Hi I’m Derik Today, we’re going to be looking at tightening
our spokes, checking for any damage to the wheels,
and also checking that we have the correct tire pressure,
and also if we need to replace our tires.
We’re just going to check the spokes.
What we can do is just find a spot to start.
It’s usually easiest to find the valve, hold that close to us.
And then just kind of flick the spokes, almost like a guitar string.
and they should have a nice tension to them.
You shouldn’t be able to wobble them.
And they also should make a little “ring" as you pick them
Ok, here we have a loose spoke.
Maybe you guys can see or not, but this spoke is loose.
It has a really dull flat sound to it.
Ok so we’ll just make sure theres no others first.
They all sound pretty good.
Feel pretty good.
So this spoke, we’re going to need a spoke wrench or spoke key.
You can get these from a bicycle store.
Put the spoke here and all you have to do is turn it.
After a couple of turns, the spoke will start to come tight again.
And just turn it a little bit more.
And it should sound and feel the same as the others.
Don’t over tighten it.
Once you’ve done that, go back and check all the others again
to make sure the tension you put on this one hasn’t made a loose
one over here.
The other thing we need to do is check the pressure.
It’s a good idea to have what the recommendation is
from the manufacturer.
It makes the chair a lot easier to push.
This tire here says inflate to a 110 psi.
Pounds per square inch.
Now, you don’t necessarily need a gauge to measure that.
Usually if you can squash the tire easily with your thumbs,
it’s too flat.
So what we’re going to do is find the valve.
And this valve here is called a presta valve.
And it’s very good for high pressures.
It’s a little more complicated than a standard valve, but
what you want to do is have one of these adapters.
You can get one of these adapters from any local bicycle store.
And first thing we’re going to do is remove the cap.
There’s another brass feeding.
We’re going to undo that.
And to make it easier for the new air to get into the tube,
we’re just going to press down on it and make sure that it compresses.
If it hasn’t been inflated in a long time, that little piece can jam up
and the new air won’t even go in.
So we get a little adapter, screw that down.
Not too tight.
And if you’re at home, this is the easiest thing to have.
It’s just a standard bike pump from a bicycle store.
A good quality one.
They can certainly put in a lot of pressure.
And this one, you click it on.
Lift up the tab and then pump it up.
I like to hold my other hand on the valve and the spokes so that I don’t cause
any damage to the valve stem.
So we can check.
We see already that that’s a lot better.
Undo the valve adapter.
And then the little thread.
Tighten the thread down.
Doesn’t have to be too tight.
And then replace the cap.
You can see now that I can barely squeeze that down.
That’ll make the chair a lot easier to push.
It’s also a whole lot better for the tire.
It’ll last a lot longer and give you a better ride.
Here’s an example of a tire that would need replacing.
You can see that on top, it still has some tread.
But what’s happening is the tread is lifting away from the canvas.
And this is a tire that I would replace immediatly.
Order some new ones.
You could probably use it for a few days, until the new one arrives.
Or go down to the bike store and get them to replace your tire.
We tend to forget about making sure that our wheels come off.
And time to time if we’ve been out in the rain, it’ll get moisture
in there and they won’t come off.
It’s always good just to check every month that this is still removable.
What we can do is just check that the axle still rotates freely that way.
And also in and out.
And that the pin axle can also come out.
If you’re ever having any squeaks or noises coming from your wheels,
it’s worth checking that the bearings still turn.
So you can put your finger on it and just give it a turn.
And it should be nice and smooth.
If you put your finger on there and it’s like click, click, click, click, click,
it’s time to get new bearings.
And you should be able to get that done at a bicycle store.
Or a wheelchair supply company will be able to send you those bearings and you can
take those bearings to the bicycle store.
Now I don’t usually put any lubrication in here,
but what I will do to the pin is just get a rag
and little bit of WD40.
Spray a little on the rag and just give the axle a wipe.
It just adds a tiny little bit of lubrication and keeps it
from rusting up.
So we put the pin back in.
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