Why maintain your bike?
Before talking about maintenance, a little motivation is in order! Indeed, very often people (myself included) forget that cycling also means taking care of it, and we often neglect its maintenance because we think that as long as the bike is running, everything is fine. Well, that is until a random event occurs that you are not prepared for.
Taking care of your bike means above all extending its lifespan and ensuring it is always in good working order. Indeed, weather hazards, dust, dirt, pollution, or simply its use (or sometimes its abandonment in the attic) wear out the various components of your faithful steed. Thus, to avoid premature aging and therefore a potential breakdown, you will have to pamper your favorite two-wheeler!
1 - Maintenance frequency
You can imagine that the frequency of care required for a bike will differ between a cyclist, a bike tourist, and a bike commuter. Thus, it will be your usage that determines how often you should maintain your bike.
- Mountain bikes and road bikes: adequate maintenance is needed after each ride
- Daily use, bike commuting: ideally, maintain your bike weekly
- Occasional use during the week: in this case, monthly maintenance is sufficient
Once you have determined how often you use your bike and therefore how often you need to maintain it, all that remains is to set a regular day to adopt this good habit and never neglect maintenance again!
2 - Preparing the bike
Before getting your hands dirty, you'll need to prepare your workspace and your bike.
For this, you will need the following equipment:
- A repair stand
- Degreaser
- A drivetrain brush
- A chain cleaner
- A cleaning spray and a sponge
- Teflon or dry lubricant
Once all these items are within reach, all you have to do is place your bike on your repair stand and get to work!
💡 If you don't have a repair stand, no worries! You just need to turn your bike upside down or lean it against a tree or a wall.
3 - Degreasing
If you haven't used your bike in a long time, or it hasn't been cleaned in a long time, a thorough cleaning is necessary before anything else. This means a rough rinse of your bike, for example, with a water jet.
Then you can move on to the first step of maintenance: degreasing.
To do this, nothing could be simpler: spray degreasing product on the chain and drivetrain components. Drivetrain components include cassettes, the rear derailleur, cogs, chainrings, etc. Then you can clean them with the drivetrain brush, focusing on the dirtiest parts.
If you want to clean the chain links deeply, you can also use a chain cleaner.
In both cases, you will need to let the product act for a few minutes and then rinse thoroughly.
4 - Cleaning
Second step: cleaning. This time, we will focus on the frame and the various components of the bike. For example, the saddle, wheels, brakes, handlebars, etc.
This step is essential to prevent the derailment of your drivetrain during use, or the loss of brake efficiency. Cleaning also helps prevent the appearance of noises when using your bike. In short, this step is crucial if you want to ride safely.
And to do this, two choices are available to you:
- Use a cleaning spray and then rub the various parts of your bike with a sponge or a microfiber cloth
- Economical solution: dilute a capful of cleaner in 5L of water and then clean the various parts of your bike with a sponge
Beware, at the end of this step, it is essential to dry all the components of your bike.
5 - Lubrication
The last and not least step is lubrication. This step is essential to ensure good performance and efficiency from your bike. In other words, it ensures that the effort you transmit through your legs will be properly transferred and converted into mechanical energy by the bike.
This step will also help prevent the appearance of rust on your bike, as well as unpleasant noises, creaks, and squeaks when pedaling.
To do this, pour a few drops of oil on the inner part of the chain, rotating it backward and making sure to distribute the oil evenly over the entire chain.
🚩 Be careful during this step not to get any lubricant on the brake discs!
Furthermore, don't forget to lubricate other components that need it, such as the brake cables. To do this, simply put a few drops of oil at the entry and exit points of the cable housing and actuate the mechanism.
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