D. First Ride
When you buckle on your helmet and go for your
first familiarisation ride on your new bicycle, be
sure to pick a controlled environment, away from
cars, other cyclists, obstacles or other hazards.
Ride to become familiar with the controls,
features and performance of your
new bike.
Familiarise yourself with the braking action of the
bike (see Section 4.C). The right hand brake
lever operates the front brake and the left, the
rear. Test the brakes at slow speed, putting your
weight toward the rear and gently applying the
brakes, rear brake first. Sudden or excessive
application of the front brake could pitch you over
the handlebars. Applying brakes too hard can
lock up a wheel, which could cause you to lose
control and fall. Skidding is an example of what
can happen when a wheel locks up.
If your bicycle has toeclips or clipless pedals,
practice getting in and out of the pedals (see
paragraph B.4 above and Section 4.E.4).
If your bike has suspension, familiarise yourself
with how the suspension responds to brake
application and rider weight shifts (see paragraph
B.6 above and Section 4.F).
Practice shifting the gears (see Section 4.D).
Remember never move the shifter whilst
stationary, whilst pedalling backwards, or pedal
backwards immediately after having moved the
shifter. This could jam the chain and cause
serious damage to the bicycle.
Check out the handling and response of the bike;
and check the comfort.
If you have any questions, or if you feel
anything about the bike is not as it should be,
consult your
local 13 dealer
before your
next
ride.
7
Head tube
Seat post
Freewheel/
cassette
sprocket
cluster
Seat stay
Down
tube
Top tube
Seat
tube
Chain
rings
Crank
Front gear
mechanism
Rear gear
mechanism
Chain stay
Stem
Headset
Fig. 1
13
owners manual GENERIC A5 aw
05/05/14
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