Bicycle Maintenance: Checking Bolts

Series Summary

Learning to ride a bicycle is usually regarded as one of the major milestones of childhood, since it is one of the first steps, after learning to walk, that a child takes towards independence. Taking this view, a bicycle can easily be seen as a precursor to the ultimate vehicle of autonomy: the automobile. Yet, many people ride bicycles into late adulthood, and some cultures have built entire transportation systems around the bike. So the bicycle remains both a fun vehicle for recreation and exercise and a viable means of transportation over relatively short distances. It can be said that bicycles hold a certain excitement as simple machines that we can use to move our bodies faster than usually possible, pumping and pushing in sync with the gears and pedals.

You may have thought your bicycle was running perfectly when you stored it away for the winter, but now that you are getting ready for the summer riding season, your bike could use a check up. Better to find out about any potential problems at home than on a long ride. In this series of bicycle maintenance and safety tips, you will learn how ensure that your bicycle is in top riding condition. Our bicycle pro shop representative will demonstrate how to check your frame, tires, gears and brakes to make sure they are ready for the ride. This series also has advice on how to choose the right size bicycle for you as well as safety tips.

Video Transcript

"So a good thing to look at when your bike's rolling out of the garage for summertime, would be to take a look at all your critical bolts on your bicycle. So you have a few things that are here on your stem in order to accommodate a handlebar, here's the secondary bolts on your stem, here are your seat posts, your saddle, and, of course, your wheels. So if your bike hasn't been ridden in a while, it's a really good idea to check those. So you would check, with your Allen wrench, here in the stem, saddle, and wheels, to make sure everything is number one safe, functional, and won't cause you any harm. So any of your contact areas are a really good way to, here's where your hands are, here's where you're sitting, and, of course, here's where you're contacting the ground. So take some time, double check that, grease what needs to be greased, so that you're safe and having fun on your bicycle. So contact points need to be addressed and your wheels, are your critical bolts."