Maintain Your Bike
Service Advice
After the first 3 months of riding your bicycle you should have your brakes and gears adjusted as the cables will stretch causing either your brakes to be less responsive and gear slippage.
After the inital service, your bicycle should be serviced by a professional mechanic every 6 to 12 months.
Maintainance Tips
Daily Maintenance
- Before getting on the bike check it to ensure the tyres are pumped hard and the brakes work.
Weekly Maintenance
- Give the exposed moving parts a drop of oil, avoid getting it on the rims or wheels or this could cause problems with braking.
- Use an old rag to wipe down the moving parts afterwards to remove any excess oil.
Monthly Maintenance
- Check the conditions of the tyres, look for things like splits, pieces of glass and bald spots.
- Check wheels are straight and unbuckled, if they are buckled you can learn how to straighten them on the Park Tool website.
- Make sure spokes are tight, this is related to buckled wheels.Tighten wheel nuts or check the quick-release mechanisms, make sure they aren't loose.
- Check brake pads for wear and ensure they are aligned correctly. Some times bits of metal get embedded in brakes, dig these out.
- Check cables are not worn or frayed.Check to see if the gears are running smoothly, see a mechanic if they aren’t or check the Park Tool web site to find out how to tune gears.
- Check to make sure the handle bars and handle bar stem are not loose.Make sure the pedals, cranks and axle are not loose.
- Make sure the seat and seat post is at the correct height for you and is not loose. You can injure your knees if your seat is at the wrong height. Your seat should be high enough so that when the ball of your foot is on the pedal your leg is almost straight, not quite locking the knee.
- Inspect the frame for damage, look for cracks.
Helpful Links
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