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Bike maintenance

tokyoscoop

Warming-Up
Apr 15, 2007
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Folks,

What regular maintenance should I be doing on my bike? I didn't use it much last year and just started using it weekly when the weather got better. I've done 400kms in the last couple of months and a friend told me I need to do basic maintenance/care every 200kms or so. But not sure what!

What do you do?

Martyn
 
Folks,

What regular maintenance should I be doing on my bike? I didn't use it much last year and just started using it weekly when the weather got better. I've done 400kms in the last couple of months and a friend told me I need to do basic maintenance/care every 200kms or so. But not sure what!

What do you do?

Martyn

A beloved bicycle is ...
Everyday care is important !! :cool:

I think that it is important that at first shampoo a bicycle and wash in water if you come back from a bicycle run.
Drop powder of the brakes which stuck to a piece and a dirt of the glass which stuck to a tire, a rim. It is important to watch confusion while letting a wheel refresh.
Lubrication to an operation part is important if fail all the dirts.
Because shield bearing is used a lot in a drive part by recent bicycle, it is Best that a small quantity adds grease of silicon system in Oil of the organic solvent which seems to be CRC556 without adding that.
Lubrication for chains is importan, But too mach lubrication is very bad.
Too mach lubrication causes a dirt and consume for part and pollute your clothing, and is good is not.
Lubrication to any part is so, but extra oil wipes it with cloth after lubrication and should have oil for only a metal part coming in contact.

Many screws are used for a bicycle, but should check the slack of all screws after lubrication because it is vibration, and a screw is nature and a melting thing.
When a skewness and a dent of a general bicycle put straight up a bicycle and watch it closely from all around, that can check it.
The abnormal slack of a bicycle tends to understand that you lift a bicycle to height of 20-30cm and try to just lose it in the ground from a tire.
If a bicycle makes an abnormal sound, it is often that there is the slack in outbreak source of a sound.

It is good to try to shake a bicycle in front and back while strongly grasping a brake lever of a front wheel.
Of course please try rear wheel brakes in the same way.

To watch crank and BB and the slack of a pedals, Grasp a pedal and should try to shake crank in right and left.(It is not front and back)
Because an exclusive tool needs the slack of crank and a pedal and tends to be difficult to a beginner, you should talk with the friend who is expert whether it is a specialty store.

Shifting wire and brakeing wire has been day by day should be slacking, Because every time check are needed.
A wire of brakes in particular is an important part about your and others life.:cool:

Judging from my conclusion, maintenance thinks that it is important that we do every time.
Of course this argument will point at periodical general inspection.:warau:
If it is it, I think that the rank who did 80% to distance of the maintenance time written in an instruction book following a bicycle is good.
Familiarity is given to part aspect each other in the time of the errand beginning, and the reason is because there is much slack, and it appears.:bike:

Expense is necessary for a bicycle to purchase it entirely because a lot of exclusive tools are necessary.
You should be able to usually climb all over one's bicycle with family doctor.
Of course even the purchase future of a bicycle is good, and even person who has a bicycle shop nearby will be good.
In addition, you may get good advice from an experienced bicycle friend.

I pray for your bicycle is got ready, and it being run happily safely.

Ciao ciao amico:)
 
Maintenance

Well, the good news is that road bikes don't need a lot of maintenance, compared to MTB which always seem to need something or other doing to them ;)

As Basso-Fan says, a clean bike is a happy bike. Try to wash your bike if you've been out in wet conditions. If it's dry, you can go quite a while (ahem) without doing much.
A bucket, rag and stiff brush are the essentials. Don't use a pressure wash unless you know exactly what you're doing, you will drive water into the bearings. I also greatly recommend a chain cleaner. Fill with a biodegradeable degreaser, clip to your chain, turn the pedals backwards a few times and hey-presto, clean shiny chain. You can also use the degreaser with your brush to clean the cassette and chainrings.
When your bike is clean and dry, give it a visual once-over. Critical places on the frame are under the head tube/down tube junction, and around the bottom bracket. Any cracks in the paint here are severe bad news as they indicate a cracked tube. Check your wheel rims for dings, cracks (around the spokes and in the brake track), check your wheels are running straight and round, check there are no bulges or irregularities in the tyres, check your chainrings are running straight, check your rear mech is hanging vertically straight down.
Afterwards, leave your bike to dry, then lube the chain when it's thoroughly dry. I like Finish Line 'Bicycle' dry teflon lube for the road bike. Put a drop onto each roller of the chain. Wipe off any that drips onto your rear wheel brake track immediately. Leave it to dry, ideally overnight. Then give the chain a wipe with a rag or kitchen-paper to get rid of excess. You're trying to get the lube inside the links of the chain. That is where the wear occurs. A light spray lube like GT-85 is good for gear mech pivots.
Check your brake and gear action. Make sure your brake blocks are not worn down to the wear limit; otherwise you will badly score the rim when the metal bolt hits it. (Any mama-chari riders reading? Good grief, the noise of some of those brakes makes my ears ring!). Brake pads will have a wear line, or go to the bottom of the grooves then change. Make sure your brake levers don't hit the handlebar when you apply full braking. Your cables will tend to stretch over time. The barrel adusters at your brakes, turned anti-clockwise, will tighten up your brakes. If it's wound too far out (no more adjustment) you'll have to wind it back in, undo the cable clamp and pull the cable through with pliers.
Check your gears are still changing smoothly. Again, your cables will tend to strect over time. So going to a larger sprocket at the back may start to be troublesome. Tighten the cable by turning the barrel adjuster at the gear mech; 1/4 turn at a time! Likewise, if the chain will not drop to a smaller sprocket, loosen 1/4 turn at a time.
Again to echo Basso-Fan, check the bolt tightness. DO NOT keep tightening the bolts - you will break something. Just put an allen-key in the slot and check the bolt does not tighten up easily. Always check the bolts by trying to tighten them, not loosen them. Critical bolts are your handlebar/stem interface, stem/steerer tube interface, front brake. Bolts that are likely to loosen are your crank and chainring bolts, so check these too.
Those are the basics....

