Here are a few ways to confirm your bike is ready to ride once you are at the trailhead. First of all, you want to show up to the trailhead with a bike that is clean. We will cover bike cleaning on another video later this summer.
Check your bike front to back:
Front tire pressure (read this article to determine your proper tire pressure)
Front rotor is straight, spin the front tire and listen
*Check your front thru-axel/skewer, confirm it is hand tightened, you should be able to close the lever without extra force*
Front Brake, when you engage it, the tire should lock up and you can’t move the bike forward
Rear Brake, when you engage the brake, you should be able to move the bike with the rear locked up
Fork, engage both brakes first, then push down
Confirm crank arms are on tight by putting lateral force on them
Confirm pedals are on tight by putting lateral force on them
Rear tire pressure (slightly more than the front (read this article to determine your proper tire pressure)
Confirm rear rotor is not rubbing by spinning the wheel
*Check your rear thru-axel/skewer, confirm it is hand tightened, you should be able to close the lever without extra force
Clean the chain between most rides, lube collects dirt, we are cleaning off the dirt and lube with an old t-shirt
Lean bike against a solid surface with your rear tire (your bike won’t balance well on the front tire or on the handlebars)
Run t-shirt through chain backwards, clean all chain surfaces by rotating your fingers around the chain within the t-shirt
Clean chainring by putting your fingers inside t-shirt then pinching the chain ring
Clean both sides of both pulleys in the rear
Then re-lube, add lube to bottom part of chain so it doesn’t get on frame, drizzle just a little, then run your t-shirt over it again to spread lube around
Check rear shock-open, middle or locked (another video later this year, in the meantime, check out REI’s website about this topic)
*Thru axel/skewers were not mentioned in the video. When tightening your skewer, make sure it is hand tightened by you. If someone much strong than you tightens it, you may have a difficult removing it, which you need to do to change a flat tire, or remove a wheel for transportation in a vehicle.
Note, these are the opinions of the author.
Written by Erica Tingey, February 2020
Park City, Utah