CHECKLIST TEMPLATE
A full pre-season bike fleet audit every rental shop should run before opening. Counts, inspects, services, and retirement-reviews every bike in one pass.
Pre-season is the window where you get a full picture of your bike fleet before customers arrive. A structured fleet audit 3–4 weeks before opening day surfaces missing gear, damaged bikes, retired-model components, and the inventory gaps you need to order for the season. Skipping the audit means discovering these problems one at a time during peak season, when parts lead times are 5–10 days.
The audit takes 2–4 hours per 50 bikes depending on how well last season's shutdown was done. Shops that stored gear wet, skipped chain oiling, or left batteries at 0% find significantly more problems than shops that wound down properly.
Work through each step on every application. Critical steps must pass before the item leaves the shop.
Investigate any missing bikes. Gear walks out of shops more often than owners track.
Visual inspection, spin wheels, test shift, test brakes. Note any obvious issues.
Use the separate ABC checklist. Any failing bikes go to repair queue.
Chains stretched past 0.75% get replaced. Also replace cassette if wear is advanced.
Replace any pad below retirement thickness; replace rotors at manufacturer min.
Pick 10–20% of the fleet for an on-road test. Catches issues a static inspection misses.
Use the e-bike battery checklist separately. Log baseline for the season.
Impact damage retirement; expired certifications; strap condition.
Lights, pumps, repair kits, locks. Note what is missing or broken.
Turn findings into purchase orders and repair queue tickets. Set deadlines.
Build this into your regular operational rotation. In a small shop, the opener runs this as part of morning prep. In larger shops, dedicate a technician or staffer to the task during the opening hour. If you run EquipDash, attach the checklist to the relevant asset or booking so completions log automatically and build a maintenance history.
Run the main audit 3–4 weeks before opening. Run a shorter confirmation audit 3 days before opening to verify every repair and reorder has actually landed.
Four hours per 50 bikes, once per year. Pays for itself the first time you catch a missing bike or a seized bearing before a customer finds it. Combined with a disciplined end-of-season shutdown, pre-season audit produces a fleet that opens on time, on spec, and on budget.
Run a full fleet audit 3–4 weeks before opening: count every bike, inspect every piece for damage, service drivetrains and brakes, check helmet and accessory inventory, and produce retirement + reorder lists from what you find. Order replacement parts immediately — peak pre-season lead times are 5–10 days. Run a second short audit 3 days before opening to confirm fixes landed. Shops that skip the audit open with problems visible to customers.
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