Bike Maintenance

kennyb3

Have my bike about 3-4 weeks, about 300km on it. when should i take it for first free service to lbs? about 500km?

also should i oil the chain about now? and what would be best to use? any other maintenance needed?

short circuit

300 - 500km would be about right for a 1st check up ... calling it service is probably giving it too much credit ...

The gear cables would have stretched slightly ... so a quarter turn or so on the cable tensioner ... similar for the brakes .. and make sure the wheels are still true ... you don't need anything more.

About oiling ... what the original comes with straight out of the manufacturer is the best lubricant and should last many miles (source: The bearded guru). So unless you've been riding on the rain ... or the chain looks really dirty ... or is making strange noises .. leave it alone for a few more kms. Any lube you use will not be as good as the original.

kennyb3

so how often should you oil/ lube a chain? (are they the same thing by the way??)

short circuit

kennyb3 wrote: »

so how often should you oil/ lube a chain? (are they the same thing by the way??)

Use a cycle chain specific lube .. which one is a matter of choice .. in Ireland, I just prefer to use the wet lube ... as we never get a long enough dry stretch to use dry lube.

Wet lube usually lasts be 200 - 300kms unless its lashing down with rain every day ... there is no hard and fast rule .. its all subjective. If I feed the chain feels dry ... or looks dirty .. I will degrease and relube.

I use one of the clamp on degreasers .. makes life simple and keeps the bathroom clean ... .. and is quick. 5mins to degrease, remove degreases with water and wipe it dry ... a couple of hours to let the chain dry ... 2 mins to lube and wipe the chain till there is no oil on the outside ... probably do this about once a week to 10 days ... as I do about 200 - 300kms a week depending on how often I commute and how dry the weekend is.

KStaford

Can you recommend a de-greaser?

short circuit

KStaford wrote: »

Can you recommend a de-greaser?

I don't think it matters .. as it will not stay on the bike and needs to be washed off ...

I use one of the eco degreases you can find either in bike shops or in motor factors ... simply because they can be washed down the drain ..

You could use white spirit or petrol ... but then be careful about the fumes, their flammability and that you cannot throw them into the toilet.

davgtrek

LIDL have a degreaser for chains at the moment. i tried it and its quite good. cheap too.

Húrin

Do Lidl always sell it or is it a special? Is it water based?

Don't use white spirits or petrol. The best one down that line of things (cheap and oil based) is deisel.

blorg

short circuit wrote: »

a couple of hours to let the chain dry

I find you can skip this step, the oil will displace any remaining water in any case. If you leave it longer than a few hours (overnight will do) the chain will rust, surprisingly dramatically.

lukester

blorg wrote: »

I find you can skip this step, the oil will displace any remaining water in any case. If you leave it longer than a few hours (overnight will do) the chain will rust, surprisingly dramatically.

You can use a dispersant, like WD-40, to get rid of most of the water.

Wipe down with a rag, dispersant, wipe-down, lube.

Gavin

Wd-40 is excellent for getting rid of excess water and also any remaining dirt. Need to be careful if using disc brakes not to get any on the rotor.

Nothing at all wrong with using white spirits on the chain or down the drain. (Wow, a rhyme). White spirits evaporates and breaks down to nothing harmful. Went reading up on this last time.

KStaford

well just cleaned the chain/cassette/shifters. Christ that is one messy job. Used a foam degreaser called Gunk. Mind ya, I have no hose here so had to rinse everything with warm soapy water and brush. Like I say - real messy :eek:

gotta say tho, I'm proud of thr job I did. Gave the bike a complete overhaul, adjusted brakes. Toe'd front brakes and now they dont squeal, cleaned entire bike. adjusted saddle etc. Greta job. Now where's me mug of tea?