It’s that time of year where many of you will be waking up your summer bike from hibernation (that’s if you are lucky enough to have one), prying one from the indoor trainer, or thinking about giving the bike you rode through winter (and the colder, wetter bit of spring) a good clean. Before you head out for a sunny spin, here are a few important things to check to make sure your bike is in good working order.
Checking your bike over for wear is very important, not just for ensuring that your bike is running smoothly, but also to spot any issues before you could potentially have a dangerous mechanical failure.
This article from Road CC isn’t intended to cover everything that could possibly need adjusting or replacing. Rather, it will make some suggestions of key areas to check in order to stay safe and comfortable.
If you’re new to bike maintenance you might want to book your bike in for a service with a pro mechanic (click this link here from our Cycling Support Page) but here are some basic checks you can do yourself.
Clean it!
Giving your bike a deep clean is a good first step for checking over any bike, and will make it far easier to work on. Grab some degreaser and a brush and work it right into the chain, cassette, chainrings, pulley wheels and derailleurs. Then, clean the frame, wheels, tyres and brakes before rinsing.
Washing your bike won’t just get it looking fresh and ready for those summer miles, but allows you to see the components properly, offering a good opportunity for you to identify any potential faults before they develop into something more serious.
Chain, chainrings and cassette
Once your bike is clean, you can check it for signs of wear. Start by checking the chain, as it is typically the first component to wear and needs to be changed periodically to maintain the performance of your drivetrain. If you’re digging out a bike that hasn’t been ridden for a while, the chain is also the part most likely to have corroded.
Once a chain wears beyond a certain point, it will start causing excessive wear to the more expensive cassette and chainrings, so it’s better to replace the chain before ruining the more expensive parts. It’s important to note, though, that a new chain might not work well on worn chainrings or sprockets. If it skips when you ride (while your gears are correctly indexed), you’re going to need to change those too.
An easy way to check this is by looking at the teeth on the cassette and chainrings. If they look like shark fins, it’s a sign of wear, that may lead to sloppy shifting or a slipping chain.
You should also replace your chain if you spot any damage, such as a deformation or crack. Chains gradually lengthen as they wear, and an easy way to check if this has happened is to pull the chain away from the front chain chainring. If you can see daylight clearly between the chain and the chainring, it has likely lengthened too much and needs replacing (see picture below).
If your chain has corroded, you might be lucky and it might just need to be cleaned and re-lubed. However, if the rust has taken hold and/or the links don’t move freely after cleaning and lubing, fit a new chain.
Handlebars and bar tape
If your bike has been sat on the turbo over winter, changing your bar tape and checking aluminium bars for signs of corrosion is a must.
The amount of sweat that bar tape soaks up isn’t worth thinking about, and beyond the unpleasant smell that it gives off, there is a more important reason to change your tape regularly. The sweat held in the tape contains corrosive salts that can erode aluminium handlebars. Over time, this corrosion can cause the handlebars to break, which is not only more costly than replacing bar tape but also pretty dangerous, as the damage often remains hidden until it’s too late.
Brakes
You don’t need us to tell you that mixing it up with motor vehicles when your brakes aren’t at their best would be a bad idea.
Components giant Shimano recommends regularly checking if your front and rear brake are working correctly and listening for any abnormal noises before riding, regardless of whether your bike has been stored away for a while.
Disc brakes
The beauty of disc brakes is that they require very little maintenance. However, there are some tips to optimise their performance and ensure they keep working nicely.
If your brakes are squealing, the pads and rotors could be contaminated, either from cleaning the bike or residue picked up from riding, which can affect performance massively.
To clean the pads and rotors, you can use an oil-free degreaser, or a dedicated disc brake cleaner available on the market. Once clean, normal riding conditions should generate enough heat to bring the brakes back to the optimum working conditions.
“Cleaning your rotors or wheel rims regularly with a specific (oil-free) disc brake degreaser is a good way to avoid squealing brakes. Cleaning your pads too can help quieten things down – you can try some sandpaper or grinding the pads – but if the grease has soaked through the pad, you might need to replace them. Don’t use a degreaser or chemicals on brake pads, though,” says Shimano.
Brake pads wear out with use – that’s a fact of life – so check them as they will eventually need replacing. You often get a warning that disc brake pads have almost fully gone when the wire pad separator starts catching on the disc and makes a scratching noise.
