How often should I get my bike serviced?

alexanderomahon

I have had my bike now for about 18 months and was wondering should I be getting it serviced? I keep it oiled and clean and can change innertubes, tyres and brake pads, but that is about it. I do average of about 100k a week (averaging out winter and summer)

How regularly would most people get their bikes serviced?

Surveyor11

alexanderomahon wrote: »

I have had my bike now for about 18 months and was wondering should I be getting it serviced? I keep it oiled and clean and can change innertubes, tyres and brake pads, but that is about it. I do average of about 100k a week (averaging out winter and summer)

How regularly would most people get their bikes serviced?

Sounds like you're doing most of the basics, depending on how you are with diy or looking to learn, perhaps look at some other jobs yourself? maybe consider getting the chain replaced with a a new cassette if you have 7,000 odd km on it. Cables might need looking at in the gears and brakes. I also grease my headset and bottom bracket every few months - you need specialist tools, not that expensive but can be done easily enough.

Seweryn

alexanderomahon wrote: »

I do average of about 100k a week (averaging out winter and summer)

How regularly would most people get their bikes serviced?

I service my bike every day usually. If the roads are dry (like for the last two days, which is rare, unfortunately), I may stretch it to every second day. It is only a basic service with a quick clean up of the chain and applying chain lube.

With your mileage, you should service your bike once - twice per week depends on the weather and type of lubricant used.

Any service outside of the schedule is only carried out if required (replacing of chain, tyres, bearings, brake pads, etc.).

Bigus

I think somebody needs to define "service " when it comes to bicycles.

This would very much depend on bike type , road bike ,mtb, full sus mtb, hybrid , electric , fold up, fixie.

Then you would need to state use and distance and conditions,

Ie downhill racing on wet muck or dry sand,

road-biking down the alps or commuting to howth would have big impact on how an engineer would look at servicing.

Then you could attempt a service schedule and give hours use or km travelled to advise on individual component cleaning, lubrication, and replacement list,

Seaswimmer

Seweryn wrote: »

I service my bike every day usually. If the roads are dry (like for the last two days, which is rare, unfortunately), I may stretch it to every second day. It is only a basic service with a quick clean up of the chain and applying chain lube.

With your mileage, you should service your bike once - twice per week depends on the weather and type of lubricant used.

Any service outside of the schedule is only carried out if required (replacing of chain, tyres, bearings, brake pads, etc.).

I think everyday is a bit excessive. I do 200km weekly and clean and lube the chain once a week during bad weather. At this stage I also wash the bike if dirty, take out bits of glass from tyres, pump them and give the bike a general inspection. If the weather is warm and dry it could often be 2 or 3 weeks without doing anything to it. You generally have a fair idea when the drive train needs attention as it starts getting noisy..

I do try and inspect the tyres weekly though..

Coronal

Seweryn wrote: »

I service my bike every day usually. If the roads are dry (like for the last two days, which is rare, unfortunately), I may stretch it to every second day. It is only a basic service with a quick clean up of the chain and applying chain lube.

You clean your chain daily? Wow. Now I really feel like I'm neglecting my bikes by leaving them for a week or two. My most used bike is my fixie and the ride quality on that really doesn't deteriorate all that much with crap on the chain. I have been meaning to get a mudflap for the front fender on another bike, which apparently keeps the worst of the stuff off.

I kinda always took the view with bike servicing that things tend not to get so bad that corrective action won't save it, so I don't do much. Check the brake pads when I feel braking getting poorer or too much lever travel, look at the wheels every so often to make sure they're true. What else is there, really? Maybe take out the seatpost and pedals so the contact points don't rust. Buy something pretty to put on the bike like a new bottlecage or bartape every so often...

NeedMoreGears

In the winter, I'd usually give the bike a good wash every two weeks or so, taking off the wheels so that I can get at the brakes and using a chain bath for the chain. I take the opportunity to give the bike a good look over. I check the brakes for wear and ease of movement etc, pick bits of glass etc out of the tyres, generally ensure tyres are ok, pump the tyres. I'll visually inspect the wheels for damage, wear on the rims, buckles, loose spokes. I'd lube the bike once a week or maybe more if the chain starts making noise (usually only happens if I've been out in heavy rain). In the summer these intervals might double. - all of the above usually only takes about 45 minutes unless there are repairs to be done.

About twice a year I'll measure the chain for wear, check the chainrings, jockey wheels and cassette for wear, check the wheels for free rotation, check the gear/brake cables for ease of movement, check bottom bracket is ok (mostly just turn the pedals and see if there is any play). I usually remove and disassemble the brakes (just to stop them binding) sometime over the middle of winter.

After that it's punctures and the occasional adjustment to brakes or derailleurs plus whatever repairs may be needed from time to time.

I haven't generally bothered checking the steerer tube but probably will based on this and other threads.

07Lapierre

Wash it once a week...replace worn parts (tyres/tubes/brakes chain etc) when needed.

Seweryn

Seaswimmer wrote: »

I think everyday is a bit excessive..

No, it is not.

As I said it depends on:

- mileage,
- road and weather conditions,
- type of lubricant.

Seweryn

Coronal wrote: »

You clean your chain daily? Wow...

When commuting in wet weather or on wet, muddy roads (all roads are very bad in my area), the chain is in a very sorry state when I get home after covering nearly 60 km daily. If I do not service the drivetrain on daily basis while cycling in that conditions, the next morning the chain is rusty and sometimes seized. They were few very bad days, when the chain was screaming for lube on the way home. This is also due to the light lube I use (see my previous post).

Coronal

Fair enough. I do 35 km a day on a riverside path (not on my fixie, on a touring bike), a lot of which is just a dirt path and I don't see anything like that kind of damage. Maybe it's just the difference in the type of lube. I typically use a thick all weather one, which seems to hold out for a good while.

ROK ON

I rarely service my commuting bike, which is the bike I train on during midweek evenings.
I gets maybe 2 new chains a year and one new set of cables.
Brake blocks - only when worn.
I have never been bothered by a dirty chain.

My good bikes,
Get a chain rub after every ride, and a wash and relube when necessary.
1 bike is on the turbo - can't recall the last service - it may have been to replace a chain that snapped while on the turbo.

alexanderomahon

By the sounds of it I should be taking her in for a service to check on cables, cassette and chain. Or I should do an advanced maintenance course at Rothar