Post-Race Bike Check

Posted on August 6, 2012 by Jack & Adams Bicycles

Racing can take its toll on a bike.  It may not be the longest ride you’ve done this month, or it may be a trip on a plane and an iron man distance event.  Either way, there are things you will want to do to keep your bike operating smoothly for the rest of the season.

The first thing I recommend is washing and lubricating your bike.  Triathletes in particular tend to stay in one position, sweating on the bike and often spilling a lot of their sports drinks.  Letting your bike sit like this for a week or more while you recover from your event can take a lot of life out of components.  As a mechanic I’ve seen more than a few headsets and front derailleurs get ruined from this kind of neglect.  After you wash your bike, lubricate your chain and cables (where possible) as well as the pivot points on your derailleurs.

If you brought out your race wheels, make sure to adjust your brakes and rear derailleur for your other wheels when you put them back on.  If you are switching from wheels that have a carbon brake track to wheels that have an aluminum one, be sure to change out your brake pads as well.  Pads that have been used on aluminum rims will pick up bits of metal that will be harmful to carbon even if the pads are made for a carbon brake surface.

If you are unpacking and reassembling your bike after traveling, you may want to have a torque wrench for reassembly to make sure you don’t over-tighten and possibly damage your seatpost or stem and handlebars.  A torque wrench for these kinds of applications can cost as little as $50.00 from a bike shop.  Traveling to races is already expensive without having to replace parts that get damaged from over-tightening.  A common part of reassembly is adjusting the headset.  It’s not very hard, but if you’re not sure how to do it, stop in the bike shop with your bike and let a mechanic show you how to do it.

Now you can rest a while or get right back to training for your next race with a little more peace of mind.

By John Wood, J&A Mechanic

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