Mountain Bike Uk
Mountain Bike Maintenance – Tips to get you Started
If you own a mountain bike it’s a huge help to perform your own mountain bike maintenance as it will cost you less and improve your enjoyment of riding.
If you know you can repair your bike when you have a breakdown you’ll feel more confident riding further for longer, on more remote trails, but you’ll be less likely to have a breakdwon anyway if you’ve maintained your bike well.
Doing your own mountain bike maintenance rather than getting a mechanic to do it will cost you less money and parts of the bike will last longer and won’t have to be replaced so often.
The first thing to think about if you’re planning on doing your own maintenance is the right basic tools. Over time you’ll probably get more specialist tools as you’ll learn more about your bike and it’s parts.
You should also carry a tool kit with you when you ride and you can get complete basic tool kits to carry with you that are more compact than the regular tools you might use at home. Remember to test all your tools prior to relying on them out on a trail.
Before you think about tools there is a basic maintenance issue that you can carry out without tools, which is keeping your bike clean by regularly cleaning it.
Make sure you get into the habit of cleaning your bike every time you ride, either using a bucket of hot water and soap or a wet cloth. Be sure to rinse it off afterwards or wipe it down with a wet cloth as this will prevent dirt getting into places it shouldn’t get into, and help to maintain all the parts!
The next step in basic mountain bike maintenance is lubricating the chain now and then. This is essential to keep it functioning properly and there are lots of good lubricants available, including some self-cleaning ones. If you need to apply lubricant to the chain, do it the night before you ride and not just beforehand so that it has chance to work into the chain properly.
Another important but basic item to check is the air pressure in the tyres, which portects them and gives you a better, more confortable ride. As part of your maintenance routine you should also change the tyres occasionally and be sure you know how to repair a puncture.
The next things to remember to check regularly are brake and gear cables as they stretch and become less effective over time. They should also be replaced every 6 months or so, depending on how often you ride.
Another important maintenance task and safety issue is checking your brake pads regularly as they can wear out quickly. Check the position of the brake pads against the wheel rims, which should rest squarely on the rim when the brakes are on. When not applied they should be well clear of the sidewall of the tyre.
Lastly look at all the nuts and bolts on your mountain bike as part of your maintenance routine and use an Allen key or a spanner to tighten any loose ones.
Remember breakdowns will always happen, even to the best riders and the most expensive bikes, it’s just the nature of the activity, but it’s better to be prepared and be able to deal with incidents or prevent them where possible with good maintenance.
Be pro-active in your approach to mountain bike maintenance and look after your bike. Maintenance is better and usually cheaper than repair, and with some knowledge you can push yourself to ride harder for longer and go further.
Downhill Mountain Bike UK Surrey
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