I have IMCDA in a few weeks, I am wondering what I should do to prep my bike. I have a 2009 P2 that I purchased last April. I am not sure how many miles I have put on it while training and racing last year. I did just put new tires and tubes on this morning, but that is about it. It is performing fine with no issues. Any advice would be appreciated.
Depends how much time you have but if you’ve shelled out for an IM I would try and find a free night and give your bike a THOROUGH once over. Most of these are two day before things rather than two weeks before but should get you started. Almost all are things that I’ve not done to my cost in the past:
-
Clean your bike completely. Get every speck of road schmutz off the chain, cassette, derailleurs and brakes and relube with a good quality lubricant. It’ll shift better, feel nicer and may even be worth a watt or two. While you’re getting dirty check every link of your chain is supple and completely sound (e.g. a plate isn’t about to snap).
-
Check there are no frays on the cables (particularly where they clamp).
-
Check that your cranks, chainring bolts, cassette (really I’ve had it come loose mid-ride), seatpost and cockpit bars are tight.
-
If you use a saddle bag check the straps aren’t fraying - the weight of a flat kit can cause them to weaken in time.
-
Check your brake pads - if they work they work but pre-A race is when I normally replace mine.
-
Check the battery on any computer you intend to rely on.
-
If it was me I’d also put my training tires back on and only swap them out for my penultimate ride.
I think based on the tone of the OP’s post that we should prescribe paying for a full overhaul at a reputable LBS.
Thanks. I appreciate the advice. Good stuff.
Although I would not consider myself a wrench, I have been taking care of my own rides since by BMX days 25 years ago. Just wanted some opinions so I would be able to consider what to do. Thanks (sarcastic).
this has nothing to do with your bike wrenching skills… more to the point, if you’re asking on a forum how to prep your bike for your A race, then you probably don’t know what you don’t know. I’d rather you had an experienced buddy take you through it, but if you don’t a few $$ is a good investment for someone to give your bike the once over and help you have a successful race.
Kind of like i was trying to do, but you didn’t appreciate that. Good luck to you sir.
a good article on the topic:
http://www.bikesportmichigan.com/features/prerace.shtml
like others said, don’t let the failure of a $10 part cost you on race day.
Well, I was sitting around tonight making a list of all the crap I need to do before I leave and thought it would help me think of everything. And maybe I could compare to what others do, to maybe learn something. Isn’t that the point of a forum? Advice, the sharing of ideas. I tend to ask questions all the time.
If your advice would have been, don’t chance it on an a race take it to your LBS, that would be cool. But the “tone” was dbagish.
I would also recommend the total overhaul at the local bike shop. I’d be willing to bet if you’ve had the bike since last April and it’s never been completely overhauled, you’ll notice a considerable difference in ride quality after the work has been done by someone that knows what they are doing.
Also, if you are like me, every time I try to do some total overhaul myself, I end up jacking the bike up worse than it already was but then again, I have terrible bike maintenance skills. I have my $150 already stashed away for when I take my bike to the LBS the week before IMLP. I know the LBS will do a good job and its well worth the peace of mind in my opinion.
I would say to give them a call a day or 2 ahead of time and tell them exactly when you will be bringing it in and make sure they know when you need it back.
It’s getting a bit late to learn for IM Canada, but I would highly suggest taking an active role in not only learning how/why things work on a bike, but how to FIX them when they don’t. You can own all the tools you need for the cost of 2 tune ups at the LBS, sans a stand which might set you back 200. However, you will have skills to get you through situations which might otherwise end your race/training ride.
FWIW, I have taught a lot of people who thought they couldn’t. The most recent was a single gal in her mid 40’s. She can swap out cranks/bb, install new cables/housing, brake/shift tuning, tubes/tires, stems/bars…she’s a mid 40’s chick who had never done anything remotely close to this in her life and she is completely self-sufficient. For the time and money it takes to drop off/pick up your bike a few times at the LBS you could learn all these skills…PLUS you won’t look like Mancy when a girl comes up and says 'hey your derailleur needs to have the upper limit tweaked, want me to show you how? 
Have a great race!
Check your derailleur cables are tight. Could have been worse but I spent the last 30 miles spinning like a mad man in the granny ring!
zip ties
electrical tape
scissors
stick-on velcro
the mistress
hex set
dremmel
cable cutters
grips
needle nose
bar tape
screw drivers
sockets and drivers
bungee cord
isolation
old tubes
tire levers
rim tape
know how
patience
a colorful vocabulary of assorted profanity varying in intensity and vulgarity
grease
chain lube
cable housing
shifter cables
pedal wrench
bottom bracket tool
leatherman
a finishing nail
space to spread out
time allowance for post-rebuild ride to quadruple check
the properly geared cassette
packaging tape
spare batteries
a shot glass and good bottle of bourbon
degreaser
rubber gloves
toothbrush
cassette tool
spoke wrench
leave the skewer for indoor trainer at home
loctite
cash for new parts
a new haircut
.