If you’ve never ridden a loaded touring bike before, be aware, that like a loaded truck, they take longer to stop. Always anticipate when you will need to stop, and start braking before this. You also need to make sure that your brakes are well adjusted, and if on a long tour, that you carry spare brake pads as they wear out quicker when used with a loaded bike.
Archive of posts filed under the Bicycling category.
Bicycle Touring Tips
These are some general tips to keep in mind when touring by bicycle anywhere in Western Australia. Be aware of the heat and signs of heatstroke.
Getting Yourself Ready For A Tour
You have the bicycle set up, the racks on, a list of what you are packing, but what about yourself? How do you get yourself ready for your big tour? Apart from the obvious things such as knowing how to ride a bicycle, and at least having some level of fitness, there are some other things you need to do.
Types of Bicycle Touring
There are many ways to tour Western Australia on a bicycle. This is just a short introduction to some of them, and some highlights of each. There may be other ways available, or you can mix and match to suit your schedule.
Touring In The Heat
For those of you that are thinking about bicycle touring in Western Australia and live in a cooler climate, the heat here may be a shock. I will quote all temperatures in Celsius, but 38 Degrees Celsius is around 100 degress Fahrenheit.
During summer in Perth, there may be days on end where the maximum day time temperature is above 38 degrees. The minimum overnight temperature in summer may only drop to 22 degrees. Yes it does get hot enough to melt the bitumen, and to cook eggs on the barbeque plate without lighting the barbecue.
Slime in your tubes!
You may have heard the term “Put some slime in your tubes”!. You can actually buy bicycle tubes with the slime already in them. They are sold as “Self Healing Tubes”.
Commuting Tips
With the end of the summer holidays, many people are returning to work. Some people are commuting by bicycle to work. Some for the first time. Here are some useful tips for commuting to work and back each day. We will add to them as more people suggest them.
Introduction To Gears
There are many types of gear systems available on bicycles today, but this article will address the most common type of gear system found on bicycles. The front and rear derailleur system. If you are new to gears, this article may help you to understand them a bit more.
Gear Technique
It’s not only the adjustment of your gears that helps them to change properly, but also your technique for changing gears that affects the way they change. Also like a loaded truck, a bicycle should have the gears changed down to a lower one before stopping. Why? Read on.
Brake Pads
We all need some method of braking to stop ourselves on our bicycles. Either the foot in the front wheel trick (not recommended), back pedal brakes, rim brakes or disc brakes. In this article I am going to be talking about the most common form of brake that is available today. The brake that uses a pair of pads to apply friction to the rims of your wheels. It’s common name is rim pull brake. There are several varieties of this type of brake. Cantilever and side pull are just a few.
