Blog — Bike Stories | Practical bike maintenance

A workbench with a bicycle on a repair stand, a floor pump and a set of hex and Torx drivers laid out in a row, low warm workshop light, shallow depth of field

maintenance8 Nov 20268 min read

Bike tools worth owning, and what each one saves you

A buying guide to home-mechanic bike tools: the five that prevent a shop visit or save an expensive part, ranked by what they save, with street price ranges and the tools that are just convenience.

Read it →

A small grey child's bicycle balanced upright on a white analog bathroom floor scale with a round dial, on a pale beige tiled floor with a white paneled door behind, soft even indoor light, no text or logos visible

kids1 Nov 20267 min read

Is a 12 kg (26 lb) bike too heavy for a 5-year-old?

How heavy should a kids bike be? Why a 12 kg (26 lb) bike can be too heavy for a 5-year-old, the 30-40% rule, how to weigh the bike, and what you can take off if it is already heavy.

Read it →

A small red child's bicycle with black tyres and white grips leaning against a weathered pale-yellow wall beside a red door, on a cobblestone street with potted plants, soft overcast light

kids25 Oct 20268 min read

Kids' bikes: five things worth paying for

The five features worth paying for on a kids' bike — weight, brakes the child can reach, fit with room to grow, tyres, gearing — how to check each in the shop, and what doesn't matter.

Read it →

A black commuter bicycle with full mudguards, covered in water droplets, leaning against a weathered red brick wall on a wet stone-paved street, grey overcast winter light, shallow depth of field

riding18 Oct 20269 min read

Winter riding: what salt and grit destroy first on your bike

Which parts winter riding wears down first — chain, pads, cables, bearings, bolts — what to check on each, and the cheap habits that slow the season down.

Read it →

A hand holding a small metal chain wear gauge against the roller gap of a bicycle chain stretched across the rear cassette, on a work stand in low warm workshop light, shallow depth of field

parts-and-wear11 Oct 202610 min read

When to replace a cassette and chainring, and when they go as a set

The chain wears first and measurably; the cassette and chainring wear second and quietly. How to measure the chain, read the teeth for the hooks, and tell a chain job from a set job.

Read it →

A small child's red balance bike and a red pedal bike with stabilisers, side by side on a garage floor in morning light

kids30 Aug 20268 min read

A child's first pedal bike: balance bike or stabilisers

Balance bike, stabilisers, or straight to pedals? What each one teaches, which one wastes the most time, and the four checks to do on the pedal bike before the first ride off.

Read it →

A small child's red bicycle propped against a white garden wall in soft afternoon light, low angle

kids27 Aug 202610 min read

What size bike a kid actually needs — inseam and standover, not age

A five-year-old is usually on a 16-inch wheel — but 'usually' does a lot of work. How to settle it with a book and a tape measure: inseam, standover, saddle height, and the brake-reach check the charts leave out.

Read it →

A bicycle wheel removed from the frame lying on a workshop bench, the hub facing the camera, low warm workshop light, a socket set blurred in the foreground

parts-and-wear27 Aug 202611 min read

Bike wheel rattling: hub and bearing wear, checked in ten minutes

The wobble you feel is the wheel moving inside the hub, not the rim. The spin-down check and the hand-roller test catch it before the headset goes — plus what a service and a new hub each cost.

Read it →

A pair of hands seating a road bike tyre bead over the rim of a wheel on a wooden workshop bench, low warm workshop light, shallow depth of field

maintenance27 Aug 20268 min read

Why that tyre is so hard to mount — and how to seat it properly

The bead is round, the rim is oval — that is the whole problem. Bead tension, valve-first order, levers at 4 and 8, and the one rim check that catches the problems that are not about technique at all.

Read it →

A bicycle drivetrain on a work stand, a hand holding a small chain checker against the chain near the cassette, low warm workshop light, shallow depth of field, chain links and cassette teeth in sharp focus

maintenance27 Aug 20269 min read

Chain lube: wet, dry, wax, and which one your conditions actually want

Wet lube, dry lube, hot wax: what each one is for, how long each lasts, and why the chain decides the lube, not the other way around. Plus the five-minute routine that replaces every schedule.

Read it →