Bike Maintenance Tips by Kenny Riddle
Cleaning the bike regularly is still important to remove energy drink spillages and dust and will also allow you to give the bike a once over to see any wear, damages or parts requiring attention. Once the bike has been washed down and dried off, check wear on brake blocks, any cuts in tyres and replace if needed. Then use a light spray lube on the front and rear gear mechs, also a light lube on the chain.
At this time of year I would normally apply the lube to the chain depending on conditions just before heading out on each trip (dry lube for dry conditions and wet lube for wet) and check tyre pressures, 90-100psi is the norm for most 700×23 tyres but check on the side wall for the manufacturer’s recommendation, more common now is 28mm wide which the pressure will be a lot lower which helps with our current road surfaces.
I also use front and rear lights all year round as it gives more visibility to other road users.
Essential Tools
Before heading out on the road, you should ensure that you have some essential maintenance tools with you. When I go out, I’ll take the following items in my seat pack:
- 1 or 2 inner tubes
- Glueless patches, which will seal a cut in a tyre long enough to get you home, or will repair the tube if you are unfortunate to get several punctures. There are plenty of “YouTube” clips on how to change a tube, it’s worth practising at home!
- Tyre levers
- Multi-tool with chain splitter
- Chain speed links, which will join a broken chain
- Pump or air canister inflater
- Mobile phone
