Bikes Love Spring. Spring Maintenance Guide.

Posted by Vanessa McCracken Tuesday, April 05, 2011

Spring is here and with it comes perfect cycling weather. Many of you are pulling your bikes out and going for your first ride in months. How much you enjoy that first ride depends on what you do between pulling your bike out of the garage (you did keep it inside and covered during that rainy winter, right?) and taking that first pedal. A little bit of TLC before you hit the road will make that sun shine just a little brighter and the birds sing just a little louder on your first ride. We promise.

TIRES

First, you need to air up your tires. Many people don’t realize that the tubes inside the tires lose air pressure just like car tires do and that regular inflation is needed for optimal performance. Look on the side of the tire to find what your tire’s recommended air pressure is (it varies by tire). It will usually say something like “Inflate to 40-65 psi.” If you prefer a faster, smoother ride, then go ahead and inflate your tires to the maximum recommended pressure. If you prefer a more comfortable, cushier ride, then stay closer to the lower end of the recommended range. Hopefully, you have a good floor pump with a built-in gauge because you’ll want to check your tire pressure before every ride. 

Since we’re down there, now is a good time to inspect your tires for any signs of excessive wear. Sometimes at the end of a long season, we just put our bikes away and forget that we rode the tread right of our tires that summer! Looks for cracks in the sidewall or excessive wear on the tread and replace them if needed, before you ride. Not after this first ride, BEFORE THIS RIDE. Safety first! Next, give your wheels a good spin and make sure that they are straight and not rubbing the brakes. If they are wobbly and rubbing the brakes, you are going to feel lots of resistance and feel like you’re going really slow. Not exactly encouraging on your first right back out, right? Furthermore, it causes excessive wear on your brake pads, so it’s a good idea to get them straightened out as soon as possible, ideally by a trained professional (i.e., your local bike shop, not cousin Fred).

BRAKES

Speaking of brakes, let’s check them out now since brakes are a really important component to your bike operating properly. I’m going to assume you have regular rim brakes and not disc brakes for this section. First, make sure that your brake pads are not worn out (there’s a little line on them that indicates that they still have wear). Also, squeeze your brake levers and make sure the pads are not only pressing on the rim, but pressing on the rim evenly on both sides. (You’d be surprised how many people bring their bikes in with brake pads that don’t even touch the rim!) The sides of the rims are the braking surface for your brake pads, so it’s important to keep them clean. Not only will keeping them clean help you stop faster, it will also make your brake pads last longer, saving you money in the long run. We recommend using a clean rag and some rubbing alcohol to wipe them down. Do it even if they don’t look dirty, because you’ll be surprised how much gunk is actually on there. Trust me, I’ve been doing this a long time! 

CHAIN

Speaking of gunk, let’s tackle the chain. First and foremost, check your chain for signs of rust. If it’s rusty, replace it ASAP. A rusty chain can fail at any moment, and you do not want to be on your bike when the chain fails. If it’s good, then we need to clean and lube it. A clean and lubed chain is a happy, quiet chain, and will last a lot longer and go through your gears a lot smoother. So, lean your bike up against a wall, grab a rag, and spray it with a degreaser like Simple Green or Finish Line Ecotech 2 Multi Degreaser (Available at your local bike shop!). Holding the rag against the chain, grab a pedal and pedal backwards and watch in amazement at how filthy your rag gets. Continue for 8-10 revolutions to be sure the whole chain gets cleaned. Next, grab your bottle of chain lube and drip some chain lube on there while continuing that same backwards pedaling 8-10 times. We recommend a wax-based chain lube for around here, as it will repel and shed dirt and abrasives as opposed to attract it like an oil-based lube would. The last part is wiping off any excess lube, which is easiest done by holding a clean rag under that chain and repeating the same backwards pedaling. Easy peasy? Good, because you should be doing this at least once a week if you ride often and once a month if you don’t. (Watch a How-To Video on lubing your bike chain here.)

FINISHING TOUCHES

This pretty much takes care of the essentials. I’d love it if you would also ride your bike around the block and make sure your bike goes through all the gears okay before you take off because it’s so much better to find out they don’t on a test ride than when you really need them. I’d also love it if you’d check to make sure none of your bearings are loose (in the headset, hubs, or cranks). The priority, though, is making sure you are safe. If you follow my checklist here and check your tires, wheels, brakes, and chain, you should be good. And if any of this seems overwhelming, you can take your bike to any local bike shop and ask for a spring check-up. The mechanic will check over your bike for you and tell you what needs to be done to make your bike safe.  

Now get out there and ride! Spring is calling!