Bicycling: Are You Ready for Spring?

With the onset of Spring, there are plenty of cycling considerations to contend with. These considerations pertain to all levels of cyclists and all members of the family. If you don't have a bike, you'll want to do some shopping. The variety available is gigantic. Repairing the family bikes may not yet even be on the radar screen but we'll help you make that a priority. For those of you ready to get into your spandex, we'll leave your Spring preps up to you. For the rest of us, however, let's go through some of the basics.

If you're a parent, the first Spring biking concern is, does everybody old enough, even have a bike yet? If they're not old enough, are you going to be doing the child-seat thing or use a trailer? If you're an independent adult or teenager, you might be looking for a new bike or you're getting ready to hop on the old one.

It couldn't be a better time to be looking for bicycles. There are all kinds of technical innovations on every size bike, from shock absorbers to fancy tubing. If you're looking for bikes for the kids, the trend is definately to shocks and hand brakes. For safety though, a good rear pedal brake is a great and safe way to get started. These brakes are very strong and don't require the adjustments of hand brakes. Childrens' bikes come in a vast array of colours, shapes and sizes. Be sure that the issue of looks doesn't outweigh the common sense concerns about safety. If they're just getting started, training wheels are probably necessary. It won't be long though, until the trainers are gone and they're off to the races so be sure to consider how much autonomy you want them to have. You might even be wise to avoid the indepence and dangers of bicycle riding until your child is seven or eight and old enough to be responsible for their safety. Even at this age, however, helmets and lots of guidance are essential. Teenagers' bikes come in every configuration imaginable from Orange County Chopper style to trick mountain bike and everything in between. Some guys are engaged to the point where they'll direct you as to every accessory they want on their bike. Others will be content with a solid commuter style. One consideration here is theft. Unfortunately, the cooler the bike, the higher the risk of it getting stolen, so you might want to keep the coolest bikes in the house when not being used. As for us adults, once again, the variety is huge. The main categories are hybrid, road, touring and mountain bikes. Generally, hybrids tend to be light and strong for commuting while speed goes with the road bikes and comfort goes with the touring bikes. The prices of bikes range from $50.00 for a child's bike to two or three hundred for a basic adult bike, right up to the thousands for bikes with alloy or carbon frames. It's worth a chat with a local bicycle dealer to sort out which bike will suit your needs.

Now comes the work part, repairs and maintenance.. preparing for riding. For mom or dad, making at least a mental list of all the would-be cyclists (including yourselves) is a great idea. Bicycling is quickly becoming a way of life in Southern Ontario and, with the rising cost of gasoline, you'll want to facilitate as much riding as possible, whether it be as individuals or together as a family. Time was that the kids all had bikes at some point in their lives but keeping them road worthy was hit and miss at best. Chances are, the parents weren't making everybody's bicycle maintenance a priority.

Here's a quick table on Spring bike preparation. If you're only responsible for your own bike, just use one row for your table. At first glance, this might look a bit elaborate, but like everything else in life, once you focus on something, it's amazing how much attention you can give it. This reality first hit me when I was forced to admit that I had let the kids' bikes go one year. I found my four year old careening down the sidewalk with his hand brake bracket un-attached and swinging in the wind. Kids will ride their bikes. It's up to you as a parent to make sure the bike is road - worthy.

Okay, so you've made your chart and you're either proud of your bike (or of what a great inventory of safe bikes you've got) or, like most people, you're pretty glad you bothered to check things out. This leads to the world of bicycle maintence and repair. If you're like me, getting to this point, you're probably adjusting to the reality that there's a job here to be faced and somebody's got to do it. You have two choices for bike repairs. Do it yourself or pay somebody else. A very neat thing about the bicycle is that you can trouble-shoot, maintain and fix, most things, yourself. You will need to take a bike in to a professional for straightening wheels or fine-tuning gears but most Spring tuning, you can do on your own.

According to our chart, Johnny's bike has a flat. Let's approach this repair like any other. First off, you're going to have to get organized. If you have a work space or garage, terrific. Set yourself up there. Otherwise, any free 8 foot by 8 foot space will do. If you're a parent, you'll quickly become aware of just how often you could be fixing one thing or another and so, prioritizing a regular space for bike repairs, with tools close by, would be a great idea. If you are going to be repairing on a regular basis, a repair stand or tripod is a terrific investment. Your work is held stable and is completed much more quickly.

Before we take on the tire repair, you should stop and give some real consideration to all the family helmets. Head injuries can be debilitating and are often easily avoided. Ensure a proper fit in each case and talk to your bike professional about the best helmet for you and your family members.

Tire repairs aren't tough. They shold only take 5 or ten minutes from start to finish. There are seven quick steps to getting this job done.

1. Remove the tire and access the tube. It's very easy to pncture the tube so be careful when removing and installing it. My advice for tire removal is a pair of tablespoons. Use them one at a time at the rounded flat handle end to gently lift the tire. Then gently pull the tube out. The valve stem is gently pushed through the rim opening.

2. Fill the tube with air to find the hole.

3. place the tube in a large bowl or pail of water.

4. If you see bubbles, trace the bubble stream back to the hole.

5. Wipe dry the tube and scratch the rubber to ready it for the glue.

6. Patch the hole with a repair patch and glue.

7. Re-position the tube and tire.

If you run into much trouble, you can buy a tube for about $5.00. And so, that's it.. you're done.

Prioritizing your bike and those of the other members of the family isn't really as daunting as it may first seem. There's a great feeling of satisfaction and security knowing the bikes are well suited to each rider and in good working order. So don't forget the helmets and we'll see you on one of Ontario's bikeways.