Article
Congratulations to the Winner of TravelSmart’s “Bike More” Contest!
Posted: Jul 15 2011
From TravelSmart's Website:
Thank you to everyone who participated in the "Where's your bike now" contest! We had some impressive entries, and some down right frightful ones as well. From the photos and the conversations we had with people highlighted for us that many people have a bike tucked away, that can be easily restored with a little TLC.
Sue doesn’t ride her bike very often which is why it was pictured snuggled up against the TV! Her friend Jack rides his bike a lot to get around town (the second bike in the picture). Jack really wants his friend to ride more often so they can enjoy getting around to the places they love to go, especially on beautiful sunny days, so he suggested that Sue enter TravelSmart’s “Bike More” contest.
Although Sue’s bike is only about a year and a half old, it is apparent that it needs some love! The team at Different Bikes have a few easy ongoing maintenance suggestions that would have kept Suzy’s bike in much better condition:
Keep your bike clean. It doesn’t have to be pristine, but if you give it a wipe down with a rag every once and a while just to get rid of the muddy build up, that should do. If you use water, do not use high pressure because that can cause damage to bearings. Low pressure water is fine.
Take care of your chain. When you clean your bike, you will also need to clean the chain. In the very least, just take a rag and run the chain through it to get rid of build up. If you feel up to it, take a brush and use degreaser to clean the chain, then rinse it with low pressure water. After cleaning your bike or if you have been out in wet conditions, don’t forget to oil it again! Just pick up a bottle of lube from your local bike store and keep it handy along with your rags. Just a little bit of lube will do.
Keep up the pressure. One of the easiest ways to improve your ride is by keeping your tire pressure up. Tires deflate over time so it is normal to inflate your tire on a regular basis. If you don’t have one of those handy floor pumps at your home, pop by your local bike shop and they should be able to top you up. A general rule of thumb is that if you can indent you tire with your fingers, it needs air.
With these 3 easy on-going maintenance suggestions, your bike should be in great condition. It doesn’t hurt to bring it in to your bike shop for an annual tune-up to make sure all is in good and safe working order.
