Road Bike Maintenance Clinic

Transcription

1 Road Bike Maintenance Clinic Thank you for your interest in the Road Bike Maintenance Clinic at The Bike Shop of Bel Air. Your interest in this class represents your enthusiasm and interest in maintaining your investment in your bicycle. With some simple skills and minimum time, you can maintain your bike in better condition and avoid both inconvenient and costly repairs. If you have any comments or would like to make any suggestions, please feel free to contact me personally. Regards, Missie Wakefield Owner

2 Bike Cleaning The best think you can do for your bicycle is to simply wash it? Washing cleans not only the road grime and grit but the perspiration (sweat) and spillage from your water bottles. Sweat and sports drink can cause a lot of long term damage to your bicycle! Besides a visual, you can do a simple check of your bicycle chain by rubbing your fingers on the chain and feel for grit. If you feel it, then it is causing excessive wear on your bike. How often should you clean? Well that depends on how often you ride, what the weather is like, how much you sweat and how much sports drink dripped onto your bike. You should check it after every ride and simply make sure you keep ahead of it. For the average rider, that may mean every 2-3 weeks minimum. Some riders clean their bikes after every ride.

3 How can I keep my bike clean at home? Simply use soap and water. We recommend a small squirt of Dawn dishwater soap in a bucket of warm water to make plenty of suds. Begin by simply rinsing the bicycle with your hose at an easy setting to get the grit of your bike. DO NOT USE THE HOSE HIGH SETTING OR A POWERWASHER! Commercial Bike spray bike wash is great but be careful using it when the frame is gritty. After you thoroughly rinse your bicycle, use a large soft brush to soap up you bicycle. Be careful around the wheel hubs, derailleur and bottom bracket since these parts contain greased bearings. Additionally, we recommend not soaping/washing down the cockpit area (shifters/brake levers). Do that by using a wash cloth. It is a good time to carefully inspect your bicycle while cleaning. Frame for cracks brake pads for excess wear or improper alignment Broken/bent spokes Tire wear of cuts. Worn/frayed shifter/brake wires. Simple visual inspections like these will insure you reliable transportation and perhaps save you from injury. After cleaning your bike, give it a good rinsing followed by a thorough drying. If you are going to invest in tools to do your bike maintenance, we recommend a small air compressor with a blow gun. These are great for drying your bike. Some customers simply use a leaf blower. If you have a stubborn spot, try some 99% isopropyl alcohol or other approved product. Finally, you should use a commercial product approved for your bicycle to polish the frame. Not only does this make your bicycle a beauty, it helps keep the grime sticking to things. TIP: If you have a rear car bike rack, you can use that as a Bike Stand while cleaning your bike.

4 How can I get my chain cleaner? For home use, the simplest solution is to use a Park Tool CM-5 Chain Scrubber along with their CB-2 Citrus ChainBrite. CAUTION: Be careful using alternative citrus cleaners as they contain additives that can destroy you finish on the frame and components. Refer to our addendum for detailed instructions on the use the Park Tool Scrubber. Detailed Cleaning Finish Line makes a great product called Gear Floss. This specialty rope is great for getting down into the chain rings, jockey wheels on the rear derailleur and around tight areas in the derailleur. What about the wheels? After your bike is washed, you may want to use 99% isopropyl alcohol to clean the brake surfaces on the rims. Additionally, inspect the brake pads for debris and glazing. It is easier if you remove the wheels. Use a pick or pointed tool to remove the debris from the brake pad grooves. If the surface is glazed, you can use a fine file to lightly clean them. TIP! If you remove the wheels, check the bearings by rotating them with your fingers. They should feel smooth and there should be no play (sideway movement) in them. Each wheel feels a little different. Get used to how your wheels feel so you can recognize any future problems. After you re-install the wheels, feel for play in the bearings by moving the wheel sideways. Again, get used to how your bike feels.

5 Lubrication As needed, you should lubricate the chain, derailleur s and brake calipers. Because there are so many different brands and types of lubricates, you should discuss your needs with the service department. For routine road bicycle maintenance, we recommend using Tri-Flow for the derailleurs and brake calipers. Before lubricating the chain, make sure it is dry. It is best to use compressed air. If not available, just wipe it down well and allow about 1-2 hours to dry. When lubricating the chain, it is best to apply small drops onto each chain roller. After completing, simply wipe off the excess gently. After lubricating the chain with the T- 9 it is recommended that you allow 1-2 hours drying time. Checking your headset: Another important check you can make is your headset. Unless you are experienced and have the proper tools, we do not recommend making adjustments but you can perform routine checks to make sure your headset is working properly to minimize failures and costly repairs. Getting familiar with the correct feel will help in future inspections. With the bike elevated, simply rotate the handle bars left and right and feel for smooth operation. With the bike elevated, simply grasp the fork and pull forward and backwards to feel for play. Some people hold the front brakes and press the bike forward/backwards to feel for play.