taking my bike out of retirement

jrby

Hi, after a three year gap, I'm taking my road bike out of retirement....

one question, I've check everything is ok, re inflated the tyres, checked the brakes and oiled the gears etc....

anything else I need to check for?

and should I be worried about the tyres becoming brittle?

terrydel

Where did you store it?
Not sure on bicycles as I tend to store them indoors and/or use them over the winter so never an issue for me, but if my motorbike had 3 years in hibernation I'd be changing the tyres, especially if it spent 3 winters in a cold shed!

jrby

It was in a shed, they look fine and doesn't appears to be any damage.....checked it over at lunch time today and was going to take it for a spin this evening, might take it easy and see what happens

68 lost souls

Yeah the rubber could well have degraded a good bit over time, including the break pads. I'd check them out.

Relube the chain and possible need to re-grease the bearings.

terrydel

68 lost souls wrote: »

Yeah the rubber could well have degraded a good bit over time, including the break pads. I'd check them out.

Relube the chain and possible need to re-grease the bearings.

Yep, bearings will need some attention. My motorbike is like an arthritic old man after a winter in the shed!

magicbastarder

i had my bike in storage for a lot longer than three years (all indoors) and there was no problem with the tyres or bearings.

El Tarangu

There was a bike more than 20 years in storage in my garage until I first took it out - tyres were gone, but the bearings were fine.

So, the bearings will probably be fine.

joxerjohn

I have about eight bikes in my shed some with tyres of varying ages up to 20 years old in one case !

I suppose the big risk with a road bike is of a possible blowout because the tire pressures used are quite high. If you inflate to 100PSI+ and the tyres look ok and don't have any obvious bumps, bulges or cracks then you are probably ok.

Having said that I did have a blowout once on a road bike and it is a scary feeling. It was a back wheel and I was lucky to be able to stop safely, I though I was a gonner. In that particular case a mis-aligned brake pad had weakened the tyre wall near the rim which caused the problem.

Treating yourself to some fresh rubber is probably a good idea I would say, and then wear them out as fast as you can !

secman

I'd be more concerned about your body than the bike... Might blow a gasket