New Commuter - Cleaning & Maintenance Routine?
 

I am a new commuter in my third week of commuting. New to bike world. What kind of regular cleaning is needed for my bike and how often should I check things like brakes, etc? Thanks.

I check mine every weekend and clean/adjust as necessary. Pretty easy to keep up with if you don't let things wait.

ABC Quick check before going on your commute every day (not an intensive test, just quickly make sure they work so you don't crash into a semi at 35 mph)

Air
Brakes
Chain
Quick releases

Greasing the chain and stuff would be good on the weekends as well :)

I agree with the above, adding that in the rain or snow I increase lubing to twice a week.

Ok. What is best place for instructions on cleaning & lubing chain, etc? I haven't ever done these things before. By cleaning parts of bike - is this a simple wipe down or are there cleaners? Thanks

Talk to the people at your local bike shop and get them to recommend a lube and cleaning regimen for your local conditions. I used to clean a lot, now I've switched to mostly just using T9 except if it gets really gunked up, when it gets a going over with WD40, but it depends mostly on conditions.

A lot depends on how much your ride and in what kind of conditions but good rules of thumb:

- Every time you ride check tire pressure and brakes.

- Once a week should be airing the tires to proper PSI and a good looking over of your bike to see if anything needs to be readjusted, cleaned or fixed.

- Once a month you'll want to clean it up and add some oil to important parts. Check all moving parts and make sure everything is running smoothly.

I check my tire pressure and brakes every time I take either of my bikes out for a ride. It's become a habit and second nature to me. I squeeze the tires with my fingers to check for softness then squeeze the brakes levers as I'm rolling my bike to the curb to make sure my brakes are working.

I inflate the wheels every week to proper PSI and while I'm down there I look for anything needing maintenance. I've learned to "listen" to my bikes and have figured out what certain sounds mean like a dry chain needing oil or a readjustment of my rear derailleur or IGH indicator pin needing tightening...

Get to know your bike and you'll begin to know when certain things need to be cleaned and adjusted.

Bicycle Tutor has some good videos espeically for beginners. :)

http://bicycletutor.com/

My first commuter went 10 years without any cleaning or fiddling at all. When I replaced it I got all fiddly with the new bike for not quite a year, but quickly lost interest in cleaning it and went back to letting it be. When the chain starts to get noisy I quickly lube it without any cleaning fuss, check the tire pressure when it feels soft, and that's it. Gets me there and back all the same.