Check your bike, then ride
On Monday, June 21, at 4:28 in the morning, summer arrived. It’s official. Summer is here, and it is time to make sure your mountain bike is ready for the long days of summer that lie ahead.
Here are some things you should look for on your mountain bike, to make sure it is up to the rides that are coming up:
* Check your tires. If your trail tires are worn, the knobs are more like bumps than knobs, get new ones. As the summer progresses, the trails in the woods will get softer. Moon dust is the term used by the riders in the woods. You need a tire that will grip when you are cornering, especially on the downhill turns.
* Comfort tires–the ones with the normal tread in the center and knobs on the outside edge, are fine if you are going to ride almost exclusively on hard packed trails that will stay hard packed, or any paved trails. If you have comfort tires on your mountain bike and you get into a loose and bumpy trail, slow down. Common sense should rule the day.
* Check your frame, no matter what it is made of. This is critical if you are a hard rider on the off road trails, hit bumps pretty hard, pump over rocks and rock gardens, and do any kind of flight maneuvers, which, if you are a Boomer, you shouldn’t be doing anyway. If you only ride on paved trails, check the frame anyway. A cracked frame that fails while you are riding can ruin your day, or the rest of your days. If it is cracked, head to your local bike shop. Pay attention to what they tell you.
* Check your brakes: elevate your bike, get the wheels turning at a pretty good clip, and grab your bakes. Your tires should stop immediately. If they don’t, tighten the cables. If you have disc brakes, you’ll need to bleed them. If the travel of the brake lever feels mushy, or if it almost touches the handlebar before the wheels stop, tighten the cables or bleed your brakes. If you don’t know how to do either of these chores, head down to your local bike shop. Sacramento has many shops to choose from.
* Check your head set. It should be tight. If it isn’t tighten it.
* Check your chain. Clean it, then lube it. If it is an older chain, you may need a new one.
* Check your pedals. They should be tight on the pedal arms, and the pedal arms should be tight in the bracket.
* Lube anything that should be lubed, with the right lubricant. Putting the wrong oil or grease on your bike will cause many problems.
* If you clip in, make sure that your shoes, and pedals, are still doing what they are designed to do. These things do wear out after a while.
* Check your seat post. No cracks is good. Cracks mean it needs to be replaced, before you ride again.
* Check your seat. Everything should be tight. If anything isn’t, replace it.
* Check your helmet. If it even looks like it may have a crack in it, or you’ve already done one head hit with it, put it in the garden, plant something in it. Buy a new one.
Now that the season has begun in earnest, make sure that your bike is ready for the pounding that comes along with hitting the trails. One of the best things about mountain biking is the joy of the ride. Make sure that your ride is a joy.