Tune up bike for spring

While spring breezes sound a siren call to riders, it’s time to put your bike through the paces. “We’ve had an increase in bike tuneups because the sun’s out, after our hibernation from the winter,” Jeff Nielsen, owner of Island Bicycle Co. on Seawall Boulevard in Galveston, said.

He joined other area experts in recommending riders dust off their two-wheeler and perform some basic maintenance for a worry-free ride.

Here are tips from three area shops:

1: Pull the bike out in good light and visually inspect it. “Look to see if chains or cables have rusted,” Ira Herman, of Bay Area Schwinn Cycling in Webster, said. Make sure reflectors in the front and back are working, as well as lights for night riding.

2: Check the tires. “If they have dry rot, you need to replace them,” Herman said. “If they’re low, you may not need new tubes. The tires just may need to be aired.” Tires should be checked and aired weekly.

3: Check the brakes and make sure they’re working properly. “It’s one of the most important things to do,” Nielsen, who started racing bikes as a youngster, said.

4: Check the gears. “You want to make sure the shifters are working properly to change the gears when you need them to,” George Cooper, accounting manager at Webster Bicycle on NASA Parkway, said. The business, begun in 1972, grew out of his son’s BMX racing career. “That brought us together as a family to do bikes,” he said. Now his son, Russ, runs the business.

5: Be ready to lube. If you apply a lubricant to the chain, make sure it has an additive like Teflon or silicon. “Things like WD40 are cleaners, and they’ll dry all your moving parts out,” said Joey Chavarria, who started his Galveston shop, Island Cycle Repair on Market Street, five years ago. A bike shop might be the best place for a complete overhaul and re-greasing, which should be done at least every three years.

6: If you aren’t sure how to tune up your bike, take it to an expert. “It’s like not wanting to change the oil in your car yourself,” Nielsen said. “Some people would rather drop it off.”

7: Check your helmet. If it’s in bad shape, replace it.

8: If you’re headed for longer rides, consider cycling shorts and gloves. “If you’re doing long miles, you want to make sure you have padded shorts,” Cooper said.

9: Before you start out on your ride, pack some water. “Never misjudge your hydration, especially in summer,” Herman, a service manager who has worked with bikes more than 40 years, said.

“Advise people not to be drinking beer and trying to cycle at the same time. Beer not only dehydrates you but the heat, mixed with beer in cycling just doesn’t match up. It can get a person woozy and they go right off the seawall. I’ve seen it happen.”

10: Cut yourself some slack as you get into gear for longer cycling jaunts. “Don’t get discouraged if you haven’t done biking for a while,” Chavarria said. “The first time out, it’s going to stink. But you’ll build your fitness quickly. It will get better.”