4 tips to make sure your wheels are race-ready

Are your wheels race-ready?

Before a big race like the Telkom 947 Cycle Challenge, make sure your wheels are up to the task. Whether you’re riding just the road race, or the mountain bike event too, on a road bike, mountain bike or both, make sure your wheels are in tip-top condition. Wheels that are damaged can endanger you as well as those riding close to you. Safety first!

Here are some tips:

Spoke tension

Make sure your spokes are evenly tensioned. This is what keeps a wheel straight and true. If you have some very loose and some very tight spokes, your wheel is bound to “taco” in a crash or during a long, demanding ride. To check this, pluck each pair of parallel spokes like guitar strings. If the tones are very different, get your wheels checked by a professional.

Straightness or “true”

If your wheel looks wobbly while spinning it, it’s out of true, or buckled. This could be from a crash, an impact or simply poor assembly. If you use rim brakes, like on most road bikes, this will affect your braking performance and may add extra resistance while pedaling and freewheeling. A buckled wheel will only get worse if not repaired, and is generally an easy fix. Get it seen to.

Puncture protection

If you’re using tubeless tyres, make sure you have enough sealant in your tyres. This is what self-heals any punctures you may get from thorns, glass and sharp rocks and stones. Without enough sealant, nothing will plug the holes and you’ll soon get that deflated feeling.
If you’re using tubes, it’s a good idea to either use “pre-slimed” tubes that come with sealant inside from the factory, or squeeze some sealant in through the valve yourself. For this, you’ll need tubes with a removable valve core and some Slime, Stans, Tyre Juice or similar. If you’re using tubes, consider using tyre-liners. These prevent sharp objects that do pierce the tyre from puncturing the tube.

Your tyres

Finally, check your tyres. They should have adequate tread and no visible cuts or tears. If you can see the canvas casing through the rubber, they’re already long overdue for replacement. Tyre pressure is also pretty important. Too hard and the ride will be very harsh and uncomfortable – too soft and you risk getting pinch flats or the tyre rolling off the rim. Road bike tyre pressures should ideally be between 6 and 8 bar, while tyre pressures for tubeless mountain bike wheels should be between 1 and 2 bar, depending on the rim and tyre combination and rider weight.

If you have any questions about wheels or tyres, post your questions in the comments below and I’ll do my best to answer them.

Good luck for the race!