spazegun2213

ok, so i finally passed the 1k marker for my first season on a bike! Now, its getting colder and I know i need to service the trusty steed badly. what should i do besides clean the hell out of it?

thanksd

sch

Look at the Park tool site for advice as to derailleur/cable adjustment. New bikes always have some cable stretch and it takes longer to read the Park instructions than to actually do it. Brakes occasionally need adjusting for same reason and for brake pad wear. Get a baseline measurement on your chain elongation. Look at all of the tread on your tires to check for cuts in the tread and sidewall or for embedded items. Look at the cables themselves for signs of rust or wire breaks/unraveling. This usually occurs adjacent to where it exits/
leaves the housing. Take a set of allen wrenches and check every bolt you can see for tightness, particularly the crank bolts. Check headset for looseness.
Check the paint for chips, touch these up. Back in the pre sealed bearing era I spent a nite in the Nov-Dec time frame doing a complete take down of the bike,
removing everything, headset, BB and cleaning, inspecting, greasing and then building it back up. This could be done in 2-4hrs depending on your experience and is much simpler with sealed bearing wheels and BB but might be deferred to winter '04 with such low mileage as you have. Wipe the spokes, hubs and BB axle of accumulated dirt and grease. The bike looks nicer that way. Steve