Time to give your bike its pre-winter check

The nights are starting to pull in so now is a good time to ensure your bike is fit-for-purpose. Our cars get serviced - so why not give your cycle the MOT-equivalent?

Knowing your bicycle is safe to ride, especially as the colder, wetter, winter months approach can give you piece of mind. If you are a
parent of a child who cycles to school or college, ensuring their wheels are in top condition is imperative. Here’s the Just Beverley guide to checking your cycle will get you safely through the dark nights.

• Tyres. Tyres affect comfort, performance and safety so make sure you have the right tyres for the kind of terrain you will be riding on - road tyres are designed to be used on asphalt and are optimized for dealing with a smoother, less resistant road surface than mountain bike tyres and so are narrower with smooth tread patterns. But if the tread begins to wear, the tyre loses its rounded shape, starts getting lots of small cuts and punctures or the outer layer is wearing through so the threads begin to appear, it’s time to get a new one! Road bike tyres last between 1,000 and 3,000 miles - you can cover that distance quicker than you think!

• Wheels. The spokes share the bike load, so if a spoke is damaged or the wheels are not ‘true’, putting an uneven strain on the wheel, it will not be able to support the weight of the rider.

• Brakes. Brake pads need replacing as they pick up dust and grime from road surfaces. Rim brake pads have teeth or groves; the wear and tear of stopping the bike wears down these grooves which means it’s time for a new set. Disc brakes, which clamp onto a disc in the centre of the wheel and are increasingly found on road and hybrid bikes, need to be replaced when down to 1mm of compound - they will have become much less effective. If the brakes don’t feel as tight as they should, but the pads are OK, then the
brake cable probably only need adjusting. 

• Gears. The drive chain is the mechanical heart of the bike and needs regular checking. Chain-rings with worn, misshapen ‘teeth’ can be dangerous, as the chain can slip or come off when the gear is changed and the chain transfers from one ring to the next. The chain is the component under greatest stress - a worn chain will ‘ride up’ on the teeth of the chain ring rather than sitting flush. The cassette should outlast 3 chain replacements, so replacing the chain will protect the cassette.

Wilson Wheels staff are seasoned cyclists who will keep your cycle in good condition. They can be found at

89, Grovehill Road, Beverley HU17 0EJ.
Tel: 01482 882881.