If you get your bike out of the basement after the winter, you should not drive off directly: First you have to check whether the brakes work properly and the tires have enough air. What are the most important points for bicycle check-up and where can you safely save costs?
The following does not only apply in spring: If you put a new or long -term bike into operation, you must check whether the bike is really ride. The price for an all-round check-up in the workshop can quickly be up to 70 euros. Where can cost saved or complicated mechanisms themselves can be repaired yourself?
Get advice in the workshop
In general: The costs for repair services Vary from workshop to workshop – the same service can be offered by a workshop for ten euros, from another workshop for 30 euros. Therefore, it is always worthwhile to ask for several workshops before giving the order for repair. In workshops you can always only get advice and obtain an assessment of whether you could carry out the repair at home. However, one should be aware that the workshops only earn something if customers actually hand in their bikes for repair. Sometimes you are explained directly in the workshop how the repair works and which tricks can help.
It is very important: After each repair, you should first test in a traffic -calmed area whether everything works well. So you can safely pull screws or set the brakes.
1 – brakes
Functioning brakes are essential for safety in road traffic. Not only endangers yourself with worn brakes, other road users can also suffer serious injuries in the event of bad brakes. According to § 65 paragraph 1 of the StVZO, all vehicles that effectively slowed down the vehicle must have – if the brakes on the bike are too bad, this can also have legal consequences.
The functionality of the brakes can be easily tested: it is enough to stand next to the wheel, press the brakes and then try to push the wheel. If the wheel can be pushed lightly, the brakes should be replaced. (If you have a resignation brake, you must of course check it on a test drive – in a traffic -calmed place and at slow speed.) Some brake blocks also have a mark on which the degree of wear can be seen.
If the brakes are not sufficiently functional, it can help to remove possible oil or dirty residues with a lobe. If this does not change, the brake blocks should be replaced. The workshop prices for such a repair can be up to 20 euros. If you buy brake blocks and install it yourself with a YouTube instructions, the cost point, depending on the manufacturer, is less than ten euros. Some bicycles have no brake blocks on the outer edge of the tires, but work with disc brakes. These are much more complicated than the rim brakes that are common in city bikes – that’s why it is advisable to have such bikes repaired in the workshop or to consult an expert from their own environment when the first repair.
In addition, you should check the brake strips for rust and cracks and either replace yourself or put the wheel in the workshop.
2 – light
According to the ADFC, a violation of the lighting guidelines on the bike can cost up to 35 euros. Apart from that, cyclists are easily overlooked in the dark, which can lead to serious accidents with cars.
If the light does not work or only badly, there are two options: either let the light of experts repair what can take a few days, or you choose a faster solution and assemble loose lights on the bike. You can buy this in any bike shop and easily attach it. While loose taillights are usually available for a few euros, you have to dig deeper into your pocket for a good front light – here the price is around 20 to 35 euros. It is important to make sure that the loose lights are battery or battery drives and that you don’t have to buy new lights in a few weeks.
Attention: loose front lights are gladly stolen. You should get used to taking the light with you when you leave the wheel. There are simple mechanisms for this, the (de) assembly of the front light usually takes less than five seconds.
3 – wheels
A hole in the hose, a broken coat or an egg -making tire make cycling much more strenuous than normal. In addition, the wheel is damaged when there is no air in the tire. Since tires are expensive, it is worth repairing a record directly.
Whether the tire eggs is easy to test with a short test drive: the tire is egg, you can see or feel it. You should examine the coat for cracks and wear of the profile. You can easily inflate the hose – if the tire is not plump by inflating, there is a hole in the hose. Usually you can also see directly when the bike has a slab.
You can simply repair a plate with a patch set at home – the prices for such sets start at three euros, usually larger sets are not required for small repairs. If the patch is not enough, you can exchange the hose with a video instructions very simply at home. The prices for new hoses begin (depending on the manufacturer) at ten euros. It is important to select the right size, otherwise the hose either does not fit on the bike or you have a slab again in a few days. You can also exchange the coat yourself if necessary, whereby the choice of the right size must also be taken into account. The prices for bicycle coats vary greatly depending on the manufacturer and are ten to 100 euros. If you are not sure which coat is the right one, you can get advice in a workshop.
The repair of an egg -end tire is a little more difficult. In addition, many different tools and materials are required for this, which is why it can be worth bringing the bike to the workshop. This also saves the great time effort that goes hand in hand with this repair.
4 – gear shift
Broken gear circuits are often neglected, after all, the bike is still going. However, this also makes driving much more exhausting. One possible problem is the train that is on the circuit. If you would like to save yourself the costs of a comprehensive repair of the gear shift, but would like to be able to switch better again, you can adjust the pull tension screw attached directly to the rear wheel. That works with the bare hand. The tensile clamping screw sets on how easily you can switch.
Of course, there is no guarantee that the problem is really on the circuit on the circuit. However, it cannot hurt to try it out.
5 – chain
When a bike is outside and often gets wet, it is important to oil the chain regularly. This also applies to bikes that are brought out of the basement after a long break. Because: If the chain is not well oiled, the gear shift is heavier and the chain breaks faster.
For care you can either turn the wheel upside down or raise the rear wheel – it is important that the rear wheel can be turned. First you clean the chain with a dry rag of dirt, then you can oil it either with chain oil or with chain spray. The chain spray WD-40, which is available in every hardware store, is very popular for this. WD-40 costs (depending on the size of the can) around ten euros and is cheaper than some other oils and sprays.
Tip: WD-40 is available in many households and a can is enough for many bicycle chains. You may also be able to borrow the spray from well -known or friendly neighbors.
Olga Rogler / Redaktion Finanzen.net