Basic Bike Maintenance
Basic Bike Maintenance
I've been biking for a number of years, primarily single track XC or gravel riding. I do adventure racing, which is incredibly tough on the bikes, but am hoping to improve my bike life.
What are some of the important bike maintenance things that you all do?
Regularly: Clean and lube chain, Wash down frame, check brake pads, make sure all necessary tools and supplies are in seat bag for fixing flats
Longer Interval: Check brake/shifter cables, clean cassette, check/true wheels, replace handlebar tape, clean and grease bottom bracket
These. Basic Bike these days just don't need as much daily maintenance. 😿
Biggest outside case I am always paranoid about is a loosening headset or bottom bracket. If you ever notice any knocking up front fix immediately. Chris King headsets seem to have also removed this small piece of bicycle maintenance tho.
Do not pressure wash your bike! You will end up degreasing all those fancy sealed bearings.
Add for bikes with suspension...
Regularly: Gently wipe dirt off the stanchions, main seals, and levers.
Longer interval: Disassemble fork and/or shock to clean seals and rebuild with fresh grease and oil.
Pretty much this.
But even more obviously, check tire pressure (use a tire pressure calculator), replenish sealant every few months (if using tubeless tires), and visually inspect tires.
Monitor chain wear once in a while using a chain checker gauge. (The Park Tool CC-4 and Pedro's Chain Checker Plus Ⅱ are examples of pretty good ones.) Replace the chain before it exceeds the recommended wear limit so that it won't cause your cassette to wear out prematurely.
What is handlebar tape? Forgive the ignoreance, but just never Hever heard of it.
It's for road/gravel bikes with drop bars. The curve is too tight for grips, so instead they use cork/foam tape to wrap the handlebars.
sheldon brown's site has some articles for beginners and for repairs, I feel like a basic maintenance article should be there somewhere or on a search engine: https://www.sheldonbrown.com/beginners.html
the scope of "basic" to me feels like it expands at times, but if you read around you can probably find different ideas
It will depend on how many miles you ride in a week but waxing my chain has simplified my bike maintenance a ton. I only ride about 24km a day though, so it takes a bit to get to 300km and need to re-wax them.
I also ride my MTB in very sandy and gritty dirt, the wax sheds this off and improves the lifespan of my chain. I needed to constantly clean the cassette and chain when I was using "dry" lube. It definitely is a pain to re-wax, and it's not a perfect solution for everyone, but if the dirt you ride is sticking to your chain/cassette, it's the best I can recommend.
I would also recommend keeping your fork and/or rear suspension maintenanced professionally. I will sometimes do a 6 month service myself, but sending my fork in every 100hrs of use has kept it buttery smooth. Some shops will help get you the optimal performance for your body weight and riding style too, you'd be surprised how much speed can be gained with a tune.
Other than that, blead brakes if they're hydraulic, check tires and sealant, and if you run carbon parts it's always a good idea to check for cracks or rock strikes. Carbon is strong until it isn't, and no one wants to end a race because of a broken part.
Sorry for the long ass comment, hope this at least helps