Bikerider maintenance

OK we have looked a fair bit at the bicycle but what about we humble riders? How many school kids do you see with their bike seats low and peddling with bent knees? Well they are pretty resilient and get away with it probably, but this puts a lot of strain on the knees. So let us put our seats up so that there is only a slight bend in our legs with our feet at the bottom position of the pedals.
In fact, more skilled riders have special shoes that clip into the pedals(as against the earlier strap - on from a former era) You see they get more total force this way - push down on the pedal and pull up.
Personally I don't use them but I'm an old buzzard. I often am amused at seeing guys moving to and fro on the one spot so they don't have to unhook their foot.
As far as clothing goes, you do need a waterproof/breathable top preferably hi-vis. Good helmet of course but I can't come at wearing the tight hose pants; it's just not me - shorts for this old bloke. Well a bloke's got to be comfortable in public - you know what I mean!

On the matter of bicycle maintenance there are two ways to go about it. Firstly, take it to a local bikeshop to have the work done. The other way of course is to do it yourself. A good place to learn what to do, is the internet of course. There a few experts who will explain with pictures what to do.
Of course you will have to buy some tools, so if you do not ride a lot it wouldn't justify the cost.
The advantage of doing it yourself is that you get to know the bicycle intimately and if something fails far down a track you have a better chance of getting up going again.

I road to work for two and a half years for an hour and a quarter each way and was late only once. That was when a tire disintegrated which I knew was dodgy but I didn't do my maintenance
checks correctly. The other things I used to carry in a bag with me was a, spare tube, bits of wire,2 pumps, spoke and chain tools and so on. Be prepared as best you can and have fun, which is what it's all about.

Bicycle maintenance

Any moving parts on machinery require maintenance. The bicycle is no exception. Certainly neglect of bicycle maintenance is often the case. Usually, this will just mean that parts will give way eventually and the bicycle will need to be taken to the bicycle repair shop. However what people often forget is that bicycles can go very fast especially downhill reaching car speeds. So there is not only the maintenance aspect but a safety one as well. Also, one can maybe spot something about to fail during the inspection.

























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