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ABC Quick Check – Do It!

04.25.2010 by Ray Niekamp // 5 Comments

ABC Quick Check is a simple way to check out your bike before a ride. A is for Air. Are your tires pumped up to the proper pressure? B is for Brakes. Are they adjusted correctly? Do they stop your bike? C is for Cranks and Chains. Any looseness in the cranks when you pull on them? Is the chain moving smoothly over the sprockets? Quick is for the Quick Release levers on your wheels. Are they tightened properly? Check is for a checkout of the bike before riding. Hop on, pedal a little bit. Does everything seem OK?

Preston Tyree, the education director for the League of American Bicyclists, does a demo of the ABC Quick Check.

The League of American Bicyclists, among other groups, promotes ABC Quick Check for all riders before they begin their rides. If done properly, it takes only a minute, and it’s a good way to make sure everything is shipshape. I do it. Mostly. But lately I’ve been slipping. And on Saturday’s ride, that slippage could have caused a big problem.

Earlier in the afternoon, I put my bike on the bike stand to wash it. I took off both wheels to do a thorough scrub job, then put the wheels back on while the bike was still on the stand.

They went on okay, but the front didn’t seem as secure as it usually does. After a day of yard work and other honey do’s, I couldn’t wait to get out on a ride, so I set the bike aside and jumped into my bike clothes.

This was going to be an easy ride, but I still wanted to sneak in a little hard work. I went out to the Mopac route. On the return leg, I started thinking about that front wheel. I should really pull over to check it. But here comes an intersection I have to pay attention to. Got through that okay. I should really pull over to check it. But here comes the best downhill part of the route. I’ll stay on the hoods, instead of the drops this time. Above 30, against the wind — pretty good. Here comes the sweeping bend to the north. I’ll get into the traffic lane a bit to avoid the gouges in the asphalt on the shoulder. I should really pull over to check it. Man, going 21 up hill — doing great, but I should really pull over to check it. Maybe up at the end, when I turn into the Veloway…

I did pull into the Veloway, and stopped by the water fountain and covered benches at the start. Had a good swig of water. Okay, let’s check that front wheel. I loosened the quick release a bit — and the dropouts clicked into place over the axle.

I had just ridden more than 10 miles with a front wheel that wasn’t completely locked in place in the dropouts. If I had stayed on the shoulder through the big turn, and hit one of those gouges in the pavement, it could have had severe consequences.

This morning, I loaded the bike onto the car to drive to the start point of my ride. In the parking lot, while the rest of group were chatting and joking, I was doing a very careful ABC Quick Check. Make it a habit.

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Categories // Safety Tags // Safety

Hybrids

04.22.2010 by Ray Niekamp // 16 Comments

Lately, doing organized rides as training for the MS 150, or just to ride with a group on a different route, or in the MS 150 itself, I’ve been noticing lots of people riding hybrid bikes. My mindset has mostly been that hybrids are great for tooling around the neighborhood, riding easy bike trails, and are for older folks who want a more upright riding position than they can get on a road bike.

A hybrid bike waiting to be ridden in a 29-mile group ride.

I guess I’m surprised when I see them at these events, because I don’t see hybrids riding the roads a lot in my area. Except for my wife. She’ll tackle our regular Mopac route on her 1992 Trek 700, and she’ll turn out for group rides as well. She’ll take the shorter route option, but she’ll put miles under her.

Mrs. Noob crests a hill on a summer morning ride.

At the MS 150, lots of riders rode hybrids. I assume these are people who were riding for a cause, and were willing to suffer a little in order to do their part to fight MS.

I’m also betting a lot of them are getting to be pretty good riders on their hybrids. One thing I noticed on the MS 150 was that I kept passing them. That means they got out in front of me somehow — whether it was by getting a jump at the start, or taking less time at rest stops (probably). And I’m not too proud to say that some hybrids passed me on the road during that ride. Not that many. Always ridden by athletic young women loaded with energy.

The hybrid for them might be their first bike, or their reintroduction to riding after years off. And getting good on a hybrid means they might take the next step, and buy a road bike. But I’ll bet most of them keep their hybrids, too.

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Categories // Bikes Tags // hybrid

Are You a Cyclist or a Biker?

04.20.2010 by Ray Niekamp // 24 Comments

Guest poster Don Blount’s inquiring mind wants to know.

Are you a cyclist or a biker?

I often use the two terms interchangeably to describe someone who rides road bikes.

Dictionary.com, the online reference site, provides these definitions of the two terms:

Biker – noun: a person who rides a bicycle, motorcycle, or motorbike, esp. in competition or as a hobby.

Cyclist – noun: a person who rides or travels by bicycle, motorcycle, etc.

Any difference there would be minute.

However, a member of my bike club makes this distinction:

“I must confess that I cringe when I read about us being ‘bikers’ and going ‘biking’. I’m not a biker, I’m a cyclist. Bikers wear leather and drive motorcycles and look tough and drink beer. Cyclists wear lycra and cool pro team jerseys and drive Honda Elements that have less power than one of those motorcycles.

And I don’t go ‘biking’ either. I go cycling, like I did today; 50 miles and 3800 ft on a beautiful spring day.”

Perhaps the confusion comes from ‘mountain biking’, which means to ride a mountain bike. This is a sport I am unfamiliar with, but which I believe is distantly related to cycling even if I find the bikes repulsive looking compared with svelte road machines.”

By his definition, I would be a cyclist.

How do you see yourself? Are you a cyclist or a biker?

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Categories // guest post, Odds 'n ends Tags // Blount, guest post

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