Miele Man

If I'm in one of the downtown areas here is town (the area I try to avoid going to due to the large number of nut cases wandering around) I check my quick-releases on both wheels to make sure some idiot didn't loosen them. I've had two instances where I discovered that the front quick release had been loosened and then close again but it wasn't holding the wheel very snugly = one good bump/pot hole and the wheel might have come off. that's why I avoid that area unless I must go there for business.

Cheers

rseeker

I don't commute, but now I'm wondering how often people come out in the morning before riding to work, only to find a slow leak did them in overnight.

After my last ride everything seemed fine, but the next day (yesterday) the rear was mostly flat.

I flipped the bike over, got a magnifying glass and flashlight and went over the whole tread and both sidewalls and didn't see anything.

I took out the tube and looked that over, didn't see anything. Pumped the tube and submerged it, didn't see anything. Pumped the tube way up and saw bubbles, finally.

Back to the tire, I ran my fingers all around the inside under the tread, twice -- nothing. Ran fingers along each side wall twice -- nothing. Looked all along the inside with a magnifying glass -- nothing.

Finally, running my fingers in the opposite direction I found the steel wire (from a truck tire?) that had poked in between two tread blocks. (Michelin Protek Cross, inverse tread.) On the outside of the itre, it was laying flat against the base of a block. I guess it was hidden from view as I rolled the tire for inspection? Lesson learned: next time, rotate the tire both directions.

Miele Man

I too have had a tire go flat after sitting overnight or longer. Fortunately for me it's always been punctured by something that did not stay in the tire. A cotton ball or two can be most useful for finding tiny sharp items in a tire and the cotton ball saves the finger or thumb from being punctured.

Cheers

BengalCat

In terms of hardcore or traditional safety checks, none.

I simply make sure the tires are the right pressures, lights and computer are charged, and water bottles are full and in their racks.

Vintage_Cyclist

I keep a cotton ball on my bench for pesky, sneaky flats like this. Run it along the inside and/or outside of the tire and any sharp protrusions will generally snag some of the cotton.

3alarmer 

...that rooster is probably on another online forum right now complaining about the jerk cyclist who almost ran him over in the dark.

3alarmer 

.
...bounce the front wheel, bounce the back wheel, work the brake levers to make sure the quick releases are down, and I'm off. Come back quickly when I remember I forgot my frame pump or my lock.

dedhed

Yep, I'll usually grab another bike and go, or use the compressor to fill, take my chances, and fix it at work

rseeker

Sounds great, I'll try that. Thank you both.

stardognine

This is probably true. 😁 Did I mention, how scary-looking he was, in the dark? 😲😉

jon c. 

I do that as well.

Then I promptly forget until I'm riding again.

3alarmer 

...we had a rooster in Minnesota that would try to kill you if you looked at it funny. Some roosters are mean.

dedhed

And then it'll go off topic and get sent to P&R

stardognine

Darn straight. I was just thinking about that Alice In Chains song. "Yeah, they've come to snuff the rooster, but he ain't gonna die....".😎😉

wle

if it is the same bike i rode yesterday, just tire air maybe, (though i might wait til i start pedaling and see if things feel ok)
brakes
wheel quick releases

just stuff that could easily come off or change in the night

i;m not going to check wheel bearings, chain slack, headset tightness, other than just by starting to ride

wle

rumrunn6

do I have my head screwed on straight? no really ... what am I planning to do? & is it a good idea?

Kite005

Pilots? As a crew chief on fighters my pilots did somewhat of a walk around but it was closer to "kick and fire". Kick the wheel and fire the engines.

mpetry912 

Your pilots didn't wiggle the ejector racks, stick their head in the intakes and the main gear wells, and check the slat deployment (on the TA-4 this was very important! Assymentric slat deployment could kill you.)

I learned my lesson early - about doing your walk around check. Sure there's a longer inspection if the plane hasn't been flown in a while - but I remember leaving our Bonanza parked for lunch somewhere and came back to it - nothing's hanging down, right ? But one of the things I did was just run my fingers down the trailing edge of the wing, across the flaps and ailerons - and it came back wet. Fuel leak. Turned out to be a loose sump drain fitting, which I tightened enough to get us home.

Little things can get you. So, I always pre-flight my bike. Takes 30 seconds.

Mark Petry
Bainbridge Island, WA

julius rensch

Your PRE CHECK is very good!

My PRE CHECK starts before I even look at the bicycle...
....I look at my shoes, are they safe and comfortable?
....am I hydrated for the ride?
....check those sunglasses and sun visor
....clothing, warm enough, cool enough?
....vist the toilet
....tell someone that you are going on a ride
....cel phone and Cab fare?
Ok, now go and check your faithful steed!

Julius in Ohio

JoeKahno

Just the basics usually. Air in the tires? Brake levers actually connected to something? Chain? Then take it easy for long enough to make sure everything feels right, no squeaks or rattles, before launching into heavy traffic.

JoeKahno

Once heard an insurance agent say there are two types of retractable gear pilots, those who have made a gear up landing, and those who are going to.

mpetry912 

Well I haven't yet. was that agent qualified to fly anything besides his desk ? "hahahhaha"

there was another one that said in twin engine airplanes, the 2nd engine was there to get you to the scene of the accident.

here's the net net of this thread, at least to me. The airplane sprang from the bicycle ! and like the airplane, the bicycle does not have a lot of structural redundancy. If the engine quits you have a fair chance of gliding to some kind of landing. But if the tail falls off you are toast. Same with your bike. If the front skewer pops, you are probably going down. I actually had a fork blade come out of the crown (and this was on a frame built by a maker of some repute) but fortunately got the bike stopped before wiping out.

Your safety depends on some critical parts - tires, brakes, frame. If they fail in any substantive way, you could be badly hurt. So, I check the bike over every time I ride it. I have a bunch of bikes so they might not get ridden that frequently as I rotate thru the herd.

And I quit flying some years ago.

Mark Petry
Bainbridge Island, WA USA

2manybikes

If there is nothing wrong with the battery, the phone will be ok when the battery gets warmer, under your jacket etc. If you have earplugs and a microphone . You might be able to talk all through your ride. If you want to.
Or just throw the phone into the woods.

stardognine

Ha, I've had that frozen phone problem too, several times now. I can't say exactly what temp it goes wacky at, but somewhere in the 30s or 40s F. Usually, it starts up fine, but the battery reads like 10% or less, even if it's fully charged, then it shuts down. 🙁

It's not too big a deal, unless you need to find hot coffee, while touring. 🤔😁

2manybikes

Gotta have hot coffee !!