Must-Have Stuff To Keep In Your Bicycle Toolbox!

Bicycle Toolbox

Both kids and adults love biking. For some, it is just fun. On the other hand, some cycle for a living like professional bicycle riders and delivery services. Sure, fixing a bike isn’t always easy, but we can make it easy and here’s how. For this, you will only need some simple bike tools and a basic understanding of your bike’s important parts

There are only a few essential parts of your bike that may need servicing and are likely to cause problems while out on a ride. They include the handlebar’ and brakes.’ Even though it sounds complicated, it isn’t, and here’s how.

Handlebar 

It is the part of your bike that connects the forks of the tire to the frame of a bicycle. Hence, naturally, it becomes a part of importance. It actually contains three minor parts called the races, cups, and bearings. These are the parts that firmly connect the tire and the fork of the frame. The cups have bearings inside that help the tire turn smoothly. They are fitted into the fork.

On your journey, if you feel that either of your tires is a little shaky, it would do you good to immediately stop the bike and check. The solution is simple. They need tightening. For this, you will only need the following bike tools:

  • A cone wrench
  • A simple wrench.

There is a locknut on either side of the cups to ensure they don’t become too loose. So what you can do is:

  • Take a cone wrench, and loosen the locknut while holding the cone wrench in position.
  • With the simple wrench, you can now turn the locknut counter-clockwise till it feels tight enough.
  • Now you can check the play of the bicycle, and once these tyres are running smoothly and without any hitches, you are ready to get on the bike again.

Brakes: Part of the bicycle one should firmly check. 

The most prominent parts of your bike that might need servicing while on a ride are your brakes. The most important part of an entire braking mechanism is the brake pads.

The pads are what hold your tire in place when you pull the brake lever, thus stopping your bike. However, there is a method to tighten them if and when the need arises. One of the most easily recognizable signs that your brake needs tightening is that you have to use more power to stop the bicycle than usual. To tighten your brakes, you will need to learn all the vital bike tools.

  • To check your brake pads, you can first press the brake to see if they are both touching the tire when brakes are applied. If they are not, you can simply take an Allen wrench and insert it into the brake pads, turning it clockwise to ensure they are tight and closer to the tire when brakes are applied.
  • To check your brake cables, you will have to see if they are at least 1 inch away from the handlebar. If they are too close, then you will need to tighten them. To tighten them, you can turn the brake adjusters counter-clockwise to loosen them. This should help temporarily.

Final words 

Regardless of the above tips, it is always advisable to check your bicycle regularly before embarking on any journey.