Spring is finally here and that means it is time to grab your bike out of the depths of your garage, dust it off and go for a ride! But, before you go for your first ride there are a few steps you can take that will be helpful to your bike and to your riding experience. The first thing you will want to check out on your bike are your tires. Are your tires flat, or very low on air? If they are the first thing you should do is pump them up. Now, you need to check over the tires because sometimes when left unattended for extended periods of time tires can tend to degrade, which is known as dry-rot. When a tire dry-rots it can cause the tire to easily puncture or cause a blowout. To check your tires for dry rot inflate them to the proper pressure and then check for cracks or peeling of the rubber over the entire tire surface.
If there are no cracks or serious imperfections in the tire you are set to ride. If your tires do have dry-rot it is a good idea to replace them even if the tires are holding air as they pose a significant risk of a blow out or an untimely flat while out riding.
Most of the time you can replace the dry-rotted tires and re-use the inner tubes. Occasionally tires will not hold air whether they have dry rot or not, if this is the case you simply need to replace the offending inner tubes with a new ones. Follow these steps and you will be on your way to riding worry free. If getting down and dirty with your bicycle is not your cup of tea, just bring your bike by to the Super Cool Bike Shop and we will be happy to get you fixed-up and rolling!
