New bike - what maintenance?

seajays

I have my new bike (first for a long time). The shop said I should bring it back in for it's free service in six weeks time, but I was wondering if anyone could point me in the direction of a "maintenance checklist" - i.e. what type of things should I be checking daily/weekly/monthly etc...? Anything specific I should do different with a brand new bike? Any advice gratefully received.

The Rookie

Its a case of being aware, if something sounds amiss, get on it and fix it, if the roads are wet and salty you'll need to lube the chain more often than for the 2 weeks a year it's dry (or 1 day in Scotland?).

I eyeball the bike every ride, know what everything should feel like and keep and eye on the chain for when it needs a lube.

seajays

Cheers - in terms of tyre pressure, what should I inflate to? It says inflate to 85psi max on the tyre wall, so should I inflate to max or something under?

The Rookie

To what suites you, mine say 80 max and I use 80, if the roads are rougher you may want to drop the pressure a bit as it makes the ride more comfortable, I wouldn't go below 40 on the road though as the tyres get draggy.

davis

You don't need to do anything different 'cos it's a new bike, although the chain will probably be maintenance-free for the first ~3-4 weeks (weather dependent, etc etc).

The below is my personal feeling, not necessarily fact:
80% of bike maintenance is cleaning. In particular, make sure your braking surfaces (wheel rims or disc rotors) are clean, and that your brake pads don't have any bits of grit embedded in them (tiny little bits of shiny metal which will wear down your wheels). Also clean your chain, in general a wipe down with an oily rag and a weekly re-lube is probably sufficient if you're commuting daily; the basic idea is "lubed, but not covered in black gunk and/or grit". Cleaner bikes go faster and are quieter, which makes them nicer to ride.

'cos I'm lazy, I use cleaning wipes for the bulk of the cleaning, and chuck them away after. I use Muck-off "dirty work" wipes for the chain (they're no use for anything else and I got a load cheap!).


Tyre pressures:

If you're hefty and riding on the road, go for about the max pressure or only just below. If you're not, you'll get a bit more latitude, and you might find that going down on the pressure (especially at the front) helps with comfort. I wouldn't go below about 75% of the "max" pressure, but I've no real feeling for why.

Top tip: Tyres resist puncturing *much* better if you check the pressures regularly (say twice a week until you get a feel for it).

andrewc3142

Strongly recommend Zinn and the Art of Road/Mountain (delete as applicable) Bike Maintenance and start building up a small selection of tools.

Don't need much to start with. Multi-tool, cable cutters, chain breaker, pedal spanner and a pair of pliers will do a great number of basic maintenance jobs. Plus some chain lube, lithium grease and bearing grease. You can add stuff as and when you need it, eg to change cassette, BB.

Just buy good tools (Park).

The more you do the more you'll understand your bike (and the more convenient and cheap it will be).

It's then really easy to work out what needs doing and when, taking into account kilometres ridden, weather, etc

I'm really not a technical type of person, but with some patience, a radio, a mug of tea and YouTube there are very few things I wouldn't be happy to do.

I've never bothered with the free service on a new bike, but I imagine they just check cable tension, make sure nothing has worked loose, pump up the tyres and give it a quick once over. Nothing you couldn't do yourself in a few minutes.

The Rookie

I would never buy a book when the same info is available (and kept bang up to date for the stuff than changes) for free on parktool.com

andrewc3142

Take your point, but the shed is out of range of Wi-Fi and not the best environment for my notebook.

drlodge

The only regular servicing required IMO is to clean and re-lube the chain, everything else just inspect and look for wear/damage. Obviously tyres need checking and pumping up (say weekly), that's about it.

The gears might need adjusting as the cable stretches a bit, but that's just a turn on the in-line adjusters.

Ian.B

For a new bike I'd say the main things are to keep an eye out that none of the bolts are working loose, and that the brake and gear cables might need tightening a little to adjust for any stretching

MTFU

Hello

I went on a 1 day bike course which really helped and got a spare copy of this Park Tools book which is great. YouTube is also very useful provided your wifi reaches your garage

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/281452690759? ... 1555.l2649