Your most important bike fettling tip?

[Globalti]

Replace the cable outer at the derailleur every six months. Get a LBS to cut you some lengths or buy some Park cable cutters.

 

[craigwend]

lbs...

 

[ComedyPilot]

Clean and (lightly) lube your chain regularly. Check and pump tyres regularly. Check and adjust brakes/replace pads regularly.

Other than that, just ride the bl**dy thing.

Doesn't matter if you race, TT, MTB, BMX, stunt, commute, go shopping, go down the pub, around the block or ride around the world, just RIDE IT....

A bike is for life not for Xmas - unless you are my next door neighbour's kids, then you (all three of them) get a new bike at xmas, and leave them laying outside, in the same heap you dumped them on Boxing day.....the're still there now...!!!!

 

[02GF74]

Watch you fingers when cleaning your chain on a fixed gear bike, I am pleased to say I have

it ain't no joke - folks have lost fingers trying to wipe the excess lube of motorcycle chains ..... with the the engine running google it if you have a strong stomach.

 

[Saddle bum]

Don't clean your bike tomorrow, when there's time to clean it today, (including the chain).

Time spent cleaning bikes is not included in your allotted time on Earth...........................

 

[dodgy]

Could probably think of a list, so here goes, not in priority order but just the order I think of them

1. Grease your seatpost, seriously, go and do it now. I personally use carbon friction paste.
2. Put a dollop of vaseline in all your allen bolt heads
3. Don't buy a chain cleaning device. A rag soaked in some GT85 is just as effective, less messy and cheaper.
4. Wipe chain after every ride
5. If you have a Garmin, buy SportTracks and use some of the plugins. You'll thank me one day.
6. Keep a record of mileage on your key components (automatically, it's a bit laborious to do manually - I use SportTracks (no, this isn't an advert)). Knowing the right time to retire a tyre is useful.
7. Buy winter kit in the summer, and summer kit in the winter. Buy stuff when it's cheap, not when you need it (you'll need to store this stuff somewhere )
8. Buy a roll of fablon (sticky back plastic), it's cheap, and put a strip on the vulnerable parts of your frame to protect from stone chips. You can buy matte or gloss so it will be invisible on the appropriate frame type
9. Learn how to index your own gears.
10. If the weather is too poor to ride (in your opinion), it's a bike maintenance day. That is the law.
11. Pick out the shards of alloy from your brake pads often, it will be quieter, you'll stop quicker and your rims will last much longer.
12. Learn to love doing all the above

If you don't agree with the above, that's fine, I'm not interested in arguing about it. It just works for me and I thought it might be useful for beginners

 

[Deleted member 1258]

Don't clean your bike tomorrow, when there's time to clean it today, (including the chain).

Time spent cleaning bikes is not included in your allotted time on Earth...........................

Don't waste time cleaning it, ride the damned thing, its what it was built for.

 

[dodgy]

Don't waste time cleaning it, ride the damned thing, its what it was built for.

You can do both.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

You can do both.

With the emphasis on riding it

 

[MacB]

take advantage of technology and watch online videos on how to do a task oh and best all round tool....baby wipes

 

[Rob3rt]

I've been waiting for a package all day and when it arrived I wanted to get straight onto the job i had lined up. In my impatience I thought i'd save some time rather than go hunting for my work gloves which weren't in their usual place - I knew it was a risk and I was extra careful, but that stubborn little bolt had other ideas.

Remember kids, play it safe and wear gloves when changing a chainring!

Did the same thing myself about a month ago, blood everywhere!

 

[ceepeebee]

If you're working outside on decking, put a mat down. Otherwise you could well drop that bowl washer from your canti pads down one of the gaps....

 

[vernon]

If you're working outside on decking, put a mat down. Otherwise you could well drop that bowl washer from your canti pads down one of the gaps....

If you dont have a mat. Strip your bike down in the bath. You can give the bike a pre strip down wash without getting the drive wet. You'll also catch everything that drops off but don't forget to pit the plug in the plug hole.

 

[Beebo]

If you dont have a mat. Strip your bike down in the bath. You can give the bike a pre strip down wash without getting the drive wet. You'll also catch everything that drops off but don't forget to pit the plug in the plug hole.

What!!!
You havent met my wife! I'm not sure she would be too happy with bikes in the bath. I can just about get away with doing stuff in the kitchen, but the bathroom would be off limits!

 

[vernon]

What!!!
You havent met my wife! I'm not sure she would be too happy with bikes in the bath. I can just about get away with doing stuff in the kitchen, but the bathroom would be off limits!

The set of punctuation marks for the English lauguage is incomplete. I searched, but failed to find, the mischief marks.