Failing that, have a look to check there’s still meat on the backing plate. We’ve seen cases where people have gone through the pad, the plate and started braking on the piston, and you really don’t want to do that!
Brake discs, also known as rotors, don’t need replacing often but they will eventually wear down over time. Signs of worn disc rotors include deep grooves or visible scoring on the rotor’s surface. To check the thickness of your disc rotors you can use vernier callipers and different rotors will have different minimum thicknesses.
Rim brakes
Despite many making the switch to disc brakes, rim brake bikes are still widely used and this is a great time to check the rim brake tracks for wear.
As the brake pads bite the rim’s brake surface, wear will occur. Over time, the brake surface will become concave and at a point, the rim could become dangerous to ride. If you do find that the rim is heavily worn, then it might be time to seek some help from a bike shop who can advise you on the wheel’s safety. To check the rim wear, there are normally a number of small holes in the rim once these have worn down it’s time to change your wheel. (see picture below)
Rim brake pads often have a wear line that tells you when they need replacing. If not, Shimano’s advice is to check whether they have worn down to the grooves and swap for new ones if needed.
If a bike is ridden regularly the brake pads nearly always wear out long before the rubber has a chance to degrade. However, that might not be the case if the bike has been stored away for a while, so inspect the brake pads thoroughly. If you’re in any doubt about their condition, get some new ones.
Bearings
There are lots of different bearings on your bike that all need to run smoothly. For instance, your headset, bottom bracket, wheels and pedals all rely on properly functioning bearings.
The trouble is that bearings tend to corrode if your bike is left in the shed or garage for an extended period, or used on an indoor trainer. This can cause the bearings to feel rough at best, and at worst, lead to them seizing.
There are loads of different sorts of bearings and different ways of fitting them, making it difficult to cover them all here. So, our best advice would be to test the movement of every bearing to check that it’s spinning freely without any play (unwanted sideways movement). If you notice any resistance, roughness, or play, it may indicate that the bearing needs servicing or replacing.
If you have the experience and the right tools, open up the bearings and take a good look inside for any signs of corrosion. If you’re inexperienced, though, or you don’t have the correct tools, ask your local bike shop to do it for you.
For headset bearings in particular, if you’ve spent all winter in the shed smashing out the indoor miles, no matter how many towels you used, there’s a good chance that your upper headset bearing has been exposed to your sweat.
For an integrated headset, commonly found on most modern road bikes, follow these steps: remove the stem, drop the fork out, and take the upper bearing out of the frame. Wipe off the dirty grease, then pinch the inner and outer surfaces of the bearing cartridge between your thumb and forefinger, rolling it to check that the bearings inside are still turning smoothly. This is also a good opportunity to check for play before regreasing and reinserting the bearing cartridge.
If you’ve ridden outside a lot over the winter, the lower headset bearing will likely have taken a beating from corrosive surface water on the roads. Clean, inspect, and regrease it in the same manner as the upper headset bearing.
Tyres
Rubber, being a natural substance, is prone to degradation over time. If you’re pulling a bike out of the shed that hasn’t been used for a few years, check that your tyres haven’t perished. If you see lots of cracks in the rubber, it’s time to replace.
It’s good practice to check over your tyres looking for any cuts, cracks or bulges. Again, replace the tyre if you find anything significant.
Tyres can take a battering through the winter. Inspect the tread for signs of wear. Many road bike tyres feature built-in tread wear indicators, such as small holes or dimples. When these indicators disappear, it’s a clear signal that the tyre needs replacing. Additionally, if you notice any flat spots or bald patches where the tread is completely worn away, it’s time to fit new tyres.
If you run a tubeless set-up, it might be time to consider replacing the sealant. Typically, tubeless sealant needs replacing every 3-6 months. You can quickly assess whether it’s time for a change by giving your wheel a shake and listening for any sloshing or movement.
Gear cables and indexing
If your bike has been stored away for some time, particularly in damp conditions such as a shed or garage, the gear cables may have corroded, and both the inner and outer cables might require replacement to ensure smooth shifting. On the other hand, if your bike features electronic shifting this won’t be an issue, but make sure your batteries are charged.
Regardless of whether your bike has been stored in a shed, garage or sat on the turbo, your rear derailleur could have been knocked, meaning your gears will not shift as smoothly as they should. To address this, you can check out our guide for detailed instructions on how to get your gears shifting sweetly.
Article copied from Road CC