Maintenance prior to a long bike ride?

[Mrdini]

In a few weeks, I'll be doing a London-Amsterdam bike ride (eek).

The organisers have advised to get bikes maintained prior to the multi-day ride. As my bike is fairly new, and has recently had a six weeks check, is there any point in me taking it to a LBS for more maintenance?

My chain does definitely need cleaning and lubing - although I would be mechanically confident in doing this (it doesn't look hard), the fact that its probably going to be very dirty & extremely fiddly (oiling the inside of each and every sprocket?) kind of puts me off (so maybe one for LBS?). But aside from chain, I can't imagine what would need maintaining on a new bike...

Thoughts? Thanks in advance!

P.S. I know that I've posted a separate post about gear changing but didn't want to mix the two threads!

 

[alicat]

Your bike doesn't need another service - you've just had the check that the organisers recommend.

You do need to learn how to clean the chain. Search on this forum for the Mickle method.

Check your tyres are pumped up or it will be harder going than otherwise.

Fix any comfort issues between now and the ride or it will be harder going for that reason too.

Good luck and above all have fun.

 

[tom73]

Chain cleaning is not too hard and quite simple. Just need some a bit of cleaner and some lube

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VV4dv4UabM

 

[NorthernDave]

Do not do what a friend of mine did.
He booked his bike, that had been riding fine, in for a service before a sportive "just to make sure" but didn't bother to test ride it before the event.

Within a mile it was obvious that the indexing was all over the place and he was struggling to change down on the front mech...

 

[snorri]

l

My chain does definitely need cleaning and lubing - although I would be mechanically confident in doing this (it doesn't look hard), the fact that its probably going to be very dirty & extremely fiddly kind of puts me off

Get yourself a box of single use vinyl or nitrile gloves, apart from protecting your hands from medical nasties they make hand washing a much easier process after the dirty work is done.
The gloves are available from hardware and trades suppliers and usualy cost around a fiver for a box of 100..
http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/guidance/sr19.pdf

 

[CXRAndy]

Get a tin of brake cleaner, small general oil for bikes.
https://www.halfords.com/motoring/e...ing-oil/3-in-one-multi-purpose-drip-oil-200ml

https://www.screwfix.com/p/holts-aerosol-brake-cleaner-600ml/1396g


With a cloth spray brake cleaner on cloth, lightly grip chain and spin pedal backwards. The chain will slide through cloth removing excess grime. Do it a few times to get clean. The oil chain links spinning backwards. Wipe excess off with cloth, this will also add a thin layer of oil to all surfaces. Job done

Check tyres for good condition and check pressure are correct. Learn how to change inner tube with ease.

Go over all bolts and fixings with allen keys and spanners to make sure everything is nipped tight- dont over tighten anything just check for loose bolts. That is it.

If it rains on trip, wipe chain and just re oil as above in the evening

 

[Ajax Bay]

The OP's bike has recently been 'serviced'/6 week after sale check and plans a 500km ride (assume via Dover-Calais).
Ride the bike to make sure everything is OK, which in particular means that the gears are working properly. This needs to include a hard effort up a hill.
Before a long trip (for example my 570km climb/ride around Wales last week) I offer this simple list (some of which are unlikely to be 'needed' for such a new bike - but we don't know how far the OP has already cycled on it):
1) Clean the chain and cassette, and then oil and wipe the chain. (NB if you've done more than 2000km since the last chain change, fit a new chain.
2) Clean the wheels and check each spoke hole in the rim (for bulges or radial cracks), and pluck each spoke.
3) Clean the tyres and examine them thoroughly for 'foreign bodies' or nicks/splits.
4) Determine what pressures you want each tyre and pump them up to that.
5) Check that the wheels are spinning freely but the brake blocks are close enough to the rim and evenly so (and equivalent on a disc-braked bike). (NB assumes brake blocks/pads have plenty of life left in them.)
6) Check that the brakes 'work'.
7) Examine the gear cables at the clamp bolt points and under the bottom bracket shell.
8) Replace the batteries in lights and/or charge up lights.
After any remedial maintenance, go for a decent ride to make sure that what's OK in the garage is OK on the road.

 

[rivers]

I have a 205 mile ride coming up this weekend and last week we had a bike mechanic at work for a day. I booked in the bike I am doing the ride on for a "peace of mind" check, as my bike gets professional serviced at least once, if not twice, a year, plus I do my own regular cleaning maintenance as well. I explained to the mechanic why I was dropping it in, and he checked everything he possibly could for me, including checking gear indexing, brakes, bearings, play in the hubs/headset, etc. Other than the front derailleur needing to be adjusted an 1/8 of a turn, nothing needed to be done.
As you've just had a service, everything should be good to go, but if you're worried, book it in for a check-over.
As others have said, make sure to ride it before the ride if you do.

 

[fossyant]

You shouldn't need to do anything - the organisers are basically saying make sure it's working properly.

 

[Globalti]

The idea of handing my bike to a mechanic for a "service"makes me shudder! If I have neglected the bike badly enough that it needs major adjustments after six weeks, I don't deserve to own it. A bicycle is a delicate assembly and neeeds frequent checking and tweaking to keep it runing well; it's not like a car that needs no adjustment at all but new oils and filters at set intervals. A competent cyclist should be able to give you a quick look over their bike at any time and tell you exactly the condition of the wear items and roughly when they were last replaced or cleaned and lubricated and the gears adjusted.

Example: I noticed a rumbling sensation in certain gears, which told me all was not well with a bearing in the hub. Stripped the freehub (easy job) and found a rough bearing, which I replaced at a cost of £2.50. If I had left it for six weeks the freehub would have waggled around on the hub and done expensive damage to itself, meaning a big bill for replacement.

As for wearing rubber gloves - that's an unnecessary badge foisted upon us by the suppliers of garage consumables. Professionals should of course avoid long-term daily exposure to oils, greases and cleaning chemicals but for an amateur it's perfectly alright to get oily twice a month then clean your hands with Swarfega. I've been doing that for 57 years of fiddling with bikes and cars and still have both my hands and all the skin on them.

 

[fossyant]

Oh, and getting oil on your clothes is essential.

 

[overmind]

I would (in priority order).

- check the lubrication on the chain, oil if necessary
- check that the index gears are changing properly and not grinding, and adjust as necessary.
- check the tyres for small bits of stone/glass embedded in the tyre and remove them.
If sufficiently bad then put a tyre boot on the inside of the tyre.
- check for broken spokes, wheel out of true.

 

[Globalti]

A tyre boot? Then ride London to Amsterdam? A tyre boot is a get-you-home wheeze and shouldn't be permanent.

 

[Crankarm]

London to Amsterdam would be a long ride if you intended heading west towards America, hop over the pacific then to Japan, China, through central Asia, then back into Europe to arrive in Amsterdam.

I suspect the organisers of your event/tour are just trying to cover themselves. Why don't you take some bike maintenance courses or just watch some of the many good how to bike maintenance videos on YT?