Video: How to check your bike is race ready

The latest video in the Racesmart series from British Cycling shows you how to check that your bike is ready to race. Although the video is aimed at racers, the advice applies to sportive riders and everyone who rides a bike, for that matter.

The advice on offer is pretty basic, designed to make sure your bike is safe to use rather than to give you advanced tips on setup, so if you have plenty of mechanical experience you can probably afford to give this video a miss. If, however, you’re fairly new to cycling and want a few tips on putting your bike back together after you’ve transported it in the back of a car, for example, take a look.

The video shows you how to put your wheels back on, the safest positions for your quick releases, and how to check your brakes.

It also tells you to check your tyres and gears and shows you how to make sure there’s no unwanted movement in your headset. It’s all straightforward stuff that even the most technophobic riders can handle.