Stand in front of the bike
Push on the brake levers to test if the clamps are loose
Push on shift levers to test if the clamps are loose
Push down on the bars to test if the stem bar clamp is loose
Push on bar ends to see if their clamps are loose
G rab the front wheel tightly between your legs Twist the bars to test if
the stem is too loose
Place both hands on the handlebar, one on each side, Grab only the front
brake lever and clamp it down tightly. Rock the bike forward and back to test if
the headset is too loose.
With brake still camped rock bike back and forth and look at the brake clamp
and adjustment bolts/ nuts to see if they are too loose.
Watch the brake pads, slowly clamp the front and rear brake levers, do both
the pads touch both side of the rim before when the brake lever still has at
least a inch of space between the lever and the bar. If not the cable is too
loose.
Grasp the front brake pads and try to twist them on the brake arms.
(correctly tightened brake pads will not twist)
Lift up the bike by the top tube and see if the headset is too tight. do the
handle bars and wheel roll side to side easily in the headset
Grasp the front wheel between two fingers, shake rapidly to see if the
bearing are too loose
Release the front wheel and see if it spins one way and then the other
Testing to see if the bearings are too tight.
Spin the wheel rapidly and check the true of the wheel
Check if the brake pads are centered
With an open hand, smack the side of the nose of the saddle to check if the
seat clamp or the seat post clamp are loose
Stand beside the bicycle
Reach down and grasp a crank arm, rattle it side to side to see if the
bottom bracket is too loose (do not hold the pedal)
With an open hand, smack the side of the nose of the saddle to check if the
seat clamp or the seat post clamp are loose
Grasp the rear brake pads and try to twist them on the brake arms.
(correctly tightened brake pads will not twist)
Grasp the rear wheel between two fingers, shake rapidly to see if the
bearing are too loose
Spin the wheel rapidly and check the true of the wheel
Check if the brake pads are centered
I can do all of this in 30 seconds to a minute of time
If you have a bike stand
Place bike in stand
Check shift lever cable tension is too loose
Violently Shift to large cog / low gear Check to see if low set screw is too
loose (over shifting into spokes) or too tight (will not shift to large cog/
low gear)
stop rear wheel
Turn crank slowly and test the shifting from low gear to high gear for any
hesitation, over shifts, ( adjust or replace cable depending on results.)
From behind check the derailleur cage is not bent in towards the spokes. it
should be parallel to the cogs.
Check that the chain will not
Look from the side at the distance between the nearest chainring tooth and
the front derailleur outer cage. Should be 1 mm or less
Put chain in middle chain ring and middle cog Look from above to see if the
front derailleur cage sides are parallel to the chain.
Shift chain into middle cog in the rear and then shift front derailleur from
low to high gear and back to low to check limit set screws.
The check can be done in a minute. Adjustments may take a few minutes
Christopher Wallace Holistic Cycles Oak Park IL 773 490 0683
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