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First Ride Checks

First Ride Checks

Posted by Ben on 16th Mar 2017

Before your first ride, there are few important checks that you should carry out. These ensure that your bike is safe to ride, will perform as it should, and make sure that you’re not voiding the warranty.

  1. Does it look right?

This first point is a bit more serious than it sounds. All of the studio photos (side on, white background) of our bikes are taken with the bikes set up looking exactly as they should be. Compare your assembled bike to these photos.

Are the bars in the right position? Is the fork the right away around? Are the brake levers in the correct place?

  1. Saddle height?

An easy one to get wrong. Too high and you lose power. Too low and you lose even more power! When your legs are at the bottom of the pedal stroke, your foot should be flat and your leg should have a slight bend in it – about 20 degrees.

  1. Check the tyres

Tyres should be inflated to somewhere between their recommended pressures. We send all bikes with their tyres within this range, but it’s always good to check in case of a slow puncture.

The second thing to check is that the tyre is sat in the rim correctly, all the way around. See the photo below:

tyre-sitting

  1. Check the handlebar and stem bolts

Regardless of which type of delivery and packaging option you chose (EasyRide or standard) it’s important that you check both sets of bolts on the stem: the stem plate bolts (holding the bar in place) and the steerer bolts (making sure that the bars keep pointing the same way as the front wheel!)

Check the following bolts are right and that the bars/stem won't budge when you give them a hard twist:

stem-bolts

  1. Check the gears and chain

Before you ride, flip the bike on to its back as in the clip below. Then, select the lowest (biggest) gear on the cassette and the lowest (smallest chainring) gear on the front. Pedal through the gears, ensuring that that derailleur is clear of the spokes at the rear. If there’s any contact at all, stop and get in touch with us – something may have been knocked in transit.

Then, run through the rest of the gears.

  1. Check the brakes

Before you hit the road it’s wise to do a couple of stops. Not just to check things are tight, but to help the brakes bed in. This is especially important with disc brakes.

Start with a couple of hard stops, but only from walking pace. Gradually build the speed to a jog, then a run, and then a high speed. Aim to stop as quickly as possible without locking the brakes (especially not the front - you’ll get thrown out the front door!).

Now go ride!