some bottom brackets, such as those with threaded cups, are relatively easy to replace at home if you have the right tools. Others, such as press fit cups or bearings that slot directly into the frame, often require specialist skills as well as tools.
A quick way to check whether your bottom bracket could do with some TLC is to remove the chain from the chainrings – moving it safely out the way so that it doesn’t get jammed – and spinning your cranks, with one hand touching the frame. If you can feel vibrations or hear noise, it’s worth taking it to a shop to get looked at, as the bearings are likely worn out and could do with replacing.
Wheels
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It doesn’t take a genius to know that we, as cyclists, wouldn’t get very far without functioning wheels. There are many elements on wheels that can require attention but to keep it simple, let’s focus on the two main factors.
Firstly, does your wheel spin ‘true’? This is bike-speak for turning in a straight line. With the wheel raised off the ground, face it head on and spin it. If it looks like it’s wobbling from side to side, it needs a true, or you might have a broken spoke. Now do the same, facing the wheel side on.
If there is a big jump up or down – a ‘hop’ in mechanic speak – the same is likely true, and unless you have the specialist skills to re-true the wheel, a trip to the bike shop is required to ensure this minor issue doesn’t develop into something more serious.
Secondly, wheels run on bearings that allow them to rotate freely. While the wheel is spinning, place a hand on the closest part of the frame that meets the wheel. As with the bottom bracket, if you can feel vibrations or hear noise, the bearings likely need replacing.
Another way of checking is by holding the wheel by the rim, keeping the bike still, and trying to rock the wheel side to side. If there is movement independent of the bike, this is also a key sign that the bearings are worn out or are loose and need their pre-load adjusting.
Dos and Don’ts
Don’t: get a huge service a few days before the ride
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I know, I know, we’ve just recommended 101 things that might need replacing on your bike and said that all of them need doing before the big day arrives, so this piece of advice may sound contradictory, but hear us out.
The key part of this is ‘not just before the event’. If you’re getting a big service done on your bike, it’s important to leave a good amount of time for any quirks or follow-up issues to arise and then get sorted. Bikes can be finnicky and even with the best mechanic in the world, unexpected problems can pop up following lots of work.
Bike shops, in London in particular, get very busy ahead of RideLondon, often filling up weeks in advance, so don’t leave it to the last minute to get your bike ride-ready.
Do: test ride your bike a week before the big day
Whether you’ve only replaced your brake pads, had a full service or done absolutely nothing to your bike at all, take your bike out for a solid test ride at least a week before the event. New brake pads may need time to bed in; that new chain might not work smoothly with an old cassette; the bottom bracket you thought was fine might suddenly start creaking mid-ride.
All of these are possibilities that you want to know ahead of time, so you have an opportunity to resolve them, rather than noticing them on your ride from your accommodation to the start line.
Don’t: skimp on brake pads or chain
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It might feel like the savvy thing to do to get as much as you can out of your brake pads and chain but, unless you’re highly knowledgeable on bike maintenance/a professional mechanic, it can be hard to know when the line is crossed from safe to dangerous.
We’re not suggesting replacing parts too early, and definitely not for the sake of it, but keep in mind that eking an extra 100km out of your worn-out chain is likely to result in your cassette and chainrings wearing out significantly faster.
As for brakes, run down disc brake pads can damage your disc rotors, or worse, the calipers themselves. This is a costly component to replace, especially when incorporating labour costs. More importantly, playing it fast and loose with brake pads is simply dangerous, so think carefully before throwing out the classic ‘it’ll be fine’ line – you’ll thank us later.
Do: go to a bike shop if you’re unsure/out of your depth
Bikes have become increasingly complicated over the past decade. From hydraulic brakes to internal cable routing to electronic gears, they aren’t the simple and intuitive machines they once were. Even if your bike doesn’t have those components, there are elements on most models that require technical know-how to repair.
As much as we applaud anyone learning to repair their own bikes, putting those new-found skills to the test ahead of a big ride is likely to lead to frustration and mishaps. Trust us when we say that you don’t want to be bottom bracket deep in grease and shattered bearings the night before the event!
If you’re stuck on a repair, or even knowing whether a component needs to be replaced, pop down to your local bike shop and ask a mechanic. Fixing bikes is their job and any decent shop will be willing to give you some guidance or highlight when a problem is best tackled by a professional. It will be more than your pride that will take a bruising if your crankset comes loose mid-ride because you forgot where that extra bolt should go.
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