Maintenance Tips

solid 5

Hi All - maybe the more experienced among you could help us novices and put up some general maintenance tips for hybrids / racers. Any good tips on keeping a bike clean, well lubricated and trouble free would be much appreciated.

I've recently picked up a new hybrid and I want to keep it running smoothly. Any products you use / recommend would be much appreciated.

Thanks all......

John_C

solid 5 wrote:

Hi All - maybe the more experienced among you could help us novices and put up some general maintenance tips for hybrids / racers. Any good tips on keeping a bike clean, well lubricated and trouble free would be much appreciated.

I've recently picked up a new hybrid and I want to keep it running smoothly. Any products you use / recommend would be much appreciated.

Thanks all......

What level of tips are you talking about? The three most basic tasks are fixing & preventing punctures, cleaning & oiling the chain and keeping the brakes tight.

If you can do these, it's 95% of the work.

kona

John_C wrote:

What level of tips are you talking about? The three most basic tasks are fixing & preventing punctures, cleaning & oiling the chain and keeping the brakes tight.

If you can do these, it's 95% of the work.

how the hell can the 3 most basic things be 95% of the work??!!!:eek: fixing and peventing punctures???wtf:eek: thats 32% of bike care??:eek: are you taking the piss??
unbelievable, and this is the attitude of irish people to bikes, buy the cheapest to use everyday and a bit of dh too, coz you know everything about bikes dont you all:rolleyes: and i have his opinion from dealing with this type of attitude every day and its drives me nuts.depending on how much your bike is worth, generally a cheap bike is a bollix to work on and they get easier with the more expensive bikes.
listen mate this is not the place to look for advice on fixing your bike or maintainig it, with the execption of a few, daymobrew and gil dub to name some that come to mind, the rest know sweet feck all. why do you think there are so many threads by people wanting advice on simple basic stuff??
park tools have a great website, check that out. you got a manual with your bike??read that. if you didnt call into any bike shop and ask for one they should have one for free.
the manual will tell you about pre and post ride checks, 6weeks, 6months and annual maintenance, where and how much to lube, and how to do basic repairs PROPERLY.
i hope i helped you
buy bike tools ,

randomname2005

John_C wrote:

What level of tips are you talking about? The three most basic tasks are fixing & preventing punctures, cleaning & oiling the chain and keeping the brakes tight.

If you can do these, it's 95% of the work.

Yes Kona, there are a lot more things that you can do with your bike, truing of wheels, replacing bottom brackets, overhauling hubs etc etc etc. However, for general maintenance, what John talks about are the things that will be done most of the time. It may not be 95% of the work but is certainly (along with adjusting gears) the work that will be carried out most often. If the OP is looking for general maintenance tips it is unlikely that he will be carrying out any of the more complicated tasks until he gets more experience.

I find the utah mountain biking site a good resource along with sheldon brown
www.utahmountainbiking.com/fix
www.sheldonbrown.com

Maybe if you answered the OP it might have helped him more?
R

Itsfixed

kona wrote:

how the hell can the 3 most basic things be 95% of the work??!!!:eek: fixing and peventing punctures???wtf:eek: thats 32% of bike care??:eek: are you taking the piss??
unbelievable, and this is the attitude of irish people to bikes, buy the cheapest to use everyday and a bit of dh too, coz you know everything about bikes dont you all:rolleyes: and i have his opinion from dealing with this type of attitude every day and its drives me nuts.depending on how much your bike is worth, generally a cheap bike is a bollix to work on and they get easier with the more expensive bikes.
listen mate this is not the place to look for advice on fixing your bike or maintainig it, with the execption of a few, daymobrew and gil dub to name some that come to mind, the rest know sweet feck all. why do you think there are so many threads by people wanting advice on simple basic stuff??
park tools have a great website, check that out. you got a manual with your bike??read that. if you didnt call into any bike shop and ask for one they should have one for free.
the manual will tell you about pre and post ride checks, 6weeks, 6months and annual maintenance, where and how much to lube, and how to do basic repairs PROPERLY.
i hope i helped you
buy bike tools ,

Bloody hell, Kona, steady on would ya?

Forums like that are exactly the kind of place where people CAN get advice about bike maintenance. If people asking for advice about how to keep a decent bike running smoothly (in fact he sounds like the kind of chap who has decided to invest in a decent bike and wants to keep it that way) pisses you off then why not just ignore it rather than slagging the guy off and thereby putting him off ever re-visiting this forum. The whole point of the forum is to encourage people like him (or her?) to get the most out of cycling and their bikes. Yes, people frequently post about maintenance but so what? it doesn't bother me. If I feel like answering I do, but more often than not i don't. Nobody is demanding that you do either.

Just so happens i am in the mood to answer the OP, so FWIW, yes the park tools website is great for more detail maintenance tips. I find theres a lot of satisfaction in learning to do the basic stuff yourself and the more your confidence builds, the more technical stuff you can do, which is the way I've learnt. You save buckets of money and don't have to be on first name terms with your local bike shop.

daymobrew

kona wrote:

listen mate this is not the place to look for advice on fixing your bike or maintainig it, with the execption of a few, daymobrew and gil dub to name some that come to mind, the rest know sweet feck all. why do you think there are so many threads by people wanting advice on simple basic stuff??

