Fundamentals of Bicycles: Introduction / Getting a Bike

Introduction

This is a guide about fixing bikes. It tells a little bit about each of the parts on your bike, then tells you how to diagnose the problems with each part, and how to fix them.

For each problem described, we give two approaches for repairs. First, we tell you what to do if you’re out on the trail or road, with only a few simple tools and fewer spare parts. Second, we tell you what to do when you’re at home, with good tools and parts from your local bike shop.

There is a basic assumption behind both approaches. If something goes wrong with your bike, YOU CAN FIX IT! Even if you’ve never fixed a bike or anything else, you really can fix up all the problems described in this guide. Some of the procedures are easier if you get a little help from a shop mechanic, but you can master even those tasks on your own, given time and patience.

Needless to say, this guide can’t cover every oddball repair for every obscure custom bike made. But there are procedures for almost all mountain bikes, road bikes, and cruisers. Each paragraph has a tag at the beginning that tells what kind of bike it covers. Even if we don’t cover your exact type of bike, if you use your common sense, read the appropriate procedure, and think a bit, you can figure out a solution to your problem that will get you riding again.

All you really need is this guide, a few simple tools, and your common sense. Ain’t that grand? How many automobile owners can make that claim? Bikes are so simple and efficient. They are so good for our natural surroundings, too. Especially if we ride them with love and respect for those surroundings.

So go for it. But go lightly on mother nature, OK? She’s an old friend of ours.

Getting a Bike

Before you buy a bicycle, think about what you are going to use it for. Then look at used bikes as well as new ones that will fit your needs. A well-cared-for used bike is one of the greatest re-cycles!

If all you want to do is ride around the neighborhood or noodle down to the store, all you need is a sturdy 1- or 5-speed bike. Even a rusty junk-bike may do the trick; we have such fond memories of our old balloon-tire bikes! If rusty-trusty bikes don’t appeal to you, try one of the spiffy new versions of the classic fat-tire cruisers. You can even get restored balloon-tire bikes, but the prices are often as balloony as the tires. Keep fenders and a chain-guard on your cruiser / junk-bike if you live in a place where it rains. For family service, you can put a basket and a child seat on the bike and make it into a station wagon; sure, it’ll be a heavy bike, but it’ll work fine for errands.

For kids that are too big for a child seat, there are small 1-speed bikes; if your kid is just learning to ride, make sure you get a bike that’s small enough so the munchkin can sit on the seat and reach the ground with both feet. That way, you can take the pedals off the thing and let your kid walk it around to get the feel of balancing. This works much better, in most cases, than a taller bike with training wheels.

For rambunctious kids who can ride well, there are BMX and Stunt bikes that have one speed, 20- or 24-inch wheels, and light-but-strong components adapted from the larger racing bikes. Be cautious when buying such bikes. There is a lot of hype and peer pressure that tend to lead young people to buy the faddish bike rather than the bike that works best for what they want to do. As parents, we advise kids to get a sturdy, solid BMX bike from a reputable bike shop; it’ll cost about twice as much as the bargain-store bikes, but it’ll last MUCH longer and hold its value for trading up. If you get really fanatic about BMX racing or stunt riding, then you can work your way up to a bike with a super-light frame and wheels, and a super-heavy price tag. If you work your way up, you’ll probably get the bike you really need, instead of one that’s the fad of the day.

Back to the grown-ups. If you want to do more extensive riding in town, and maybe take an occasional jaunt on back-country trails, get a multispeed, wide-tire mountain bike. They were originally made for screaming down precipitous fire trails in Colorado or Northern California, but people have found they are fun to ride just about anywhere. They combine some of the lightness and high-tech performance of road racing bikes with sturdy brakes and wheels, a comfy riding position, and the cushy wide tires from the old bal boners. There are also many hybrid bikes; some have more gears, some fewer, some have thinner wheels or beefier components, and some are designed to be more responsive than others. But on almost all of them, you sit up more than you do on the racey drop-bar road bikes, and you ride on wider tires.

The wide tires mean it doesn’t hurt when you go over bumps, and they mean you don’t get nearly as many flats when you go over sharp objects. These are both strong ad vantages for around-town riding, as well as riding out in the boonies.

The sit-up position is the biggest advantage, though. It means you feel comfy and more stable than you do on a bike with turned-down handlebars. It also means you are fighting a bit more wind resistance, so you can’t go as fast as a comparable rider on a road racing bike, but you can still move right along.

We enjoy the feeling of speed WE get on a mountain bike; our head is up in the wind; our eyes are looking around us, taking in the scenery as it whooshes by. On the classic road bike, your head is bent way down in that low-wind- resistance position so you can go faster, but all you get to see is the spinning front wheel. Sure, it’s spinning at the max speed, but who cares, after staring at it for an hour or two?

Speed is relative, after all. In galactic terms, we are all moving at a blinding pace toward oblivion. In more down- to-earth terms, no matter how hard we pedal any bicycle, we barely move in relation to passengers flying by in a jet. And yet, the jet passengers are just SITTING there, in a compartment that gives no sense of speed or motion at all. It’s relatively boring. On the other hand, have you ever seen that great picture of Einstein, the mastermind of relativity, on a bicycle? He doesn’t look like he’s trying to attain the speed of light. Looks like he’s riding relatively s in fact. But he’s GRINNING! Mountain bikes and their city-bred cousins are a good choice if you care relatively more about having fun, and relatively less about going fast.

