Pre & Post Ride Inspections?

[Robert Dobbs]

The recent posting by Jeff Barber on the Specialized Roval wheel lawsuit and current postings in another forum on bits of tire sidewall missing after a hard ride got my attention.

I perform 80-90% of the maintenance on my road/gravel/MT bikes so they get a thorough pre-season “once-over” and tune-up but, after that, I confess my bike inspections are laughable (usually just a 10-second pre-ride exam – if I remember).

How often do you all inspect your bikes? How thorough are you (tires, frame, brakes, rims)?

[Jeff Barber]

This sounds like a great question for the defense lawyers to ask the customer in the Specialized case. 🙂

My pre-ride check usually consists of squeezing the tires to make sure they aren’t too soft. I do a thorough check of everything else whenever I clean my bike, but that’s probably only every couples months.

[m.krupp]

Same, same. I usually check tire pressure and maybe give the front shock a couple bounces to see if it feels soft. Other than that it is a quick glance. Like Jeff said I probably look a little closer when I have it on the stand cleaning it. Usually I don’t spend the time looking or worrying until I hear something or performance goes down. In the winter I take the bikes in for a good service where they go over the whole bike at the LBS. I am getting more knowledgeable when it comes to bike maintenance. After breaking a couple of spokes that is the something I would probably like to get in the habit of checking every couple of weeks. Checking for loose spokes. I have had the lower bracket get loose on me a couple of times too. Probably need to be more familiar aware with that too.

[FrankS29]

I’m a bit of a freak about this…

usually after every ride my mountain bike gets washed, washing it allows me to really check everything for damage or wear. My gravel bike is less often, usually every 2-3 rides.

I also know that washing that much can strip lubrication so I also tend to break down the bike more often, another chance for me to inspect.

Before I ride I hook up the pump and correct any tire pressure issues.  Then test the suspension, check sag and listen for any odd noises.

It’s hard for me to feel comfortable attacking a rock garden or fast descent not knowing if everything is in working order.

[charding]

Pre-ride, I check the tire pressure, test the brakes and shifting, do a couple bunny hops to check out the suspension and then I’m off. I don’t do much of a post-ride check unless I noticed something off or wrong during the ride.

[guggino88]

Tire pressure is a given.  I also check wheel thru axles and brakes at a minimum.  If you are still using quick release skewers instead of thru axles, it’s even more important to check.  Also hydraulic brake pressure, especially if removing a wheel in transit to the trail or have been off the bike for a while.  Unfortunately (or fortunately), I check these two after some very scary close calls.  You do NOT want a wheel coming off or heading into a decent with no brakes.

[Oldandrolling]

I check wheel spin, rims and tire pressure before or after each ride. I also check brakes and suspension about every third ride. Each year I tear my bikes down, inspect, replace, grease and re-assemble.

[rmap01 ✓ supporter]

Before getting on the bike, I almost always check my tire pressure.  Then I’ll check my brakes and my dropper as well as seeing how the suspension “feels” in the parking lot right before I hit the trail.  Once a week I usually I run through my gears to check my shifting  as well as the trueness of my wheels when I clean my drivetrain.

[midwestmtbiker]

I usually only check tire pressure and shock pressure during the weekday rides.   But on weekends, I go over all the bolts with a torque wrench that could cause me serious damage if they are loose (stem, handlebar, brake caliper, axle).    Once in a while, I also check hanger and dereailleur bolt torque.    I also check for loose spokes, and lube the chain.    Then I’m good for that week.

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