There are plenty of bicycle maintenance books that cover all possible maintenance.

Happy riding...
 
Alan, That was a huge amount of great information.

Alan, now I understand why your bike(s) always run so smoothly!
(I'll ask Thomas to make this a "Sticky" - which means it won't be over-written by other posts in the "General" section - People will see this at the top all the time).

My bike maintenance has always been according to distance!
But basically; a chain-clean, rim-inspection & tyre-pump every 300km - About once a week.
Check the brake-pads every 500km, and take up any slack in the cable (as per Alan's & Basso.fan's instructions).
I usually only clean the frame, and check for any cracks or dings about once a month - But as long as the drive-train, brakes & wheels are running smoothly, I don't really worry about the rest too much (Alan may disagree with me on this point).
Tyres: should last you about 2,000km (maybe more), but every month when I clean the frame, I roll the wheels through the sink and go over them with a "dish-washing" scourer (NOT steel-wool!).

Anytime I start hearing rattling noises in the gears, I'm not sure how to fix them, so I usually (within about 2-3 day) take my bike straight to my LBS.

Apart from that, refer to Alan's thread above.
Travis
 
Travis . . .

The image of you washing your wheels in the kitchen sink has put a smile on my face this morning :eek: That's going to change when you get married :D And you won't be able to have a bath with your bike or take it bed either!!!

Still grinning,

Philip
 
As a matter of fact...

Nobu called me last night to say, "Could you do me a little favour?..."
I don't think she'll mind too much if I use the kitchen sink;)
>Philip: Both of our bikes already live in the spare room of my apartment, and every weekend I give her instructions on how to do the maintenance - I even showed her how to use a kitchen-sink:rolleyes:
With any luck, she'll be able to do it by herself, without any supervision, in about...35 years or so.
THEN, I'll let her clean MY bike:cool:
T
 
Sheesh . . .

If I asked my wife to clean my bike, I would find it at the bottom of the Tamagawa River! :( - she has a rather dry sense of humour.

I suggest both Alan and Travis check their brakes are working before tomorrows ride :p

Philip
 
Colours

Actually having a dirty bike is a distinct advantage as when you clean it (not often) then you can add bright shiny new components, and even complete frames or change of colours, without detection.

Chazzer
 
I bought one of those chain washing machine contraptions the other day but haven't used it yet. Until now I'd been cleaning my chain with pipe cleaners. (100yen buys you about a pack of 10).
There is also this super degreasing detergent I use that is available from COSTCO. (Twin pack Orange fragrance stuff). Cleans grease off in no time.
Streaming it on the back derailers/cassette and then with the hose also does a good job.

I'll wash mine about once a month or 2 or 3 days before a race. Also dry kitchen paper towels for wiping off dust after each ride.

If I think I've got any water in the frame (which is very rare), I'll turn the frame upside down and move it around in every imagineable angle to get any drops out of the forks and more importanlty down away from the bottom bracket. (after riding in heavy rain coupled with a cycle wash).

My COSMIC carbon wheels will hole water in the carbon if it gets a chance so I make sure to get all that out as well. (Always take the wheels off if you're going to wash the frame. You can clean the wheels seprately. Wipe down every spoke and wipe the rims in between the forks with tissue/paper towels.

If you've got a cassette wrench you can alos dismantle the cassette and wash it like a baby. 2 of our high school members in the club will do this once a week. There bikes always look like they're being ridden for the firts time.

Air check is at least every 2 rides. I tend to keep my tires at 110psi to 120psi all the time.

Bar tape: I should change it a bit more often. Every 4 -6 months. Current tape has one tear, lots of grease stains...think I'll go and change it now...

I always have a spare tyre around, plenty of tubes, spare bar tape, almost 2 or 3 more than I need of everything... Nothing worse than waking up to go for a ride and something is broken and you have to wait 3 or 4 hours before your shop opens.

