UK Bike Check
by Garry Birch
Introduction
If you ever decided to make the effort to race in the UK you would probably be surprised when you found out that before you could line up for the start or even sign on the registration sheet, your bike would be subjected to scrutinization and checking.
The promoting club or organization appoints sensible personnel to take your bicycle from you and subject it to a series of tests. Subject to your bike being given the OK, you would then receive a token that you would have to submit when you register for your race. No token with the license equals no race.
The average bike test, performed by an experienced checker takes only 30 seconds or so, but it is a very worthwhile exercise. All sorts of little problems could be found. Some would not constitute a fail, but some others could prevent serious injury both to the rider of that bike, and also to his or her fellow competitors.
Before I came to the United States I had been a member of a large cycling club in London for 20 years, and in that time I have checked hundreds, if not thousands of bicycles. I have heard many lame excuses, but more often than that I have heard a thank you that a problem was brought to light. One of the most laughable moments was when I bicycle was found to have the open end of the front brake shoes facing forward. Obviously under even ordinary braking the pads could have shot out, rendering them useless.
The owner had the nerve to tell us that he had raced on them only last week and that they had been fine and thus he expected them to be ok for our race... FAIL.
At our bike checks we always had a selection of tools and spare parts, such as toe straps, handle bar end plugs and tape. The screwdriver was the most useful tool, followed by the 5mm and 6mm hex wrench.
The Check
So what would the typical UK bike check consist of? It is a methodical test of the components from the front of the bike to the rear.
Front End
I would first take the bicycle and place the front wheel between my knees, looking towards the saddle.
Without undue or unnecessary force, the handlebars are checked for tightness in the handlebar stem both horizontally and vertically. The brake lever hoods are then held and tightness against sideways movement is checked. I would then look within the brake hood by applying the brakes and check to see that that the cables are not frayed within the brake hood. With Campy Ergo and Shimano STS mechanisms this no longer that easy, but the check is still worthwhile.
While applying the brakes a check is made to ensure that the brake pads are fully engaged on the rims without the brake levers touching the handlebars. You would be surprised how many bikes failed this part of the test. I would then check the brake shoes visually to make sure that they were installed properly, both in direction and for direct application onto the rim, avoiding contact with the tire sidewalls. Check that there are handlebar plugs in each end and that the handlebar tape is secure. This would conclude the front-end check.
Saddle
The next part would be to hold the bike by the saddle and again, without unnecessary force check that the saddle and seat post will not move. Check that any pack under the saddle is securely fastened. It is amazing how many seat posts actually will rotate without slipping!
Wheels
Following the saddle check is the wheels. Ask the rider whether he is riding clinchers or sew-ups. If sew-ups a check MUST be made to ensure that the tire is securely glued to the rim. If the tires are under-inflated, send the bike away to have them put under the correct pressure before this portion of the examination is made. This is because soft tires will roll off a rim more easily than hard tires, depending upon which type of rim cement is used. Continental, Vittoria, shellac and Clement cements set up hard and work with best when the tire is inflated to race pressure. Dunlop on the other hand can stay sticky to touch for months, even years. I once saw a friend of mine take 30 minutes to remove a well glued on sew-up that was attached with Dunlop rim cement. A well-attached tire should stay on the rim even in the vent of a complete loss of air.
The check is made by attempting to push the tire off the rim with the thumbs. Start to one side of the valve, hold the wheel with both hands and apply force to the tire sidewall with both thumbs, about 1-2 inches apart. Repeat the test at about 5-6 locations around the wheel. If the tire lifts, FAIL the wheel, not the bike. Give the rider a chance to replace the failed wheel with a spare if he has one, or to even go and reattach the tire and then retest. On some wheels, the tires have been glued on for such a long time that the glue between the base tape and the tire carcass fails and the tire will roll off. This is especially prevalent on track wheels, which rarely flat and receive little wear.
