An irregular maintenence question...

_michaelm

Hi all,
I shan't go into the whys and wherefores but suppose that I have a bike which I spent my early teenage years iteratively building but which hasn't been touched (other than moving house) or ridden more than 10 times in the last 10 years, what are the most important things to check from a maintenence/safety point of view if I were looking to dust it off (figuratively and literally) this summer?
I realise you probably need to know a little about the spec to establish what there is that may have 'gone wrong' after that length of time - but in all honesty I don't remember most of it. I will list what I do remember though. And just to clarify, I'm looking to get it road-worthy and safe, not north-shore ready or even significant trails at this stage. Please do state the obvious here since I can't remember half of what I 'knew' about bikes ten years ago!

so the specs (I will fill in more as I discover/remember them):

Frame: Very old Giant (will update with the model) frame, 6061 aluminium construction
Brakes: regular v-brakes, no discs
Gearing: SRAM grip shift, single DMR chainring + 7/8 speed (can't remember) shimano lx rear cassette and dereuiller, jekyll/hyde chainstay
Bars: X-lite XC
Forks: '02 Marzocchi Bomber Wedge 150mm
Cranks: Race Face turbines
Tyres: Panaracer Fire XC Pro
Wheels: Halo Combat
Hubs: Shimano LX

Thanks in advance, again I do realise this is one of the most inconsistently specced bikes ever produced but is largely an artifact of having very little money available and focus on replacing parts which consistently broke (cranks in my case, hence the turbines - I'd had enough)

Chunkers1980

What's the question?

_michaelm

"what are the most important things to check from a maintenence/safety point of view if I were looking to dust it off (figuratively and literally) this summer?"

cooldad

Check all nuts and bolts, clean, adjust and lube everything.
Replace the tubes and maybe the tyres.

_michaelm

Thanks for that, that is pretty much what I thought anyway - just wanted to make sure. I take it that the forks should be ok internally since they're sealed? That amount of time wouldn't 'dry them up' - so to speak - making them unsafe?

sanchez89

suppose you could just put a tiny smear of suspension oil on the stantions and cycle the fork a few times just to moisten the wiper seals a bit. turn them upside down so the oil in the internals has a chance to run into other parts.

other than that, dont go hucking massive jumps on the first ride. just have a steady roll round and listen for unusual noises.

_michaelm

Thanks, that's exactly the sort of information I was after (and expected but wanted to confirm). Much appreciated.