>>1641560>Hey Anons, picked up a bike for free and it has some cracking in the treads. Do they need to be replaced?Would be good to replace, but if it holds air and isn't bulging anywhere it's probably safe to ride. The risk of flats will be higher.
>Anything else to check out on a bike that's been sitting in a garage for a couple years?Chain is visibly rusty as fuck, possibly the gears in back are too. Could still be functional but probably won't last long and a snapped chain means you're walking. Definitely replace if possible.
You can test the brakes and shifting just by using them. If they don't work well you might need new cables and/or pads.
Spin the cranks and wheels and make sure they spin freely and don't have any internal grinding noise. If they're noisy it'd be good to go to a shop and get them looked at. Unless it's pretty bad it's not super-urgent, but things will wear out faster and slow you down a bit.
Other than that just look it over for anything visibly rusted or filthy and try to clean it up if possible.
>How can I check the trueness of the wheels? All the online guides seem to use a jig I don't have.Turn the bike over and spin the wheel and watch for wobbling in the gap between the rim and brake pad (make sure to watch the rim, not the tire. If the tire seems to be wobbling that's a separate problem) If the gap varies by more than a couple mm it'd be good to have it touched up. You could get a spoke wrench and try to DIY but wheel truing isn't the simplest thing.
In addition, squeeze the spokes and see if any are a lot looser than the others. That can cause wheel problems. (The back wheel spokes will all be tighter on one side than the other)