After checking the tires for correct attachment to the rim, do a visual inspection of the tread and sidewalls, looking for cuts, exposure of the tire carcass and broken threads on the sidewalls. Many bicycle tires will be perfectly fine with a few strands of the sidewall carcass fraying. The rule of thumb I use is when there are a number of broken strands in a clump, look very carefully for sidewall bulge. A pass or fail is still subjective though.
Transmission
The testing of the transmission is next. The assistance of the owner is required to make this portion of the test easier to do. In the good ol' days of down tube shifters one person could do this, but handlebar shifting as made it a little more difficult. The purpose of this portion of the test is to make sure that the chain runs smoothly over all cogs and chainrings and STAYS engaged on the same.
The bike checker lifts the rear wheel off the ground by holding the saddle. The owner rotates the chainring AT RACE CADENCE and the bike checker operates the gears. (This is because the owners may well be aware of the fact that the gears need adjusting and just have not got around to fixing it).
The full range of motion of the rear derailleur is checked first, with the chain going from the smallest to largest cogs and then back again. If the chain is on the small chainring and the chain will not engage the smallest cog, THIS IS NOT A FAIL. Many bicycles have this problem. The checker then operates the front derailleur and puts the chain onto the other chainring and then operates the rear derailleur again, checking for an accurate range of motion. Again, if the chain will not engage the largest cog while on the largest chainring, THIS IS NOT A FAIL.
The checker should make sure that the pulley wheel cage on the rear derailleur does not hit the spokes. (Seen it happen at a bike check-the bikes owner got really pissed. But he had not adjusted the gears, so when the CHECKER operated the gear lever, the cage moved to it's farthest extent and WHAMMO. Gear changing when the heat is on can sometimes be done without the finesse of a gear change on training ride.)
Other bits
The last part of the ordinary road bike test is to make sure that all the attachments are secure, especially the bottle cages. Most bikes presented at the bike test would already have the full bottles on board, so just give the whole bottle cage and bottle ensemble a wiggle to make sure that alls well. Check that the pump is tight and that the computer, (and wheel magnet) if any, is secured.
Gear development
In the UK, juniors (ages 16-18) and youths (ages 8-15) race on a restricted maximum gear, measured as a roll out distance. The distances are, for juniors, 7.93 metres, which is commonly a 52x14. For youths, the distance changes depending upon their age.
The roll out is measured by placing the bicycle on a path of known length (7.93m) with the cranks vertical above the start line. The bicycle is then pushed backwards, in a straight line, forcing the cranks to revolve. The cranks must do one complete revolution before or at the finish line. If the cranks have not completed the revolution, the bike has failed the gear size test. The rider as a few options to rectify this problem, the easiest being to screw the gear mechanism cage travel screw so that the chain will not engage the cog on which it was originally rolled. This however can present the rider with a significant under gearing compromise. A change of chainring by one tooth down or more commonly the change of tire to a lower profile (not under inflated) is the most efficient problem solver.
Track bikes
Track bicycles can also be checked. Follow some of the same procedures above regarding handlebars, saddle and tires. The major difference is obviously in the transmission. Track bicycles have a single speed fixed gear transmission. The only real problem that can be encountered is how the chain runs over the chainring and cog. If the chain is too tight, it can lead to a chain failure when under full power. If the chain is too slack it will derail off the chainring.
Check chain tension by holding the rear wheel up and spinning the rear wheel slowly. Check that there is no more than 1/2 inch allowable vertical travel along the long length of chain. If the chain is tight, re-adjust the rear wheel to provide more slack.
When you have the optimum chain tension you can achieve, spin the rear wheel fast, pick the bike up such that it is parallel to the ground and the chainset is pointing down and shake the bike backwards and forwards. If the chain is too slack it will fall off the chain ring. Readjust to achieve a tighter chain.
The use of a lock ring that tightens against the cog and prevents it unwinding under reverse pressure is advisable but not required under NCNCA rules. The cog will be secure enough if properly tightened with a chain whip tool.