Bicycle Safety

Your bicycle should match your riding style. Choices range from an ultra-lightweight, fast road-racing machine to a rugged all-terrain bike. Consider your level of skill and where you want to ride. A good bike shop can help you make the right decision.

For comfort, your bike must fit your body proportions like a good suit of clothes. Finding the right frame height by standing over the bike is just a start. Other measurements are equally important. For example, most women need to take extra care to buy bikes with a short top tube, since women's average upper-body length is shorter in proportion to leg length than men's.

Cranks, handlebar stem, handlebars and saddle can be changed to fit you better. A good bike shop will help you select the parts that are right for you when you buy a bike.

New or old-faithful, your bicycle must be in good working order. The gears must shift reliably, and the brakes must work smoothly. If you aren't sure that your bike is in top shape, take it to a qualified mechanic.

HELMET
A helmet is a bargain in injury prevention. Wearing a bicycle helmet whenever you ride can reduce your risk of a serious head injury by 85%. A good helmet will protect against most of these. It reduces the risk of a fatal bicycling crash to about the same level as a car driver's, for the same amount of time spent at either activity (National Safety Council and H. Katteler; Minutes of the Velo-City Conference, Bremen, Germany, 1981).

REAR-VIEW MIRROR
A rear-veiw mirror can be helpful when maneuvering in traffic. A small, helmet-mounted mirror gives a wide field of view and good isolation from road shock. Aim it along the side of your head, looking directly back. You should see your left ear in the right side of the mirror. You'll need a couple of weeks to learn to use the mirror. If it still doesn't work well for you after that length of time, consider a handlebar-end mirror instead.

BICYCLING GLOVES
Every bicyclist takes a fall sooner or later, and puts out a hand to break the fall. Unless you wear gloves, the pavement will sandpaper your palm. Fingerless cycling gloves improve your comfort on long rides by cushioning your hands against road shock from the handlebars.

TOOLS
A small tool kit, tire patch kit and frame pump -- and the knowledge to use them -- will get you back on the road when your bike has a flat tire or other common minor breakdowns. Most on-road repairs are simple and easy to learn.

BAGGAGE
A frame-mounted water bottle lets you drink as you ride -- important on any trip of more than an hour. A small handlebar bag or rack-mount bag will hold your tools, extra clothing, maps and other items you take with you on your rides. A bag on the bike is a far better choice than a backpack, which will leave your back hot and sweaty in warm weather.

< Back