Excuse me, but your front wheel is about to fall off!

How many of you see recreational riders out there with their front quick release lever completely open or clamped loosely the wrong way (backwards)? I know that a lot of newer bikes have safety features so that the wheel won't actually come off but geez, there are a lot of people out there with disasters waiting to happen.

So what is the ethical thing to do? Do you stop and tell them and fix it for them if they are clueless? (I do.) Do you ride on and hope for the best? (Should I?) And don't bike shops teach people about this when they buy a bike? So many of the ones I see are folks riding brand new bikes.

Views: 80

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Ali on October 19, 2008 at 11:33am
I usually will give them a verbal warning if I notice something out of the ordinary. The way I see it is that if their front wheel decides to come off while I am passing them doing 20+ I am going to get hurt as well...Also ask people walking their bikes if they need help...Its amazing how much a $3.00 tube or a patch will put a smile on someone's face...It only takes a second to yell out "Hey! Do you need any help?"

-Ali
Permalink Reply by Stickfiguredanny on October 19, 2008 at 11:51am
I try to let people know if they could use some air in a tire. This goes for cars as well.
Permalink Reply by Jessica on October 20, 2008 at 3:10am
So many people around me ride POS bikes...you know, Roadmasters. Eew.

One day some dude's crank fell off the non drive side...I wanted to help him, but the bolt was long long gone, on top of the fact that I didn't have a skinny 14 wrench, and the BB square was mushroomed to all hell.

Then some kid whose derailleur wasn't working. He decided that pedaling backwards was the best way to fix it, and the chain fell off. (Bet yall didn't see that one coming.) I walked over and put the chain back on, and fixed the derailleur. I explained what was wrong, how I fixed it, and not to pedal backwards...ever. The kid then had the gall to mock my cycling shoes, make fun of me for not being on my college's cycling team, and in general being a jerk. It turned into a, 'Now listen kid. I use my bike for transportation and recreation. I don't need a club to legitimize what I'm doing. K thx bai.'

PS: As a bike shop who sells new bikes, we teach every customer purchasing a new bike how to remove the front wheel and reattach it. We also teach them how to change a flat, and educate them on proper tire pressure (and how often they need to refill). Some people are SERIOUSLY mechanically incompetent. We try our best...we don't want front wheels coming off either!! :)

RSS

Groups

© 2008-2016   The Chainlink Community, L.L.C.   Powered by

Disclaimer  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service