How to check your bike is safe to ride

Here’s how to check your bike is safe to ride.

Your bike might have been sitting in the shed, or out in the rain. You might be borrowing a bike from a friend, or using a hire bike. Or you might just want to check if its showing any signs of wear and tear. Here’s how to 

If in doubt with a hire bike, pick a different one or if it’s your own bike, take it to a bike shop to get it checked over.

Your bike should fit you and you should be able to put your feet on the ground and reach the brakes. Check the tyres are pumped up and the brakes work.

Whatever your situation, take a couple of minutes to do two checks – the ABC check and the ‘M’ check – so you can be confident your bike is safe to cycle away.

ABC check

This is a basic check you should do regularly and will only take a minute or so.

A – Air

Make sure your tyres are pumped up, if you can easily squeeze the tyre down then it probably needs inflating. You should inflate the tyres to the correct pressure, you’ll find this on marked on the side of your tyres. Many larger upright pumps have a display that tells you this – if your pump doesn’t have one you can always go to a bike shop and use theirs for free. If you only have a small hand pump then inflate the tyre as much you can.

B  – Brakes

You have two brakes, front and back, and it’s important that both of these work. You need to make sure that when you have pull the brake that wheel does not move. If it does then the brakes may not be adjusted properly or you may need new brake pads.

C – Chain

Make sure your chain is well lubricated (oiled) and the chain runs freely if you move the pedals backward. Your chain, and the gears that it drives, wear out over time and may need to be replaced.

In addition…

Part 1 of the video below runs through the ABC check – take a look. Carla also covers how to check your handlebars for good control.

And remember, if you are going to cycle at night make sure you have bike lights and reflectors on your bike. As well as making sure you can be seen for your own safety, it is a legal requirement.

M check

An ‘M’ check is a simple way to check all the key parts of your bike are working as they should. It’s called this because it follows the shape of an M on your bike.

It doesn’t matter if you do the ‘M’ check front to back, or back to front, so long as you do the check regularly.

You don’t have to be a mechanic to identify if there is a problem: an Allen key set and bike pump are all the tools you need for the commonest ‘fixes’. Do this check at least once a month following the steps below: