Medienberichte und Publikationen rund um Fahrräder, Pedelecs, Technik und Sicherheit

TIPS

• Foamed tubes and spacers are available mostly at moderate prices or even cost-free from your bicycle dealer. These are implements that are used by many manufacturers to protect their bicycles for the transport to the dealer.
• Bicycle racks for cars which fix the down tube with clamping jaw are unsuitable for light weight road bikes with thin-walled tubes. The clamping forces may damage the tube and sometimes you don’t even see it.

Parking – How it doesn’t work

• Never lean your bicycle with the top tube against a railing, a road sign or the like. The handlebar can turn, the bike moves away and the top tube sustains damage.
• Do not lean the bicycle against a wall with the pedal as support. The crank rotates rearwards, the bicycle rolls and topples over.
• Do not wedge the bicycle with the pedal against the kerbstone either. This not only scratches the pedal, but the bicycle is also at a high risk of toppling over.

Parking – How it works

• Lean the rear wheel against the post. Due to the friction of the tyre, the road bike will not move forward and topple over. That’s how professional technicians park a number of road racing machines along a building wall in the tightest of spaces.
• Lean the saddle and the handlebar against a wall or a wide column. In this case as well the friction of the contact surfaces provide a firm stand.
• If the stand appears unsafe for you, you can use the simple trick of closing the front wheel brake. Open the brake release lever, unscrew the cable tension screw by a few rotations and reclose the release lever.

Parking and storing – but in a safe way

• Park your road bike at home in a suitable bicycle stand. The tripod stands, common stands of the past, scratch voluminous frame tubes. Stands, fixing the rear wheel are more suitable. If parked over a longer period of time, be sure to check the tyre pressure at regular intervals.
• The safest way is to hang the road bike on a rubber or plastic padded hook. The tyres are unloaded and do not suffer during extended idle time. But: Not all aerodynamic rims are suitable for being hung up, in particular carbon rims can suffer from damage.
• No matter, which method you will opt for: If you want to be on the safe side, be sure to always protect the frame with foamed tubes, in particular the top tube.

Transporting and packing – well protected

• Be sure to immediately insert spacers, when removing the wheels. This will protect the drop outs, prevent them from scratching the base and from pressing the fork and the rear frame inadvertently together.
• Transport the wheel with the tubes protected by foamed tubes in upright position, if possible, and in a special fixing system. If this is impossible, secure the bicycle with safety belts or tightening straps against shifting.
• If you have to transport the bicycle in lying position, do not place anything on the frame. Dismount the quick-releases from the hubs and place the dismounted wheels in wheel bags beside the wheel.

Author: Dirk Zedler