Bike maintenance

samthomas224

Hi,

I'm pretty new to road cycling.

Just wondering what sort of maintenance I should do after every ride. Earlier today i did 15 miles in the rain. What would you advise I do to my bike to keep it in good order. Obviously I am happy to spend a bit on tools, lubes etc.

Thanks

verloren

I'm sure you'll get plenty of good suggestions, so I'll start with a really simple one:

Do something.

The easiest thing to do is nothing, so if you do just one thing, even if it's not the best one thing, it's still something. If all you do is take 5 seconds to stick 2 drops of oil on the chain, or wipe water off your saddle, or clean the clagged-up bits from your chainset, that's going to make things better than not bothering.

I'll now stand aside and let others add great specific suggestions.

careful

Good advice from Veloren, but after going out in rain it is important to dry the chain as well as you can before oiling it. Wrap a soft rag around it and pedal backwards a few times. Then oil it.

rhext

Depends on weather and road conditions, and how pristine you want to keep it. If you don't need to keep it looking like it just came out of the showroom, I'd give it a thorough wash, degrease and re-lube:

1) Every couple of hundred miles or

2) Every couple of weeks or

3) Every time it gets soaked or

4) Every time you ride it when there's salt on the road.

Some people recommend sponging down after every ride, but I reckon life's too short. Mine gets treated as above every week in winter - but this is not frequent enough to stop steel components from showing a bit of rust. When there's salt on the roads, it only takes a few hours for rust to start showing, and a quick wipe-down in the evenings doesn't help, you have to wash the salt off. But I can't face washing it after every ride so I have to live with the odd rust spot.

ride_whenever

I give mine a quick hose down if it looks dirty, saves me bringing junk into the flat. Then re-lube it once it has had a chance to dry off, if you're in a hurry, wd40 will dry the chain off fast (beware of getting it onto braking surfaces and anywhere with bearings as it will contaminate the first and dilute the second!) then you can re-lube.

fortyone

God, it's hard work.

andrewgturnbull

fortyone wrote:

God, it's hard work.

fortyone wrote:

Blimey, there's loads on here lacking ordinary gumption!

Hi there.

I think you're posting in the wrong forum if you're looking for an argument. Cya.

Cheers, Andy

oldwelshman

After a wet ride, at minimum wipe down the bike with dry rag and the chain with old rag, also cassette and chainset to prevent rust.
If the bike is dirty after wet ride I usually hoe the frame and clean it and clean wheels off the bike then store in a dry place.
For other maintenance it depends how much you ride and in what conditions.
Always check your tyres and pressures before you go and when you get back.

bobtravers

See also this post:

http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12584599