Pre-ride inspection — the M-check

Tools

• A pre-ride check is the simplest preventive maintenance the rider can do, and the one most likely to catch a roadside failure before it happens. The traditional structure is the 'M-check' — the rider's eye traces a sideways M across the bike (front hub up to handlebar, down to bottom bracket, up to saddle, down to rear hub), inspecting each contact and component as the eye passes through it. The list below is one such M-check baseline, with rim-brake and disc-brake variants combined. It takes about two to three minutes once practised. None of the items below replaces a periodic workshop service, especially for hydraulic brakes, cables and housing, and bearings.