I disagree that this is not the place to look for maintenance advice. Within reason I am happy for people to ask for advice and for others to provide it.

Most of the time a dry rag gets rid of a lot of the dried in dirt on the bike.
To clean the chain I have a chain scrubber (mine is a generic brand) and use it with some degreaser solution.
I also have Muc Off Bike Cleaner spray though I'm often too lazy to use it.
I keep my tyres pumped hard and carry a pump and puncture repair kit.
Don't hesitate to change your brake blocks when they start to wear. Use the adjusting barrel to keep the brakes working well as they wear down.

Raam

Every week I wipe the bike down with a soft cloth so as to remove the gathered dirt and muck. I do this to the entire frame, every inch and into all the nooks and crannies. It can sometimes take a bit of time, but it's worth it. Do it while you are watching the telly, but make sure to put a mat down. Don't want that dirt all over the place. For harder to remove grime, I spray a bit of wd40 on the cloth and rub it.

Then I wipe the chain clean by pinching it with a clean cloth in between thumb and fore finger. Run the chain backwards through this for about 5 chain revolutions. Shift to a cleaner bit of cloth if necessary. I also do this to the jockey wheels. I use old ripped up t-shirts as cloths.

About once a month I put some lube on each chain link. Let it set for a few minutes and run the chain around, then wipe off the excess.

If the cassette is dirty, I use a special brush which I got from park tools. It slips in between the gaps and is handy to pull out dirt. I think I got it with the chain cleaning tool that they make. I've only used the chain cleaning device once or twice as it is quite messy. Well, the way I do it is messy.

I use disposable plastic gloves when doing this work. It saves your hands from getting filthy.

A couple of times a week, I check my tyre pressure and ensure that the tyres are pumped correctly. This minimizes the risk of puncture. I use a track-pump for this. Beats the pants off the regular hand pumps. Tyres from 0 to 100psi in a few pumps, nice.

Tool-wise...
I have a cassette lock ring for the time when my cassette started coming loose. But you shouldn't really need that.
I have a spanner for removing pedals. It's extra long for the leverage.
I have a chain-whip, which I never need to use.
I have a set of allen keys, handy for tightening my current pedals and various other parts of the bike.
I have a multi-tool which contains a chain-link tool, handy if your chain breaks out on a long ride. It also has tyre levers built into it. It's possible to replace the tyre with just your hands, but sometimes the levers are useful when the tyre just won't play along.

This keeps my bike running smooth. If I have problems with cranks or bottom bracket or headset, then I just bring it to the shop. Can't really be bothered sorting them out myself.

[edit] sometimes I polish the bike with special polish that I bought for it, but that's just me

P

Ciaran500

Similar question to the OP, I'm approaching 500km on my bike now and was wondering what are the things I'll start to see wear on other than the obvious brake pads/tyres.

solid 5

Hi All - many many thanks for your responses, thats just the kind of info a new beginner needs. I am keen to become "self sufficient" and keen to learn how to take care of my bike myself. I don't mind doing a bit of work to learn and become more comfortable with basic maintenance. As I build up some knowledge / confidence I will try the bigger jobs.

Appreciate the info all. Thanks again. It's forums like this that help the uninitiated like myself. Cheers.

randomname2005

Ciaran500 wrote:

Similar question to the OP, I'm approaching 500km on my bike now and was wondering what are the things I'll start to see wear on other than the obvious brake pads/tyres.

Hi Ciaran,
one of the things most people dont look at is the wear of the chain. It is important to keep your chain (and chainrings and cassette) clean as this will reduce the wear and prolong their life.

When looking at your tyres, dont just look at the depth of thread, examine the whole tyre and make sure there are no stones/pieces of glass stuck in there!
R

Cassiel

Commuting daily then:
No.1 - Tyre pressure - keep em pumped once a week, makes the commute easier and the tyres last longer.
No.1 - Chain lubrication. Don't use any type of oil / WD40. I use chain wax, Finish line or White Lightning, yep it ain't cheap but it is excellent. Wipe the chain clean with a dry cloth or kitchen paper, just a quick wipe - not trying to strip off all the old wax. Apply once a week, one drop to each roller, that bottle will last quite a while this way. Apply it midweek if you've been out in the wet for a few days.
Sheldon Brown online and ParkTool websites are an excellent reference.
Richards' Bicycle Maintenance Handbook is a handy paperback reference.

***If its a new bike, check your wheel hubs to see if they're cup and cone. They need to be set up right and it'll have been a special bike mechanic that bothered his hole to take the wheels off to do so rather than just lift the bike out of the box and setup the brakes and gears. If they are sealed bearing as found on the more expensive bikes, you've fewer worries. ***

Once a month give the bike a cold water hose down, avoid using washing up liquid or household cleaning products. Use soapy water or the branded cleaners, MucOff etc. The little brush for cleaning the cassette is handy to have. After washing and rinsing off, apply a light spray of GT85 or WD40 on the cassette, chainrings and derailleurs. Inspect the tyres, brake blocks for embedded grit - clean and then adjust if necessary.
Check for play in the wheels, bottom bracket and headset.
At 6 months you'd be removing the jockey wheels and greasing the bushings.

It sometimes seems that 95% ;-) of the problems posted here are for tyres and transmission. Keep them in order and that is 95% of the work. Good call John C.