Bicycle Mechanics - bike maintenance

Can anyone tell me what kind of maintenance to do on a road bike. I know u have to change the oil on a car, but what sort of stuff do you do on a bike. Im guessing there is probably something with the chain and maybe the cables? Any help would be great. Thanks!

New cables & housing. Look at the brake-pads. Check all parts for wear - including chain. Check all bolts for being properly torqued-down. If you can - overhaul hubs and bottom-bracket. True the wheels if needed. Lubricate all moving parts - including chain-links.

Always keep parts clean and free from grunge.

New cables & housing. Look at the brake-pads. Check all parts for wear -[snip].

Having already purchased said items, I'm going to attempt changing them out after about 3500km. Can someone offer degree of difficulty? I own the Zinn book of road bike maintenance.

^ Not hard at all. A little time consuming maybe, but it is just like busy work.

Good luck.

Everything is pretty easy, especially if you have the proper tools. I'd consider a suspension fork overhaul difficult, but everything else is easy.

Change tires when they're worn
Change brake pads (I do this regularly; pads are cheap, broken bones are expensive)
Change chain when it's worn out
Change cables

Clean chain, if it's still good, but dirty
Clean derailleurs.
Clean rims, if needed (use alcohol or water).

Lube derailleur wheels
Lube chain

Repack ball bearings in the hub w/ grease.
True wheels

I guess out of that list, truing the wheels, changing the tires, and repacking the hubs is the most time consuming.

If you have a bike with suspension, you might have to check up on your front and rear suspension. I would take it into the LBS for this.

You can learn a lot from viewing the tutorial videos on this site:

http://bicycletutor.com/