A clean bike is a fast bike.
 
What about maintenance after rain?

And what about steel frames and parts? How should I protect them from rust?
 
What about maintenance after rain?

And what about steel frames and parts? How should I protect them from rust?

If you have a good bike there should be almost no parts that (can) will rust.
The only bits on my bike showing a touch of rust are the screws on the stem holding my handle bars tight. Easy enough to replace with better screws.

You'll find a lot of salt (from sweat) will accumulate down the headset and stem base so you should open it up at least once a year, wipe it all clean and re-oil it. You'd be surprised at how much finds it way inside.

If you've got rusty parts on your bike, replace them with parts that don't rust.
 
If you have a good bike there should be almost no parts that (can) will rust.
The only bits on my bike showing a touch of rust are the screws on the stem holding my handle bars tight. Easy enough to replace with better screws.

You'll find a lot of salt (from sweat) will accumulate down the headset and stem base so you should open it up at least once a year, wipe it all clean and re-oil it. You'd be surprised at how much finds it way inside.

If you've got rusty parts on your bike, replace them with parts that don't rust.
No rusty parts yet, but I'm worried a bit. I heard that chromoly stuff may rust.
 
Just bought a new bike and after a trip I put it quite quickly in a bag for the train. Since then the gears on the back cassette have been slipping around a lot as I move through the gears on a ride.

I put the wheel on again and have tried adjusting the screws on the rear derailleur but there's still some slippage.

Anyone know how to solve this problem?
 
It's probably the cable tension

First thing to check is that the wheel is securely in place in the dropouts.
If so, you probably tweaked the rear derailleur a bit. Assuming it's not badly bent, you will be able to get it working again.
The screws on the derailleur body control the limits of its movement. It should hang below the largest and smallest sprockets at each end of its travel, and allow the chain to shift cleanly onto these sprockets without over-shifting. Make sure these are set correctly before you adjust the cable tension.
Next thing to check is that the outer cable is securely in each of the cable stops along its length. Next check that the cable clamp bolt at the rear derailleur is tight.
Last thing is to adjust the cable tension. I assume you have 'normal' rear mech not 'rapid rise'/'low-normal'. Click the shifter so the chain is on the second-smallest sprocket. Then click once more, to get to the third-smallest.
1. If the chain fails to shift, you need more cable tension. Click your shifter back to the second-smallest sprocket. Turn the barrel adjuster at the derailleur or the shifter anti-clockwise, looking from the cable side. 1/4 turn at a time is all you need. Try again to shift to the third-smallest sprocket. Keep doing this until the chain shifts cleanly to the third-smallest sprocket.
2. If the chain over-shifts (i.e. makes a clinking noise against the 4th-smallest sprocket, you need less cable tension. Same procedure as above, but loosen the cable 1/4 turn at a time by turing the barrel adjuster clockwise.
3. Then click through the rest of the gears. They should shift cleanly. If not, tighten the cable a bit to improve the shift to larger sprockets, or loosen to improve the shift to smaller sprockets.

AW.
 
Rear Derailler . . .

Hi Richy152,

It sounds as if either your rear derailler is out of adjustment or you have a bent rear derailler hanger.

First check the rear derailler hanger. See Park Tools page regarding this:

http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=39

If the rear derailler hanger is straight then you need to adjust the rear derailler. To do this it is best to follow the process from A-Z - adjusting the guides without starting from A is not ideal. See Park Tools website and follow the step-by-step guide to make derailler adjustments.

http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=64

The other option of course is to take the bike to the person you bought it from and get them to fix it :D

Cheers,

Philip
 
Thanks very much guys.

Was the cable tension, but my efforts at adjusting it didn't seem to progress too well so I took it to the local bike repair shop. I decided that at my level of competence the gears are best handled by others....They fixed it in a couple of minutes.

Thanks for your help.
 
Though I purchased Zinn's maintenance book and the Park Tools maintenance book, I always go back to the Park Tools website whenever I need to adjust or install components.

As per the Steel frame question, I have a Pinarello Opera (Steel Frame) that developed areas of rust from riding in the rain all the time and rocks being kicked up onto the frame. So now there are a number of areas on my bike (bottom bracket area, seat post area, headset area) that I needed to clean the rust away using fine sandpaper, applying a good coat of primer and then a couple coats of model paint. Lesson learned, wash your bike after riding in the rain or weekly. Also, apply protective covering in aforementioned areas...3M makes a material similar to the chainguard area that can be applied anywhere on the bike. Something I will do when I purchase a new bike next year, waiting for the 2008 models to be released.

As per components, I noticed my Dura Ace rear cassette's developed corrosion pretty quickly, a major flaw in my honest opinion, especially when one considers the price. I am now using SRAM Rival components which I like so much better. SRAM will be installed when I do purchase a new bike next year. I upgraded all my cabling on my current bike so that there is protective covering throughout the whole cable run to avoid corrosion forming.


James
 
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