Bike maintenance for a beginner

[Kestevan]

Depends on mileage and weather conditions. My commuter bears more of a likeness to @I like Skol bike than anything else I suspect.

I do 60ish miles a week on the commute most weather's and tend to just give the chain and brakes a wipe down every weekend. Tbh last thing I want to do after a day's work is start cleaning the bike, it gets dumped in the shed while I get a shower.

The chain gets replaced twice or three times a year and cassette every 12 months. It's the winter months with rain and road salt which really do the damage.

If you do less miles, or only ride when it's dry you will be able to stretch this out longer.

 

[JuliaT]

Depends on mileage and weather conditions. My commuter bears more of a likeness to @I like Skol bike than anything else I suspect.

I do 60ish miles a week on the commute most weather's and tend to just give the chain and brakes a wipe down every weekend. Tbh last thing I want to do after a day's work is start cleaning the bike, it gets dumped in the shed while I get a shower.

The chain gets replaced twice or three times a year and cassette every 12 months. It's the winter months with rain and road salt which really do the damage.

If you do less miles, or only ride when it's dry you will be able to stretch this out longer.

At the moment im doing...60 -80 miles per week, not only when its dry but not with heavy rain...so I guess I should do more or less like you!

 

[sleuthey]

When I do clean my bike I find one of these extremely useful

 

[biggs682]

Hi Julia

I have news for you, don't tell anyone else but, you don't actually have to clean your bike!!!!

Seriously, I only clean my commuter bike perhaps once a year, if that, and it gets used all year round, regardless of weather, snow, grit, etc. Far more important is to maintain it, and this is pretty much independent of any cleaning routine.

All you need to do on a regular basis, maybe once a week or every couple of weeks depending on distance covered and weather, is to wipe the chain with an old rag to get off as much muck as you can then apply a little dribble of suitable oil (less is best)

The last time I cleaned my commuter........ HERE. Glad to report it is slowly recovering from the ordeal

Or do what i do just buy another one

 

[Alan O]

I have to say I'm also one who's done minimal cleaning of bikes over the years. I don't do it by regular time period or distance, as it depends so much on what you've been riding through.

My mountain bike is the only one that gets a regular hose-down these days. When I've been out riding round my favourite mudbaths and it and I come home caked in it, I hose it down before it dries and hardens, spray WD-40/GT-85 over the drive train to dispel the water, then oil the chain when it's properly dried.

For road bikes, I'll wipe the frame down with a wet rag when it looks excessively dirty (and for a commuter/shopping bike I generally use dirt as a mild anti-theft device, as it makes the bike look even shabbier and less valuable than it really is).

Cleaning the chain and drive chain is a lot more important, but that's done by inspection. For example, I've just cleaned and re-lubed the chain on one road bike after approx 250 miles as it was getting a bit gunked up. I cleaned this one with a cloth soaked in white spirit without taking it off the bike, then re-lubed when it was dry. Sometimes I'll use a paintbrush soaked in solvent too if there's much muck inside the chain links.

Another road bike is getting its chain cleaned and re-lubed before I use it again after only a bit over 100 miles, because it picked up some gritty sandy dirt during my last ride on it - and abrasive dirt can do some damage. This one I'll take off the bike and will use a brush and white spirit to make sure I've got all the gritty bits out before I spray (WD-40 or GT-85), put it back and lube.

For maintenance when I'm out, I only carry the things needed to fix a puncture and patch up a broken chain (including a good chain removal tool - the usual cheap ones can be nasty).

Having said all that, back when I was commuting (around 70 miles a week), I'd often go a year without any maintenance other than wiping the chain with a cloth and re-lubing around once a month - and then a proper clean in the spring.

 

[Heltor Chasca]

I have learned things from YouTube but I also like the Zinn maintenance books. The new DK bike maintenance book looks really good and is written in a plain, simple way.

Best of all I have learned by my mistakes.

 

[JuliaT]

Or do what i do just buy another one

I wish I had your budget!!! hahaha

 

[biggs682]

I wish I had your budget!!! hahaha

@JuliaT i can assure you i dont buy new and i dont spend an awful lot of £ note's

 

[GuyBoden]

Personally, I think cleaning the bike in winter or even during prolonged weeks of rainy weather is a waste of time.

As stated by others, maintenance is the key. Also, get to know your bike's bearings.

Inexpensive, £6, KMC Z8 chains only last me a few thousand miles, even with regular cleaning and oiling, so it's relatively inexpensive to just change them.

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/kmc-z8-5-8-speed-bike-chain-id_699035.html

 

[Profpointy]

It's easy to over think bike maintenance and get daunted. Weekly pump up tyres and maybe wipe the chain with oily rag - I'm not a believer in degreasing chains or agressive cleaning. Check & adjust brakes and gears now and again and giving the rims a clean with meths. Oily rag to wipe the bike down if it-s filthy. Other stuff such as wheel bearings, bottom brackets, headsets far far less frequently - every few thousand miles if that . Ditto chain stretch checking.

 

[xzenonuk]

decathlon do a grey tool box for cheap or they used too, it has every thing from spanners to bottom bracket tools and a chain whip, thats what i pull out if i want to do maintenance, never broke a tool yet from it and i use it a lot, it also has every size of allen key you could wish for.

i find white spirit good for cleaning the drive train with a brush but i have to be wary of getting any in places it shouldn't be, oh kitchen roll's are good

 

[User16625]

Wow Thanks! then no special liquid for cleaning the chain is really necessary?

WD40 if cleaning it thoroughly, I remove the chain for this. Also need to dry it properly before reinstalling and lubing. Mostly tho I just run the chain thro a few wet wipes and also use them to clean the sprockets.

To clean it?
Warm water, detergent and a cloth.

To maintain it - it rather depends on what you are prepared to take on. Nothing on a bike is that tricky, but sometimes it's not worth buying the tools if it's something you won't use much.

I'd suggest a basic kit of:

Set of ball-head allen keys
Spanners in sizes needed by your bike - but it might all be allen keys so you may not need any
Cross head screwdriver
Flat head scredriver
Tyre levers x 3
Puncture kit
Oil
WD-40 / GT-85
Pair of pliers with cutting tool

Next level up I'd add
Chain tool
Chain whip
Crank extractor (if appropriate for your bike)
Bottom bracket tool
Cone spanners
Grease
EDIT - cassette lock ring tool

Dont need all that, I just use a hammer.

 

[simongt]

When I do clean my bike I find one of these extremely useful

Agree. I have ones of various sizes; just the job for getting into the wee parts of the drive train / brake assemblies and cheap enough to chuck when they get too greasy to use.

 

[raleighnut]

Agree. I have ones of various sizes; just the job for getting into the wee parts of the drive train / brake assemblies and cheap enough to chuck when they get too greasy to use.

Dead easy to clean, just give the brush a real good squirt of washing up liquid, work it in well then rinse in hot water. It'll come up like new.

 

[Cycleops]

Old toothbrushes work well too.