Basics
Bike check
Two minutes before you leave catches the flat and the brake that does nothing.
A DadLane sheet. Fill the blanks, screenshot it, or print it.
DadLane
Be the dad who shows up
A DadLane sheet. The prompts are ours. Fill the blanks in your own words. Free to print. Not medical, legal, or financial advice.
The steps
Air, brakes, chain, helmet. Then ride.
Screenshot the card, or print it. The links below stay on the site.
- 01Tires: read the pressure number on the sidewall. A squeeze is not a gauge. Add air before you leave if it is soft.
- 02Front brake, then rear. The bike should stop. If the lever touches the grip and nothing happens, do not ride.A lever that hits the grip and does not stop the bike is a bike you walk. Do not ride it home to see.
- 03Chain on the rings, not hanging off. A squeak gets one drop of lube, then you wipe the extra off the side plates.
- 04Axle nuts tight, or the quick release closed and locked. Spin the wheel. A wobble you can see is a stop.
- 05Helmet on before the bike moves. Straps make a V under the ears, a finger or two above the eyebrows, buckle shut.
- 06Dusk or dark: a white light in front and a red light or reflector in back. No light, no ride.
- 07Cracked frame, a bent wheel, or a brake that does not grab: walk it. A shop can see it the same week.
- 08Two minutes. Then go. This card is the driveway, not a new project.
Also on this job
The same job, in the directory.
Official pages and the DadLane steps, with a next step on each card.
1 in this view
NHTSA
Bicycle safety
NHTSA on bikes: the helmet, the check, and where a child should ride.
For Dads teaching a ride or sending a child out on a bike.
- Basics how-tos
- Safety
- School
Sources
Go to the source.
These open in a new tab. They are the organizations named here, not ads. The video, when there is one, sits above this list.