Reading Bike Kitchen are proud to report that they have delivered a very successful training session to a group of young people from Reading and South Oxfordshire!

A group of girls and boys from 1st Kidmore End Scouts came to RBK to be shown by our master mechanics how to look after their own bikes safely and properly. Everybody brought their own bike; it doesn’t matter if it’s new or old we can help you do the jobs well. We fixed many things through the evening: wonky wheels, poor brakes, grinding gears, thorns in tyres, and looked at the importance of looking after your chain.

The ABC-D of a basic bike check is:

A – for AIR. Check your wheels and tyres for damage, looseness and the correct tyre pressure.

B – BRAKES! The most critical safety feature of your bike, set them up well and they will look after you. Correct pad adjustment and lever travel are essential.

C – is for CHAIN. Is it clean? Does it squeak or crunch? Lubricate and look after your chain and all of the effort you put into your bike will move it along faster!

D – the final check, a small DROP of your bike will tell you if anything critical is loose. Make this a habit and you’ll soon understand the noise your bike should make and crucially when something isn’t right.

I’m pretty sure the Leaders and adult helpers learned just as much from the session as the kids. We were very pleased to host such a good group that really wanted to learn.

If you are interested in learning more about your bike, just pop into the Reading Bike Kitchen on Jackson's Corner or book onto one of our regular 3 hour evening maintenance courses.