Don’t worry. This is not going to be a mechanic preaching at you about maintaining your prized bicycle. It’s more just a hint and maybe a little education on the benefits of a bit of maintenance.
I often hear people tell me that they maintain their bike all the time, but it still breaks down regularly. But in reality these folks ride their bikes hard and often. They might wash it once in a while and lube the chain, but that is the extent of it, and when something finally breaks, they get it fixed and call it maintenance.
There is a big difference between maintenance and repair.
If you wait until something snaps, cracks, or rips right off your bike and then pay a large sum to fix the issue, this is not maintenance, and in many cases could have been avoided with some preventative care for that beloved two wheeled best friend of yours.
Here is a great example:
If you bring me your suspension fork after several years of riding it hard and putting it away wet, with oil spewing out of the seals and worn out machined parts, this “maintenance" will cost approximately 500-600 dollars.
But, if you clean your suspension fork regularly, lube your seals, and have your local tech do an annual service, you’ll get many, many years of loyalty from this same suspension fork and at less cost in the end.
OK, so you can save some money if you look after stuff, no big surprise there, but what about just getting the best out of your bike?
Depending on your level of obsession with biking, you’ve spent anywhere from a $500 to maybe 20K on your amazing bike. Now, if you don’t look after it very well, you lessen the life span of this bike and cost yourself more money along the way, but in my mind, the worst offence in this situation is a bike that doesn’t work well.
You shopped, you researched, you tested, and you finally bought your dream bike, and a short time later it doesn’t shift well, the brakes squeal, the worn out grips are painful, and the tires won’t hold air for a complete ride. Is this really what you dreamed of when you chose this bike.
A clapped out ride that makes every part of this amazing sport harder, was probably not on your check list when you started shopping, yet here you are.
If my bike makes even one unwelcome squeak, click, or clunk, I’m tearing it apart to resolve it ASAP and this is a bit over the top, but it is a pretty simple process to keep your bike working well. None of us really has to go to the extremes I do, but shouldn’t it at least operate how is was designed to, smoothly and quietly, with working brakes.
There are lots of you-tube videos on basic DIY post ride bike cleaning, and there are local bike shops that are great resources on keeping your bike in the right condition to improve your riding, opposed to hindering it.
Bikes provide us with endless amounts of fun, doesn't it seem fair that we look after these toys a bit better . . . so we can have more fun?
I’m James Durand and I’m Goin’ Ridin’ . . . right after I clean my bike...