Adam C

I bought a Specialized Hardrock Sport mountain bike for commuting to work each day. Its about a 3 or 4 mile road ride.

Its been a while since I've owned a bike and am looking for advice on general maintenance.

Which bits should I be oiling, cleaning, greasing, polishing, replacing, etc?

Is their a recommended routine that should be followed?

Thanks in advance.

phantomcow2

I too use my bike for everything, take it to work, school (10miles/day) and the weekend trail. Well i don't know if you would call it polishing but usually after i ride after it rains the frame gets all muddy and dirt specks i wipe it down.
Obviously lube and clean your chain, i have the SRAM powerlink so i can do that with no difficulty. A good 3.99 investement on my end was the Pedros brush that is used to clean cogs, also good for the chain and derailleur parts. If your components using bearings are not sealed you might need to repack them every so often. Oh and if you ride through heavy rain you might want to check your headset, sometimes water gets into the cups. Well thats what i do for regular maintenance.

Adam C

Thanks for your response. Please excuse my extreme newbie-ness...

>>Obviously lube and clean your chain

How should I do this? What are the tools of the trade, so to speak?

>>If your components using bearings are not sealed you might need to repack them every so often

I would assume that mine are sealed. How would I know?

>>Oh and if you ride through heavy rain you might want to check your headset, sometimes water gets into the cups.

I do. What is the headset? What are the cups? How do I check them?

Raiyn

>>Obviously lube and clean your chain

How should I do this? What are the tools of the trade, so to speak?
https://www.parktool.com/repair_help/CM5.shtml
For lube consult your local bikes shop (LBS) for what they recommend in your area.

>>I would assume that mine are sealed. How would I know? https://www.parktool.com/repair_help/howfix_hub.shtml


>>I do. What is the headset? What are the cups? How do I check them?
https://www.parktool.com/repair_help/...readless.shtml

ShopWrench

I ride to work everyday and here's what I do.

• Wipe down the bike daily
• Clean the rims every other day
• Clean and lube the chain daily
• Clean cassette and cogs weekly
• Oil the rear and front derailuer weekly

About every two weeks, maybe I stretch it monthly, I put it up on the bike lift and take everything apart for a good cleaning.

Hope that helps.

Adam C

Thanks for your replies and advice.

peterlutonslag

thats me too, i use my bike for uni, work and leisure. if it is getting that much use your looking at weekly maintenence. to start with a clean bike is a happy bike, so once a week get some muc off or other cleaner, wipe down the frame and everything. next the drivetrain. im sure many people use different ways but working in a car bits and a bike shop ive found brake cleaner or carburettor cleaner to be very effective. its the strongest stuff ive found so simply soak your chain and other grubby moving parts in let the excess run off and it will bring ur chain and rear cogs back to their newer shiny metal colour, let it dry off for 20 mins or so, simply spray it with GT85 or any ptf or teflon based lubricant and bobs ur uncle. finally all the nuts and bolts should be tightened once a week, tyre pressure should be checked then too otherwise ull get cracks in ur tyre. also when it comes to replacing new bikes or getting a tune up read the manual cause it says in their how to do it all, or get a bike shop to do it!you should be looking at replacing ur chain and rear cogs about every 7 or 8 months, your chainset when it wears out, and after about 1 year your wheel bearings. after that depending on what kind of grease you use probably every 3 - 6 months for ur wheel bearings. make sure that gets done cause if u leave it too long ur hub will get pitted and cones and stuff will wear out and ur bearings wont be round anymore! i use castrol lm grease which is the heavy duty stuff that cars and motorbikes use in my commuting bike. for my proper mountain bikes i use proper lithium based grease.ok, that about raps it up! anything u cant do dont guess, go on a bike maintenance course or get a bike shop to do it!

phantomcow2

I preach triflow

Vaulander

Just the thread I was looking for. Thank you all for answering the questions I had, and thanks to Adam C for asking in the first place, hehe. I guess weekly total cleanup is what I will go for.
Cheers, and thanks again!
V.

mtbikerinpa

Get a bottle of car wax and coat all your painted surfaces as you would your car. That makes the wipe down a ton easier and it looks good in the process(plus it wont rust). White lightning chain lube is the best stuff out there I've found. It costs but if you hold a rag under the chain it will wash the junk off as you apply it, then give it a wipe with a clean part of the rag and voila. Clean chain. Do the same with your derailleur cables, particularly the last section of housing at the rear derailuer. While you are at the chain,(unless you have an XTR derailleur) drip a small bit onto the deraileur pulley bearings.
If conditions are really wet(I used to live in a tropical rain forrest in the pacific), look at your local bike shop for a tube of Phil Wood's green grease. It is great for cable housings and such. The grease keeps the water out of the housings and prevents cable corrosion. Great for non-hub bearings too, like headsets and pedals. For hubs, Look for valvoline or amzoil moly grease(which can work well for the others but not as well).