5 race week bike checks you won’t want to forget
MultiSport Canada’s first triathlon of the 2018 season kicks off on Saturday at Welland (click here to register if you haven’t yet!). Together with our series’ bike sponsor Aquila Cycles, we’ve come up with a list of the 5 important bike checks you’ll want to do before your race this weekend. These are simple things you should do before every ride, but you’ll want to make an extra effort before a big race to avoid any mechanicals that could compromise all your hard work on race day! We recommend not leaving these checks until the night before – if there is something wrong with your bike, you’ll want to have enough time to get into a shop to fix it.
- Tires & Wheels – do a check of your tires to make sure there are no major cuts or bald patches. Be sure to check the side walls of the tire, too. You may consider putting on a new pair of tires for the race if yours are especially worn out. Give your wheel a spin to make sure everything is straight.
- Brakes & brake pads – Very important for any ride. Your brake pads have a wear limit line on them. Look at them closely to determine how much room there is left until the line – if you’re on or close to it, it’s time to replace them. Always remember that if you’re using special carbon race wheels on race day, you’ll need separate brake pads! Your aluminium rims have their own set of brake pads and you could cause serious damage to your wheels if you don’t remember to swap them out. Make sure your brake pads are hitting the rim squarely, and not hitting the spokes or the tires.
- Headset – Give your brakes a squeeze and give your bike a light shake forward and backward. If there’s any movement up front it’s likely from a loose headset. Be sure to get this tightened up.
- Gears – do a run through all your gears and make sure everything is shifting smoothly. For Welland, since the bike course is flat you likely won’t be shifting gears that often, but you’ll still want to get this checked out before you hit the bike course.
- Hydration systems and flat kit check – Do NOT forget a flat kit on race day! MSC does have a race support vehicle out on the bike course on race day but we are unable to confirm that we’ll get you the support you need out there. Additionally, be sure that you have enough hydration and nutrition to support yourself in the race and that your hydration systems on your bike are on tight.
Come say hi to our partners at Aquila Cycles at the expo this weekend and check out the new Chrono tri bike. We look forward to seeing you in Welland!