Gadgetell how to: Get your bike ready for spring riding

As warmer weather starts to creep back in to the northern reaches of the US, it’s time to start thinking about getting back on the roads and trails with your bicycle. If you’re like me, the bike has sat idle while skiis and snowboards got their fill. Here are some easy things you can do to get back in riding form.

Tires

For the past few months, state and town works have been dumping sand, salt and God knows what else on the streets to keep the slipper conditions at bay. All that stuff coagulates at the roads side, right where you have to ride through. This can lead to difficult, if not unsafe bicycle handling conditions. The solution? New tires.

Tires, like these beauties from Fyxation, are just the thing. Looking sharp in their dual compound, the new Fyxation tires have wall to wall knobs for added traction, just like the old 20″ BMX tires I used to ride. Big groves in the tire provide good grip while the dual compound puts a durable section of rubber where you need it most, while still looking sharp. At 120 TPI, the tire has the stuff to keep flats at bay.

Designed as tires for hip fixies (fixed gear bicycles), these tires were intended for urban assault riding. Perfect for the urban landscape, these tires were made to handle skidding (to an extent), track stands and all the rough love of the urban world. That also makes them great for dealing with the springtime slosh of deep sand, road junk and even slush coagulating on the roads shoulder.

I’ve been riding these for a few weeks and have been duly impressed. They hold tight while moving through big piles of sand and even pointed off road, they did pretty well. Their wider 700×28 size will fit many frames and their color options just look fantastic. New tires, like these Fyxations, are the #1 was to improve performance on your bike. $49.95, Fyxation

Chain

Chances are good your chain needs love. I cringe when I hear a dry chain just squeeking for some live pedal by. But lubing the chain is only half of it; the other half of the story is chain stretch and it can eat your chain rings and rear cogs (the gears).

As a former shop owner, I’ve seen (and profited from) neglected chains eat away at chain rings and rear cogs, a costly replacement. The solution for most of us is simply replace the chain each year. As the chain stretches, it begins to reshape the teeth it engages. Once this sets in, a new chain will no longer solve it, in fact, a new chain will skip around for no apparent reason. To avoid this, change your chain a regular intervals. Bike shops have a chain gauge that can measure the stretch so you can avert trouble.

Chains are an easy replacement. Simply use a chain tool to drive a pin out (or find the quick link and remove it) and use the old chain to size the new one.

Cables

Water, salt from the road and even sweat can corrode cables that control your brake and shifting cables. Corroded cables can cause shifting problems as well as delayed braking action. Keeping these lubed can go a long way to keeping things sliding freely. Simply create some slack in the cable and pull and push it through the housing (the plastic bits that cover the cables at bends). If it moves freely, drop in some lube and you are good to go; if not, time to replace cable and housing.

Cable sizing requires a good pair of cable cutters and more housing then you need or take the old housing to a bike shop to be matched with new. If you don’t have a set of cutters, or just want to leave the rest of the tuning to a pro, visit your local bike shop.

Find a bicycle shop near you: [NBDA bike shop finder]