Edinburgh Bicycle: FAQ Answers

Before setting off - check the bike
It doesn't take long to give your bike a quick check over.

Check the brake blocks for wear and adjustment.
Test your gears before you rush off into the hills and find your day is spoiled by a jumping chain.
Check your hubs, headset and bottom bracket bearings for any play.
Check for any loose nuts and bolts.
Check your wheels are true and spin freely.

These basic checks are very easy to learn from cycle maintenance books or by joining one of our Day or Evening Classes. If you are unsure about checking your bike, bring it to one of our shops and we'll give it a thorough checkover . No charge.

Things to take with you.

Day trips
Always carry a puncture repair kit and tyre levers. Carrying a spare inner tube always makes sense. That way, if you puncture, you can just replace the tube and mend the original one when you reach your destination. An Allen key set

might come in handy too (or a dumbell if your bike is put together with conventional nuts and bolts rather than Allen Keys and QRs (quick releases).

Don't forget the most essential tool - your pump. We've come across cyclists, stranded on the Edinburgh-St Andrews bike ride, who were toting a pannier-full of tools, but they had forgotten that basic essential - the pump. Check that your pump fits your bike's tyre valves before you set off. (Many modern pumps have reversible head internals. This means the pump works on any tyre valve. Many pump owners don't know this.)

For longer trips
As well as the pump and mini-tool, it's a good idea to pack a spare brake cable and gear cable, plus a couple of nuts, bolts and zip-ties to fix, say, a rattling mudguard.

If you travel to exotic resorts such as Bettyhill or Borneo, regular 700c or 26" tyres might be unavailable, so you might want to pack a spare one. Kevlar-beaded folding tyres are the very dab here. If you want to carry the bare minimum, a tyre boot designed to patch a gashed sidewall might keep you going till you return to 'civilisation'.

Although it's a rare occurrence, chains do break - even perfectly-joined perfectly-maintained new chains - so take a chain tool with you whenever you cycle far from town. If your chain breaks, dispose of the problem link, and rejoin the chain. Given that a new chain has 116 links, ditching one link shouldn't compromise your gear capacity. Just to be on the safe side, it's wise to check that you still have sufficient chain length to achieve the most extreme, big-ring-to-big-cog gear. If you can't, limit the gears you run accordingly.

A spoke key is also a good idea. If you don't know how to use one, consider our 6-week cycle maintenance course, which includes wheel truing. If such tuition is not for you, a harmless way to learn how to true wheels is to practice on a redundant old wheel. Expedition tourists usually carry a few spare spokes. Spokes lengths vary, and not just by the size of wheel. One 26" wheel with have smaller hub flanges and a deeper rim section than the next, so will require shorter spokes. That's why we are obliged to stock around 40 different lengths of spoke. If you want to buy a spoke, either measure your existing spokes to the millimeter, or bring your wheels to one of our shops so we can measure the spokes for you.

If you want to spare yourself the expense and weight of carrying a full tool roll, consider one of our great range of multi-tools.

Be prepared for rain and take a wee bottle of lube unless you prefer the squawk of a lubeless chain over the song of the nightingale when you take to the countryside.

A Final Word
Don't let all this talk of mechanical hiccups put you off. If you set off with a clean, tight, well-oiled bike, there's every chance you'll come home with your tools and spares unused.

How should I prepare my bike for a trip or holiday and what tools should I take?