Looking after my new bike

LaurenceGough

Hi guys,

Any tips for the first few weeks of owning a new bike? Other than the check bolts are tight things .

The chain - now I've read that the factory applied oil/grease is one of the best lubes out there. Is this true?

Anywhere else I should oil?

It's riding great and really love it (rocket fast) but I want to keep it that way for as long as possible!

Thanks guys,

Laurence

neeb

Keep it clean! Irrespective of whether the factory lubricant is good or not, you'll have to at least wipe the chain, re-lubricate and wipe again to remove excess oil within a week or so.

Other than the drive train, don't worry too much about oiling anything else at this stage, you'll probably do more ham than good by adding too much and attracting dirt. Modern brakes, derailleurs etc. don't need much lubrication, maybe add a tiny drop to the moving pivots once every month or two (after cleaning) and wipe any excess off.

You might find that as the cables stretch you need to fine tune the gears by turning the barrel adjusters a little on the frame - you screw them outwards to increase the tension, but only do it if the shifting deteriorates and only a tiny bit. Similarly brakes might need adjusting as they bed in.

If you hear scraping noises when you brake, check the brake blocks for embedded bits of gravel or metal from the rims (you can pick them out carefully with the point of a small knife).

litttlestwoo

The chain - now I've read that the factory applied oil/grease is one of the best lubes out there. Is this true?

That's certainly Sheldon's view

neeb

The chain - now I've read that the factory applied oil/grease is one of the best lubes out there. Is this true?

That's certainly Sheldon's view

Yup, SB (who was always right of course!) says "The factory lubricant all by itself is usually good for several hundred miles of service if the bike is not ridden in wet or dusty conditions. It is best not to apply any sort of lube to a new chain until it is clearly needed, because any wet lube you can apply will dilute the factory lube."

But you will get in several hundred miles very quickly, and good luck finding continuously dry and non-dusty conditions... When the chain starts to look obviously cruddy and/or it's not shifting well, you will need to clean and relube nonetheless, so whether you do this in one week or 4 weeks doesn't make such a big difference.

LaurenceGough

Thanks for the tips guys. Well I've already used it in a very light rain, no dusty conditions yet though .

I can't really seem to see any oil/grease on the chain but it must be in the rollers inside.

Ok so when I hear a change in noise/performance gets worse I will clean and relube.

Thanks .