How To Safety Check Your MTB For Bike Park Riding | Mountain Bike Maintenance

Published on August 21st 2017

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The bike park is an awesome place for the maximum amount of riding in a short time and can expose you to a tonne of awesome and varied terrain. However, this riding can be harsh on your bike! Rocks, roots, drops and jumps at speed over and over again will take it's toll on your bike. Here's some regular bike park maintenance you should be doing in order to keep your bike rolling safely! Subscribe to GMBN: http://gmbn.eu/subscribe Get exclusive GMBN gear in the GMBN store! http://gmbn.eu/u7 From bolts rattling loose to wheels becoming buckled, there are several things to watch out for on your bike if you're smashing laps on the harsh terrain of bike parks every day! Wheels Tyres, rims and spokes, they all need to be working together to keep the hole thing rolling! Check for slashes in the tires, work your way around the wheel checking that spoke tension is even, then do the same looking for dings in the rim. Nip up any loose spokes, replace tires as necessary and keep an eye on any dings in the rim to make sure they don't get worse! Finally, make sure your rotor bolts are tight and your axles are secure. Frame The frame of the bike needs to be structurally secure at all times. Check for cracks along vital welds or stress points such as the headtube, bottom bracket and rear triangle. Check all the pivot bolts are tight and that there is no unknown play in the frame! Cockpit It's really important that your contact points are going to remain in contact with the bike! Check grips/lock on's are tight and that bar end plugs are in. Check the headset for play and adjust accordingly. Bolt check the bar and stem bolts to make sure they're tight enough. If you don't have a torque wrench then use your common sense to make sure you don't over-tighten! Finally on to the brakes. Tighten the levers down enough to stay in place while riding and the check the lever securing bolts. Bleed the brakes if necessary. Suspension Keep an eye on how much travel you're using throughout the day. If you're not using enough then release some air pressure or back off your compression dampening. Bike park riding often requires slightly softer settings than you would ride on a trail. Give the seals a check and wipe any dust or mud of your stanchion and seals. Drivetrain Check cranks and pedals are on tight both sides of the bike. If you have chainring bolts then give them a once over. Check the rear mech is still tight on to the bike, that the rear mech hanger is tight and that the jockey wheel bolts are secure. And thats the bike park safety check! It's good to get into a habit of safety checking your bike if you're riding bike park or not. If you'd like to contribute captions and video info in your language, here's the link 👍 http://gmbn.eu/u6 Watch more on GMBN... Get a grip! http://gmbn.eu/PedalGrip 📹 Bleed your Shimano brakes: http://gmbn.eu/bleedshimanodiscs 📹 Click here to buy GMBN T-shirts, hoodies and more: http://gmbn.eu/tHEGMBNShop