Do

Put your seat down for a steep technical downhill

Dont

When clamping your bike between your legs to pull your seat up again, put your leg on the red hot disc brake. (burning human flesh smells of pork)

Do: discuss whether a lacross stick head can fit between bike spokes with a friend while riding along.
Don’t: Jam the stick into the spokes to prove the point.

DO – ride your bike.
Don’t – think about riding it.

Do – put warm up balm on your legs to aid sore joints
Don’t – put your lycra shorts on afterwards

wear a camelbak and attack on all the climbs on your first ride with your new roadie club mates.

Secretly, they love it.

Do adjust your 12 year old son’s brakes so they are always slightly “on”
Don’t answer his question about that scraping sound.

Do – Try and bunny hop solo fishermens roach poles while riding along canal towpaths

Don’t – Try and bunny hop fishermens roach poles while riding along canal towpathswhen there’s several of them in a row

Do: plan a big four hour ride for your family, pack everyone’s bikes in the van, wake your teenage sons early and drive for an hour to get to the start.

Don’t: forget your own cycling shoes.

Do always carry a spare rear mech.

Dont forget your own cycling shoes, especially the brand new ones you bought just after Christmas, but accidently leave in your Big Yellow Storage lock up in Leeds, especially when you live in Gibraltar.

carry a spare rear mech? seriously?!

Yep

and does that happen often enough for it to actually be worth carrying a a spare?

I think it’s the kind of thing that once it has happened, you realise that since they are small parts, it’s not a problem carrying a spare! If it’s never happened, then you don’t realise what a pain it is.

Do go with your mates down the local jump park.

Dont say “watch me nail this one”, before falling off.

Still hurts. Mentally, and physically. Thank god they didnt record it. I hate camera phones.

Do: Carry toilet paper on a long ride
Dont: Forget it!!
Do: Wear soft socks on a long ride (incase you do forget the toilet paper!!)

Rear Mech or the Hanger?

carry a spare rear mech? seriously?!

I’m very hard on them, and they rarely last me longer than 6 months, usually failing catastrophically as they dive into the spokes. I’ve been carrying a spare for a year now, and have already lent it out twice.

Do: Ride with lights at night.

Don’t: Ride like an idiot around/scare walkers on paving or cities/trails.

I have carried a rear mech in Wales-came in useful after hitting a rock.

Local trails I just carry a hanger, not enough rocks on my local trail unless I crashed so bad I would need ER anyway.

Ah sorry folks, I meant the hanger thingy, not the big thing with cogs and all.

that makes a lot more sense – and yes, would have to agree there!

I’ve just bought one and was googling under “rear mech hanger” – hence my confusion!

Do: Ride
Don’t: Slide

Do – get a day pass from the wife and travel from Liverpool to nant y Arian for a good days riding.

Don’t – discover when you get there that you forgot to put your seat and seatpost in the car….

Do: Ride you local trails the other way

Don’t: Eat yellow snow

Do: Examine your caliper/rotor interface frequently to ensure correct operation.

Don’t: Carry out this examination with your finger. Whilst the wheel is spinning at 100rpm…

Do carry a spare rear hangar.

Don’t forget to make sure you have the right sized allen key to fit it.