Tuesday, 4/10/07 at 5:44 PM
by Jenny Skorcz
by Jenny Skorcz
Spring Cleaning, Part 1
If you live in a region with weather similar to the kind we experienced here in Colorado over the winter, your bike is probably in need of some work. Winter wet, with all the chemicals road crews spread across the pavement to melt snow and ice, wreaks havoc on our bike’s parts. Wet or even damp trails cake our bikes with varying layers of grit, dirt, and dried mud. If April showers are truly followed by May flowers, then consider April as the perfect time for a professional spring bike cleaning.
In Part 2 of this article, I will detail all the work you can do at home to maintain your clean bike. Your job will be much easier if you have your local bike shop perform Part 1, as several parts will have to be removed and cleaned in a tank full of nasty chemical solvent. Plus, the pro has the know-how to determine what parts did not fare so well over the winter and should be replaced.
Get on the phone, call you local shop and find out when you might bring in your bike for a Drive Train Cleaning and Tuning service. This job should include: chain, cog, front and rear derailleur removal, as well as drive side crank removal. All these parts should be scrubbed clean, dried with high-pressure air, lubed where appropriate, reinstalled, and adjusted. Maintaining a clean drive train will be your responsibility; in Part 2, I’ll show you how.
When the shop has the bike, ask them to replace all your cables and housing. The housing segments eventually become contaminated by grit, which results in excess friction for the cables; friction affects both function and performance negatively. Water can also leak inside the housing, which can lead to rust forming on the cables. The components that are operated by cables will work much better with fresh housing and cables.
In addition to cables and housing, ask the mechanic to inspect tires for wear, as well as brake pads – replace whatever parts show signs of significant wear. If you attached your road bike to your indoor trainer, your bar tape is probably gross like mine from dripping sweat, wiping it off with your hands, then placing your hands on the bars. Request new bar tape; you might have to replace the tape regardless of condition if the cables and housing for gears and brakes are routed underneath. Mountain bar grips suffer from wear, too. Giant produces and sells lots of options for grip replacement.
Clipless pedals benefit from cleaning and lubing; it is much easier to click in and out of a clean cleat surface versus a dry and gritty one. Bring in your shoes so the mechanic can inspect the condition of your cleats. Although clipping in and out of the pedal slowly wears down the cleat, walking around on a rocky or paved surface chews up the cleat rather quickly. Replace the cleats once a year or more frequently if you do a good deal of walking on those shoes – clipless shoes were not made for walking!
Don’t be surprised if additional items come up as needing work. All bicycles that are ridden suffer from wear. Bike parts have less than one tenth the life expectancy of car parts. Cheap car tires rotated regularly may last 35,000 miles, whereas top-notch bicycle tires may “die” after rolling less than 1,000 miles! If the repair cost exceeds the value of your bike, the shop will talk with you about some options. If you have ridden your $350 bike into $400 worth of disrepair, you have obviously gotten your money’s worth out of the bike. Consider an upgraded bike, one that will last longer and allow you to pedal to the next level of your ability. And if you buy yourself a new bike this spring, be sure to tie a bouquet of spring flowers to the handlebar!
Jenny
In Part 2 of this article, I will detail all the work you can do at home to maintain your clean bike. Your job will be much easier if you have your local bike shop perform Part 1, as several parts will have to be removed and cleaned in a tank full of nasty chemical solvent. Plus, the pro has the know-how to determine what parts did not fare so well over the winter and should be replaced.
Get on the phone, call you local shop and find out when you might bring in your bike for a Drive Train Cleaning and Tuning service. This job should include: chain, cog, front and rear derailleur removal, as well as drive side crank removal. All these parts should be scrubbed clean, dried with high-pressure air, lubed where appropriate, reinstalled, and adjusted. Maintaining a clean drive train will be your responsibility; in Part 2, I’ll show you how.
When the shop has the bike, ask them to replace all your cables and housing. The housing segments eventually become contaminated by grit, which results in excess friction for the cables; friction affects both function and performance negatively. Water can also leak inside the housing, which can lead to rust forming on the cables. The components that are operated by cables will work much better with fresh housing and cables.
In addition to cables and housing, ask the mechanic to inspect tires for wear, as well as brake pads – replace whatever parts show signs of significant wear. If you attached your road bike to your indoor trainer, your bar tape is probably gross like mine from dripping sweat, wiping it off with your hands, then placing your hands on the bars. Request new bar tape; you might have to replace the tape regardless of condition if the cables and housing for gears and brakes are routed underneath. Mountain bar grips suffer from wear, too. Giant produces and sells lots of options for grip replacement.
Clipless pedals benefit from cleaning and lubing; it is much easier to click in and out of a clean cleat surface versus a dry and gritty one. Bring in your shoes so the mechanic can inspect the condition of your cleats. Although clipping in and out of the pedal slowly wears down the cleat, walking around on a rocky or paved surface chews up the cleat rather quickly. Replace the cleats once a year or more frequently if you do a good deal of walking on those shoes – clipless shoes were not made for walking!
Don’t be surprised if additional items come up as needing work. All bicycles that are ridden suffer from wear. Bike parts have less than one tenth the life expectancy of car parts. Cheap car tires rotated regularly may last 35,000 miles, whereas top-notch bicycle tires may “die” after rolling less than 1,000 miles! If the repair cost exceeds the value of your bike, the shop will talk with you about some options. If you have ridden your $350 bike into $400 worth of disrepair, you have obviously gotten your money’s worth out of the bike. Consider an upgraded bike, one that will last longer and allow you to pedal to the next level of your ability. And if you buy yourself a new bike this spring, be sure to tie a bouquet of spring flowers to the handlebar!
Jenny
Comments
Add a Comment