Originally Posted by
wils0nic
I ride a 10 year old bike, I don't think it's ever been cleaned. The first 2 years were spent riding, but the next 6 were basically sitting in a garage or shed. Now I have it out again. But still, although there are minor problems (rear der. can't get into lowest gear, probably a dirty cassette, and recently front der. was having problems getting to lowest as well, but i suspect it's the deraileur itself), it rides alright for the most part. That's all that matters to me, for it to run. Maybe if I have time, I'll flip the thing over and give it a nice clean up, but I've been telling that to myself for the past 6 months.
It's how people perceive the maintenance of the bike. Some wish it more, some less.
You'd be amazed at how better the bike rides with a non-gunked up chain and cassette. I let my road bike get a little dirty over the last year...it was night and day after giving it a good cleaning in early spring.
Anyway, I only do minor amounts of tweaking on my bikes...I check the tire pressure almost every time, and periodically clean and lube the chains, make sure the brakes aren't rubbing, make sure my cleats are properly secured. A few times a year I do a good chain/gear cleaning, tune the deraileurs and do a good once over on the bike.
Not too different than my car: check my tire pressure, wash and clean it every few weeks; at regular intervals I check my fluid levels and change my oil; I get a tune up and alignment probably once a year.
Basic maintenance will keep any piece of equipment running well for a long time...I like prevention.