bicycle maintenance

Question
after many years of use, my bicycle recently died when the pedal fell off. The man at the repair shop said it would be more than the bike was worth to fix it as the part was stripped. It was not an expensive bike and easy to replace, but what can I do to prevent this form happening on my new bike?

Answer
Allison,

Sorry for the delay in responding, I wish I could say I was spending too much time on my bike, but, alas, it is too much time at work.

The shop guy might be right and it might be time for you to "up-grade" to a bit of a better bike. A bike that is built at a bike shop, compared to one that is put together in the back of a big box store, will be of better quality, even at the low end.

Pedals do loosen sometimes - even on high quality bikes if the have not been tightened properly. The best way to prevent this is to have you bike in to a good shop for a yearly tune-up. When you go in they will check the shifting, the brakes, make sure the wheels are "true" (straight) and they should do a safety check to make sure that bike is safe to ride. I would explain to the mechanic that you lost a pedal once and if he could please check them, and the rest of the bolts, to make sure they are as tight as they should be.

I feel your pain, I have had to tell people that their bike just wasn't worth fixing. And I am the type of person that would rather try to fix something then just throw it away... but sometimes...

Good luck!

Keep riding!

Tad