Mountain bikes and hybrid bikes can have shock absorbing suspension for the front wheel, or for both the front and back wheels. Shocks dampen the bumps your bike goes over, but they add to the price and the weight of your bike. If they are really put to use on rugged terrain, they tend to wear out and require maintenance or expensive repairs. We think shocks are best suited to downhill racing experts, who really need the extra speed they make possible, and who can afford the necessary repairs. For folks who do most of their riding around town, shock absorbing suspension is unnecessary. If you like the whooshy feeling you get riding on shocks, fine. Just get a bike with shocks that are as light as possible, and that have a good reputation for reliability. There’s no rule against enjoying that smooth ride going over potholes and curbs around town, or over the minor bumps along that gravel lane through the park.

Some of you may want to take longer road rides, though. For getting away from it all, for covering many paved miles in comfort and at speed, get a light (20- to 25-pound) multispeed road bike like the one below. Road bikes can be fitted with carrier racks and packs to carry anything from a spare tire to full camping gear and the kitchen sink, but remember, the less you carry on a light road bike, the more you enjoy its lovely lightness.

For cyclists who want to take day-, week-, or even month-long trips, there are touring bikes made to cover the miles comfortably, and carry all you need to take with you. Any sturdy, light (25- to 30-pound), well-made road bike with car eyelets (the little holes on the frame for mounting racks and fenders) can be used for touring, but bikes with specially designed frames and extra strong wheels and tires will make life on the road easier. Mountain bikes can be used for touring, but the sit-up position gets tiresome and painful after days in the saddle.

Of course, there are cyclists who like to race other cyclists. Ultra-light road and mountain bikes with space-age alloy components are made for racers who can afford their high costs. There are super little BMX racing bikes that are just as high-tech! For Olympic-style banked-track racers, there are fixed-gear bikes that weigh less than 15 pounds, and yet are strong enough to hold up under the strongest sprinters. Most of these bikes are too specialized for us to cover in this humble guide.

There are also many specialty bikes other than those discussed above. If you want to get an unusual or very elegant machine, though, remember that you may have difficulty figuring out how to fix it, and replacement parts may be hard to find. For instance, if you want to ride a recumbent (one of those long, low bikes that you ride sitting down close to the ground), try to get one that has more or less standard bike components, rather than exotic custom parts that can’t be fixed or replaced.

When you have decided what type of bike you want, shop around and see as many different brands as possible. Remember, as you compare bikes, that the frame is the most expensive and significant part. If you buy a bike with a good frame, you can make equipment changes to suit yourself without spending a lot of money. But if you buy a bike with a heavy, weak frame, you are stuck with it. For some specific suggestions and hints, see the “Frame” section.

The wheels and tires are almost as important as the frame. Get wheels that are strong enough to do what you want, and as light as possible. Sealed bearings make sense for mountain bikers who see a lot of dust or mud. There are lots of different tires for most types of bikes. In general, you want to buy tires that grip on the surfaces you ride over, and that resist punctures, but aren’t any heavier than necessary. All you road bikers ... don’t go for the super-light, tubular, or sew-up tires unless you are a road or track racer. For more info, see the “Wheels” section.

Take any bike you might buy on a test ride. First make sure the tires are pumped up and the seat is adjusted for your size. Then ride the bike up and down hills, around curves, over rough and smooth pavement. Ride fast, ride slow; try making quick little turns (on smooth dry pavement) to test out the steering. Be thorough. Get the feel of the bike. If it feels good, buy it; if not, don’t. And don’t be afraid to let the color of the bike influence your decision. If you like the color of your bike, you’ll ride it more and care for it better. We love dark blue bikes, for instance. If you love bright red bikes, get a bright red one.

If you can’t decide between two similar brands, ask politely if you can talk to the mechanics who assembled them, and find out which bike “went together easier.” The bike that works well for the build-up mechanic will work well for you, most likely. If the dealer doesn’t want you to distract the mechanic, respect the dealer’s judgment.

Be decent to bike dealers, and you’ll find they will usually be decent to you. That sounds silly, but we have worked in and been around bike shops for years, and we’ve been dismayed by the indecent behavior of some customers. We think the problem often stems from a combination of defensive ness and unrealistic expectations. So please, try to make the bike shopping experience a positive learning experience, and don’t expect a new bike you buy from a shop to be absolutely perfect. Bicycles are made by humans. To err is human. Use this guide and it will help you overcome the human element of error. Go through the Quick Maintenance Check in the next section with your new bike and read and follow the sections on the parts referred to. That will familiarize you with your bike, and this guide as well.

If you have trouble with a new bike, politely ask the shop people for help. Nine times out of ten, they will oblige— especially if the shop is the kind that offers a 30-day check up with your new bike, to take care of those new-bike problems. The fact is, some of the problems you have with your new bike might be due to your newness to it. You are as human as the people who built the bike. It takes a while for a new rider and a new bike to get acquainted. Give your relationship with your bike a little time and patience; you will be well rewarded.

Next: Prepare to Ride and Repair your Bicycle

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