Bikes, although far simpler than a car, still require a bit of maintenance to keep them reliable.
As mentioned previously, keep your tyres pumped up within the recommended pressure. If you’ve got a particularly glass strewn route, check the tyres for embedded glass shards and pick them out.
Lubricate your chain regularly if you want it to last. There’s dozens of potions and treatments you can get for your chain, and scientific studies done about which reduces friction the most. In the real commuting world of rain, dust and grit any lubricant is better than none. Find one that works for you and apply it weekly, just make sure it’s a chain lube and not WD40. Wiping excess lubricant off with a cloth will stop dust sticking to it.
Over time your chain will wear and it will need replacing. Modern 10, 11 or 12 speed chains are skinnier than traditional chains and will wear faster. A well maintained chain can last 5,000km or more, an abused chain may last less than 1,000. Keep in mind that if you let your chain wear too much, it will damage the teeth of your drive train and you may need to replace that too. Chains are cheap compared to gears. Drop by your bike hub for a chain check every now and then or invest in a chain checking tool.
Check your brake pads regularly. With rim brakes, it’s easy to see how worn they are at a glance. It’s also easy to adjust the cable if your finding you’re getting a lot of play on your brake levers. Disc brakes are trickier. You need a good light and know what you’re looking at to see the step between the pad and the backing plate. Get someone to show you how or see your local bike shop. Don’t ignore getting your brake fluid replaced either, most manufacturers recommended you should do it every two years.
Your bike’s gears will probably need maintenance at some stage. Most problems can be solved with adjusting or replacing the cables or realigning the derailleur if you’ve knocked it. Don’t dive in and start turning the adjusting screws on the derailleur, if it was working before, it won’t be the screws that have moved, it will be something else. Once again, your local bike hub will probably be able to sort you out. If not, they’ll send you to your local bike shop.
A lot of maintenance can be done by you, there’s lots of information online if you want to buy a few tools and give it a go. There may also be bike maintenance sessions run by bike shops or night school. The bike hubs can offer supervision for minor repairs to keep you on the right track. Just be aware of your limitations and improper fixing of things like steering and brakes can have serious repercussions if not done correctly.
Check out the rest of the Commute by Bike series
- A series to help start your bike commuting journey
- Choosing a bike for commuting
- You and bike commuting
- What stuff do you need for bike commuting?
- Route planning for bike commuting
- Safety tips for bike commuting
- Motivation when you start bike commuting
- Pimping your ride for a bike commute
- What clothes do you need for bike commuting?
- Maintaining your bike for commuting
- Watch-outs for bike commuting
- Coping with road rage when you commute by bike
- Going electric or going alternative for your bike commute
- So you’re a bike commuter. What next?
