In the UK, most drivers would never skip an MOT. It’s accepted as a basic responsibility: a quick, regular check to make sure vehicles are safe, legal and reliable. But when it comes to bikes, that mindset often disappears.

And that’s a problem — because bicycles are no longer just leisure kit. For millions of people, they are daily transport. If cycling is a mainstream mode of travel, then bicycle maintenance should be treated the same way as car servicing: routine, expected, and planned for.

Cars need regular checks for brakes, tyres, steering, drivetrains and safety systems. Bikes rely on the very same fundamentals — just in a simpler, more exposed form.

A car with worn brake pads is dangerous.
A bike with worn brake pads is dangerous.

A car with misaligned wheels wears tyres faster.
A bike with untrue wheels does the same.

The difference is visibility. Many bike issues develop quietly and gradually. There’s no dashboard warning light when a headset loosens or a bottom bracket starts wearing prematurely. Without regular servicing, problems are often only spotted when something fails — usually at the roadside, usually at the worst possible time.

A professional bicycle mechanic can catch these issues early, just as a technician would during a vehicle service. The logic is already there. We just haven’t normalised it yet.

One of the biggest misconceptions in cycling is that servicing is an optional extra. In reality, it’s how you avoid expensive bicycle repair.

Regular bike servicing helps by:

• Extending the life of chains, cassettes and chainrings

• Preventing accelerated tyre wear

• Reducing bearing damage in hubs, headsets and bottom brackets

• Keeping brakes efficient and predictable

• Catching safety-critical issues before they become failures

A simple service can cost far less than replacing a neglected drivetrain. And once wear spreads from one component to another, costs stack quickly.

Every experienced bicycle repairer will tell you the same thing: bikes that come in regularly are cheaper to own over time. They also ride better, feel quieter, and are significantly more reliable for daily cycling.

For many cyclists in the United Kingdom, bikes are not weekend toys. They are how people get to work, school, childcare, shift jobs and late-night trains.

That means reliability matters — and safety matters even more.

Brakes gradually lose bite. Cables stretch. Bolts work loose. Tyres thin out. None of this feels dramatic when it happens slowly, but all of it matters when you need your bike to stop, corner or roll predictably in traffic.

Regular bicycle maintenance isn’t about perfection. It’s about consistency. It’s the difference between trusting your bike every morning and hoping it behaves itself.

Cars come with a cultural expectation of upkeep. Bikes don’t — yet. But that’s changing as cycling becomes more mainstream across cities and towns.

If we want more people to cycle confidently, then making servicing routine is part of the solution. That could include:

• Employer servicing schemes, alongside cycle-to-work programmes

• Government incentives for regular bike checks, similar to vehicle safety campaigns

• Public messaging that treats bike servicing as safety infrastructure, not a luxury

• Local workshops acting as community hubs, not intimidating repair dens

Normalising bike servicing helps everyone: cyclists ride more confidently, roads become safer, and bikes stay usable for longer instead of ending up discarded or replaced unnecessarily.

A routine service does not mean a full strip-down every time. It means appropriate care, at the right intervals, by people who know what to look for.

At a professional cycle repair shop, servicing typically includes:

• Brake inspection and adjustment

• Gear tuning

• Safety bolt checks

• Tyre and wheel inspection

• Drivetrain cleaning and lubrication

• Bearing condition assessment

For e-bikes, it also includes checks that reflect their extra weight and power — ensuring systems remain safe, legal and well-integrated.

This is preventive care, not over-servicing. Just like an MOT.

If the UK is serious about cycling as transport, then maintaining bikes needs to be treated like maintaining cars.

Regular servicing saves money.
It prevents breakdowns.
It keeps riders safe.
And it makes cycling a more dependable choice for everyday life.

An MOT didn’t become normal overnight. Neither will bike servicing — but it should.

And when it does, everyone benefits.

Extraordinary service, zero faff.