My Bike is Making Noises. Do I Ignore it?

This actually happened to me recently with my e-bike. For backstory, I have an e-bike with a suspension so I can enjoy more rocky terrain or bike on carriage roads near where I currently live. Sometimes I wear earbuds when I bike, so I am may not be mindful or attentive to the creaking or one-off noises my bikes make. About three weeks ago I was riding without my earbuds and noticed an unusual noise. I couldn’t place it being in the brakes. It didn’t sound like it was in my seat, or the suspension. I tested to see if it made the noise when I was shifting gears, but no luck. Essentially, I noticed it, couldn’t place it, and consciously decided to leave it alone. Wishful thinking it would go away on it’s own. As you can probably imagine, that didn’t happen. Not only did it not go away, it got louder and more frequent. I felt embarrassed when I’d ride my bike in public. One day, I left on what I’d hope would be a long mid-day bike ride but turned into a re-route directly to the bike shop. My bike was screaming at me for help. I let the experts do their job and a few days later, I got to pick up my newly tuned and greased bike. I biked home in silence, expressing mental gratitude to the team who fixed my bike and also gave myself a pat on the back for getting it fixed when I did.

You may be wondering why I’m sharing this story. It’s kind of silly, and may seem irrelevant. The reality is, I often work with families or young adults who are living their life like my bike (or like a car): they may notice the initial warnings, they try to ignore it until it gets too loud, and then it becomes a real crisis in getting help. Truth be told, humans aren’t meant to be “fixed” like a bike or car. If we collectively all listened to the noises earlier on (whether that’s internally, or listening to our loved ones) then maybe we’d avoid more significant consequences like long-lasting psychosis, scars from self-harm, or significant money loss from dropped college semesters.

This message boils down to: pay attention. Do something when it’s urgent, rather than waiting for it to become an emergency.

For questions or comments contact Joanna.