Bicycle Mechanics - regular maint.??

hey everyone!

i've got a new fisher big sur (had it about a month) and have it ridden it a good bit. each time i get back i wipe the bike down and check it over for anything that could be wrong or could have happened to it on the trails. what else should i be doing to make sure that i have this bike for a good while and to make sure that it lasts. the bike shop i bought it at said that they would give me a free tune-up anytime in the next six months, and i am going to have that done before i head back to school for the fall, but i still have a month left (i attend the university of alabama, in tuscaloosa...roll tide!).

i figured this was the place to ask about this.

thanks in advance.

-senor tomas

You definitely came to the right place, Señor Tomás. I'm not the best one to give maintenance advice, for, frankly, I'm a terrible slob when it comes to such things. I deeply admire your commitment to keeping your bike like new: wish I had more of your spirit.

There will be, I'm sure, plenty of good answers to your question. And I hope you enjoy your bike when you go back to school, too. Ride safely and have fun! :beer:

(Mike, Buddy Hayden, and MichaelW -- this is your territory!)

Regular maintenance is no big deal.
1. For XT or lower components lube the pivots in the der.
2. Clean the springs in both front and rear der.
3. Take rubbing alchohol and clean your rims of all the black pad residue.
4. Take an emory board or med. grit sandpaper and clean the brake pads. Do this until all the black residue is gone. The gloss will go back to dull.
5. About once every other month depending on your riding conditions, and cables (Gore Tex, Jag Wire) remove them from the housing and lube them lightly.
6. Every year or unless you ride in the rain, or go through creeks alot, repack all bearing surfaces. Of course this does not apply to cartridge. If you do alot of rain and creeks, then you should check them often. Repack when neccesary.
7. Clean your chain when it gets either dusty, or wet.
That's about it. Hope this helped.

You can protect your paint work with a car wax. This cuts down on cleaning esp in muddy conditions.

Lube you chain regularly. Replace it when it starts to show wear (It is measurably longer over 10 links, there are guidelines, but I forget them). If you ride with a worn chain, you will quickly wear your cassette and chainrings. For off-road, a new chain every 6 months is probably a sound investment. Use Sachs, not Shimano.


Inspect your tyres for thorns and other junk.

Tomas,
Check out my post on my adventures in Wrench Land for some inspiration. Hunter's recommendations on bearings is good advice. Keeping bearings clean and well greased is perhaps the most important thing you can do to keep a bike running for many many years. You have 4 sets to deal with:
Front and rear hubs
Bottom bracket (cartridge type not servicable, check and clean)
Headset

Spend 20 bucks or so on a good manual and start acquiring the tools.

Many people don't think about the headset. If it gets loose it can ruin the fork and damage the pressed in cups/cones. Checking for looseness only takes a second; you can do it every ride. Clean and repack the bearings once a year.

As I posted, these things are a lot easier than you might think, but you do need to invest in the specific tools needed for each job. Way less than $50 total, assuming you already have basics.
Go for it, Dude!

Clean and lube the chain/drivetrain whenever the stuff you can wipe off with your finger feels "gritty" or if it feels "dry"
Measure you chain regulary after 1000 miles, Park makes a great tool for this or have your LBS show you to use a tape measure, if you ride your chain after it's "stretched"; you"ll have to replace the other drivetain parts much more often, very expensive
Have your bike overhauled once per year if your ride very much, more if you ride in the rain a lot or live near salt water, once very couple of years if it gathers dust.
Tune it up if; it shifts sloppy, rattles when you bounce it on the floor ( be standing next to it, not "sitting on it"), feel play when you move the wheels or crank arms side to side, engage the front brake and rock the bike back and forth, if you feel any roughness or friction when you turn the axles when out of the bike, same when you turn the handle bars when the front wheel is off the ground and finally if the crank does not spin freely and reverse direction before it comes to rest with the chain slipped off
;)

Those guys above covered it all,heres a tip to help keep your paint job looking nice,:buy a sheet of the clear,flexable/soft self-adhesive PVC stuff and cut it to size to suit the underneath of your downtube,this will stop all the little stonechips from off your front tire so common in off road riding on gravel and fire-trails,and if you ever come to sell , it will look a whole lot better! and if you keep it mechanicaly maintained with the suggestions already mentioned , it will run smoothly AND look good !!!!cheers dude-Buddy:thumbup: