It is important to give your bicycle some love, aka. “bike maintenance” regularly. Regular maintenance of your bike not only ensures less wear and fewer defects, but it is also an important safety factor (keyword: brakes!).
Overall, good bike maintenance guarantees a longer-lasting, better function of the frame and components. In this article, we provide you with helpful tips, you will learn what is important when maintaining your bike and which care products should not be missing.
Attention! Before bike maintenance, cleaning is done, you can also find the instructions for this in the Bike Blog. With a thorough cleaning of your bike, you have already taken a big step towards an optimally functioning bike, but you should not neglect the subsequent maintenance, because especially with a thorough wash, important lubricants are washed away.
A good chain oil or chain spray is essential for flawless operation of the drive. However, there are some aspects you should consider when oiling your chain.
The Bike Dryer: Compressed Air as a Help Against Moisture
You have cleaned your bike... and now it is soaking wet. Here is our secret tip right at the beginning: If you have a compressed air compressor at hand, you can use compressed air to remove the remaining moisture from your drive and all bearings on the frame. This way your bike dries faster and no water spots form on your frame or flash rust on the chain. Overall, this significantly shortens the waiting time, because depending on the temperature, drying can take a few hours. This way you can tackle the further maintenance steps (such as paint care, finish, etc.) faster and get back on the road.
Bike Maintenance Tips – An Overview of Care and Lubricants for Your Bike
The bike is clean and dry, now it can continue! But... with what? There are a lot of care products for bikes, but which ones do you really need?
Care of the Bike Chain
After cleaning, you should check your chain for sufficient lubrication. If there is still enough chain oil, it is enough to roughly dry the chain with a lint-free cloth. However, if the chain is dry and too degreased, you should apply a special chain oil or chain spray.
If your bike chain is too oily or greasy, it makes sense to completely degrease the lubrication with chain cleaner and then lubricate it again.
> Chain Spray , Chain Wax and Chain Oil buy online
- Make sure to wipe the outer sides of the chain with a cloth afterwards, as excess oil on the chain attracts dirt like a magnet.
- You can also give the derailleur rollers a drop of oil. It is especially important to ensure that no oil gets on the brake discs or brake pads , as otherwise the braking performance is no longer guaranteed.
- Completely dirty chains, where oil and dirt together glue the chain links, urgently need a bit more care. With a special chain cleaner, you can temporarily remove dirt and grease and thus clean the chain. However, you must then apply sufficient lubrication again, because without grease, the drive is quickly ruined.
> Want to know more about the different bicycle greases? In the Blog Post “Bicycle Greases Explained” you will find a lot of information about assembly lubrication, screw securing, etc. We explore Carbon Assembly Paste in another post.
Bicycle Paint Care – Protect the Paint of Your Bike Frame with Good Care
In this step, your bike gets a bit of shine... looks good and protects against new dirt!
A bike care spray or spray wax provides a fresh shine and ensures that new dirt does not stick to your bike as quickly.
Bike Protect Sprays for Plenty of Shine
The paint care is an important point because it seals the surface. Thus, it not only serves as a protective layer, but also guarantees a radiant appearance of your bike.
- In the next step of bike care, a Bike Protect Spray is applied to your bike frame
- Then you can polish the spray with a soft and dry microfiber cloth.
- The spray makes your bike shine and additionally ensures that no new dirt settles.
- Additionally, it protects your bike from weather influences, as it repels moisture and allows raindrops to bead off better.
|
The spray mist of the Bicycle Protection Polish should not land in your lungs or on your brake discs and brake pads. |
Frame protection films ensure scratch-free frames even after long and hard use with the bike. They also protect the frame from unsightly stone chips.
❗ The BMO team recommends this bike care ❗
Bike Cleaner | Bike Care | Carbon Care | Corrosion Protection
Protect vulnerable areas: Frame protection films against scratches and stone chips
Especially on mountain bikes, unsightly scratches and stone chips on the bike frame are almost unavoidable. Here, frame protection films are a simple, quick, and cost-effective solution that can prevent larger paint repairs. The robust plastic films are equipped with a very well-adhering adhesive film and can be easily applied to the frame or bike parts without additional tools.
- To ensure they adhere well, the corresponding areas on the bike should be clean and grease-free.
- Directly after washing the bike and before the protective polish is a good time to apply the protective films.
- You should additionally degrease all areas thoroughly with brake cleaner and a clean cloth before applying the protective film.
Frame protection films are available in different colors and designs, and there is guaranteed to be a suitable motif for your bike.
To avoid suddenly standing with a fallen pedal in the middle of Wald, you should always perform a quick function test during bike care.
The right place to park the bike
You should park your freshly cleaned and maintained bike in a place with room temperature for final drying. Especially in winter at sub-zero temperatures, uninsulated garages and basement rooms are not the optimal place – and let's be honest, the freshly cleaned bike looks much better in the living room anyway!
After bike care comes the quick check
The bike is cleaned and maintained, and finally, a quick function test is part of the maintenance to detect and fix any potential problems early.
The following points/components are particularly important during the bicycle check:
Cranks and Pedals
- Can the crank and pedals turn smoothly and silently?
- Are the threads tight?
➔ If something is not right, most high-quality pedals can be disassembled into their components. A little assembly paste on the pedal axle and the pedal thread (before you screw the pedal back onto the crank) usually ensures a silent and smooth operation.
Can the handlebars move silently?
The cockpit also connects you to your bike and should therefore always function flawlessly.
- Are the handlebars and stem aligned straight?
- Are all screws tightened?
- Can the headset turn smoothly and silently?
- You should also check the headset play. To do this, hold the headset cups with your thumb and forefinger, pull the front brake, and move the bike back and forth. The headset cups should not move back and forth. If they do, you need to loosen the stem screws and tighten the Ahead screw from above. Then the stem screws are tightened again.
➔ Especially in the wet and cold seasons, dirt and moisture in the headset often lead to unpleasant noises or malfunctions. Then you need to disassemble the headset, clean it, and apply sufficient grease to all components before reassembling.
Other Bicycle Parts in the Test
Pedals and cockpit are half the battle, but while you're at it, it's worth checking other bicycle parts. Maybe cleaning, maintenance, or care is needed here?
- Are your spokes too loose?
- Is the telescopic seat post effortlessly mobile?
- Can the brake levers be moved without resistance?
- What about the typical wear parts? Take a look at the brake pads, cassette, chainrings, and the chain. You can usually repair little here; often, replacement is the better solution
Read more in the Bike Blog
Clean the bike | Clean and maintain the bike in winter | F100 Cleaner in the Test
