Hey - So I got this bike off of FB Marketplace last year; it was in rough shape but I really wanted to ride it right away so didn't really spend a lot of time cleaning or anything.

First thing that went wrong was the chain broke during a ride... thankfully one of my boys was home and he picked me up.

Then over the last few months, I found it difficult to ride - just general issues, nothing in particular. I thought of taking it to a shop to get a full tune-up and clean (it was VERY dirty) but the cost was pretty high and for a free bike, spending anywhere from $120 (Canadian) and up just wasn't in the budget.

So I started reading and thought I could do much of it myself. It mostly needed a good wipe down and degrease in some key areas.

So I mixed 8oz of Zep degreaser with 32oz of water and got to work.

About 3-4 hours later I was mostly done! I wiped the frame down, had some industrial quality swaps and used that to get into places my fat fingers could not get into and degreased the bike.

It looks so much better!

But in the process, the spoke guard broke - so I just ordered a set off of Amazon, that will be my project next weekend.

Now, I think I got the main parts but what else should I be doing? What regular maintenance needs to be done on a bicycle?

I was seriously considering taking it all apart and giving it a good wash... but I'll save that for another day.

Look at all that gunk!!!


Mostly clean -- spend another few hours on it to clean it up even more -- looks so much better now!

Seen worse.

I would run that gear cable above the nut there. It’s bending too tightly. And might need replacing by now.
Check the chain hasn’t “stretched”
Check the pulley wheels in the rear mech haven’t got TOO much play (they should have a bit) and turn easily. Check the brake pads and alignment. Check the tyres are sound.

Vancouver has an active bicycling community. It’s a safe bet there is a coop or community bike repair shop that might guide you at a low cost. I might start by communicating with your local bicycle advocacy group. I think it is called HUB Cycling. It looks like they have The Bike Kitchen on the UBC campus. Hope this helps

debade's suggestion is a good one! You may also want to familiarize yourself with some sites, such as: Home Page | Park Tool.

that's not very dirty...

You mentioned it's "hard to ride." Have you checked rotating parts for excess friction? Do the wheels, crank and pedals turn freely? What kind of shape are brakes and tires in? Brakes especially should be a top concern, followed by the front tire.

I heartily agree with the co-op suggestion. It's a great place to learn and just hang out, maybe volunteer.

Check the tyre pressure

Looks like a 50 yo Peugeot? NEW chain, 7 sp gear cluster.
Solvent clean and grease both axles, headset, pedals, derailleurs, crank BB, seat post, seat tube inside and quill stem.

Regular maintenance should be checking the air pressure in your tires before every ride. Lube the chain periodically. With the period being whatever is appropriate for the lube you use. And cleaning your bike when it gets dirty. As well as visually inspect it every time you ride.

That's about it.

Everything else can be performed when it breaks or doesn't function properly. Though when you get a bike with disc brakes or switch to tubeless tires, there are a few other things to check or do a few times a year.

FYI there is no need for that spoke guard. Those are put on bikes with the assumption that the owner will not properly maintain the bike. A properly adjusted rear derailleur will NOT shift the chain into the spokes.

My guess is that bike needs quite a bit of work, new pads, new cables and housing, new chain, freewheel and chainrings (or cranks), new tires and tubes and probably bar tape or grips. There might be more but without the bike in front of me it is hard to give a good estimate but knowing bikes of that era and hearing the story it certainly leads me to believe it was not well maintained and needs quite a bit of work. Unfortunately there is not a lot of free stuff in this world it has a price.

Spoke protectors are useless junk and I do mean useless junk. If your derailleur is properly adjusted it your chain cannot go into the spokes and if you have an impact that moves the derailleur to cause that issue a piece of plastic is not going to help you you will have greater issues. The metal ones at least looked nice but honestly proper adjustment and alignment and not using worn out parts is more important than a piece of plastic. I have had enough of those things that actually cause more problems with the free hub not moving (in some cases) than anything else. Worn out old parts that are not adjusted need to just be replaced or adjusted not hoping and praying that a thin disc of plastic will solve those problems somehow.

Ditto routing the cable over the wheel nut. Don't know if you have a cassette or freewheel, but in any case, you'll need the requisite tool(s) to remove it if you're going to replace the spoke guard. While I agree that spoke guards are unnecessary in a well-adjusted bike, they don't do much harm. Luckily Amazon has a good return policy! At some point, you'll likely be replacing the cassette/freewheel - the teeth are showing significant wear, so the chain is likely equally worn. You'll need to replace both at some point, but if it's shifting OK now, keep using it, while recognizing that there's a drivetrain overhaul on the horizon.

The spoke guard does no harm and can do good.

For instance, if the bike were to fall onto its right side and and the derailleur or its mounting tab were to bend inward, there's a good chance that the chain would run into the spokes the next time the rider shifted into the big ring.

It's like wearing a helmet. The chances that not having one will result in catastrophe are small, but why risk it?

"The cool kids remove them" isn't much of an argument against keeping the guard, but its the only valid one I can think of.

Why risk it is that they look terrible but that doesn’t matter on a day to day roundabout

Vancouver, BC.. salty Pacific air... lots of rain and fog.... Rust.. Stainless Steel Cables are the way to go, as the "plated" ones rust quickly.
and i agree about that rear shift cable loop... it's a half inch too short, or more.
make all new cable housings with teflon liners too.
a KMC RustBuster chain is a good thing in saltwater air too.
i think they're now called a Z8.1 RB, or similar... they were a Z71 RB in the past, and just a Z7 RB at one point.

Though they look terrible to us only because they never appeared on thoroughbred racing bikes. There's nothing intrinsically ugly about them.

I have never thought a big clear plastic disc looks good. It would be one thing if it has a cool pattern on it. Maybe a kinetic drawing so it does something cool while it spins but a cheap plastic disc to satisfy the CSPC is not it.

This is IT!
Why are they all just blah plastic discs? These things are probably mass produced somewhere out in Asia and I've seen some crazy things on Temu an AliExpress. They could easy put some design work on them and make them look better than a simple plastic disc.

In my opinion, the best way is to buy the cassette/freewheel with the dork disk permanently attached. Not only does it work and look better, but it replaces itself every time you change the freewheel/cassette.

They could do that but they would still be utterly useless. A worn drivetrain that is maladjusted cannot be saved by plastic except a credit card to buy the correct parts and labor from your local shop. Those third party discount sites are really bad for a hundred different reasons and the more we rely on them the more damage is done.

ABC is really pretty good.
A is for air - make sure you have good pressure
B is for brakes - check operation and tune as necessary
C is for chain - clean and lube the chain and replace when worn

Everything else will need maintenance eventually, but those are kind of the big three.

Back in the 60's - 70's, shiny metal was common. Usually with lightening holes.