Maintenance
Some people love cleaning their beloved steed after a ride, but many don’t. As a minimum, ensure the brakes and chain are kept clean, so you can enjoy your next ride. A bike can collect enough mud inside the mudguard to slow you down significantly, or to stop the brakes working properly. If you’ve been riding in winter on roads that have been gritted, washing the whole bike will help prevent corrosion. For a bicycle, cleanliness is next to longevity.
Before going out, it’s a good idea to carry out a quick M Check inspection of your bike, depending on how frequently you ride. As a minimum:
- Check the tyres. Pump them up if necessary, as riding with firm tyres takes less effort
- Check both brakes, and adjust them if necessary
- Lube the chain
Doing your own bike repairs isn’t for everyone, but it will help if you’re familiar with a few basics, unless you have your own resident/travelling mechanic:
- Change an inner tube / repair a puncture
- Change brake blocks or pads when they wear and adjust them
- Adjust derailleur gears (for bikes that have them)
To learn more about DIY bike maintenance, see Cycling UK’s how-to video guides and maintenance advice.
The Park Tool company is renowned for its bike tools, making over 500 products and selling them in over 70 countries. Their website has instructions for most repair and maintenance jobs you’re likely to come across, and simple how-to videos on many of these.
Local resources for maintaining your bike
Goring Repair & Exchange Café is a free community service to help reduce waste and increase sustainability. It is run entirely by volunteers and carries out bike safety checks and simple repairs.
The repair cafe takes place six times a year, usually the first Saturday of even-numbered months.
Goring Hardware carries a range of tools and spares useful for DIY bike maintenance. It is open 7 days a week (Sundays until 1 pm) and is located in Red Cross Road, opposite the rear entrance to Goring & Streatley station.
Reading Bike Kitchen is a volunteer-run “we-help-you-fix-it bicycle workshop” located in Reading. They have a small stock of donated bikes that have been repaired or serviced. This is probably the cheapest way to buy a decent bike locally.
Rides on Air is located in the centre of Wallingford, 6 miles from Goring. It has a large range of new bikes from major brands, plus all the parts, accessories and repair services you would expect from an independent local bike shop.
Radbourne Repairs is a mobile bike repair service, based in Didcot and run by Scott Radbourne.