Bike maintenance?

[Masamune]

Hey all,

So I've had a Giant Cypress DX for some time now (2+ years) that I use to ride to/from work. It's a scant 4 blocks each way which is all road/sidewalk and I do my best to avoid sprinklers. On my way back to work today, I started wondering what maintenance I should be looking out for. I mean I've never greased the chain or anything like that. But at the same time my bike has never, ever been stored outdoors in the rain. So how about it bike afficianados, what should I be doing to maintain my bike for a long, healthy life?

***EDIT***

Forgot to mention the bike came with disc brakes for whatever reason. It was on sale, that's why I got that particular one.

[ChIoVnIdCa]

Hey all,

So I've had a Giant Cypress DX for some time now (2+ years) that I use to ride to/from work. It's a scant 4 blocks each way which is all road/sidewalk and I do my best to avoid sprinklers. On my way back to work today, I started wondering what maintenance I should be looking out for. I mean I've never greased the chain or anything like that. But at the same time my bike has never, ever been stored outdoors in the rain. So how about it bike afficianados, what should I be doing to maintain my bike for a long, healthy life?

***EDIT***

Forgot to mention the bike came with disc brakes for whatever reason. It was on sale, that's why I got that particular one.

lube the chain... Check for play in bearings(hubs,headtube,bb) Adjust if needed....

[1990accordex-r]

Tighten anything that is a bolt, Grease the chain (Important) , If the brake pads are worn replace em, Check to see if all gears shift properly and if they don't replace the cable and tune the deraileur, and make sure the fork (Suspension) Seals aren't leaking. Check all Bearings etc. in hubs,headset and bottom bracket. Lastly make sure all spokes are nice and tight and both wheels are true (not bent or warped.) This is basically all the inspections and maintenance I do to all my bikes, And you should grease the chain and deraileur more often!

[scudweiser]

use a high quality lube on the chain, something like finish line white lightning if you're in a dry environment (dry wax lube). you might want to get your brake and derailleur cables adjusted as they stretch over time. i'm assuming it has mechanical not hydraulic discs?
keep air in the tires, if youre not beating on it off road theres very little that will fail/ wear out.

buy the book "zinn and the art of mountain bike maintenance". get the most current edition, i have a copy from like 1998 and its mostly outdated.

[Masamune]

Tighten anything that is a bolt, Grease the chain (Important) , If the brake pads are worn replace em, Check to see if all gears shift properly and if they don't replace the cable and tune the deraileur, and make sure the fork (Suspension) Seals aren't leaking. Check all Bearings etc. in hubs,headset and bottom bracket. Lastly make sure all spokes are nice and tight and both wheels are true (not bent or warped.) This is basically all the inspections and maintenance I do to all my bikes, And you should grease the chain and deraileur more often!

I figured I should be greasing the chain and all that What type of grease should I use? Would regular engine grease work or something special? (Nevermind, just read the post above me)

Also, in a hope to spearhead further questions, do you guys have any forums you could recommend that would contain all this? I tried google, all I got was a bunch of old websites trying to sell me stuff.

[rave93]

try pinkbike!
my favourite website other than cb7tuner
also bout the lubes, i use a dry lube. You should consider the amount of usage and type of terrain your riding in when choosing your lube. If your mostly on pavement and never in dirt (or rain) i suggest any type of thick greasy lube. For me, since i go down weekly, and my bike gets thorougly washed each week, my dry lube works perfect for me. Stays on for the ride, comes of easy with simple green and when im ready to go again i just squeeze some on before i go

also regarding gear changing, you might just need to tighten your cables the go to the dérailleur or do some fine tuning with it.
Just curious, are your disk breaks cable? or hydraulic? cause you could bleed them and change the oil if hydraulic!

[Masamune]

Ah, you're the second person to ask and I forgot to say beforehand, they are mechanical brakes. No fluid anywhere

[1990accordex-r]

try pinkbike!
my favourite website other than cb7tuner
also bout the lubes, i use a dry lube. You should consider the amount of usage and type of terrain your riding in when choosing your lube. If your mostly on pavement and never in dirt (or rain) i suggest any type of thick greasy lube. For me, since i go down weekly, and my bike gets thorougly washed each week, my dry lube works perfect for me. Stays on for the ride, comes of easy with simple green and when im ready to go again i just squeeze some on before i go

also regarding gear changing, you might just need to tighten your cables the go to the dérailleur or do some fine tuning with it.
Just curious, are your disk breaks cable? or hydraulic? cause you could bleed them and change the oil if hydraulic!

Yeah Pinkbike is the biggest biking forum on the interwebz ! Search around for bike maintenence videos, and if you need a part there is a huge buy/sell part of the website.


btw add me on there I'm JdmCb7

[Geist Zero]

Quick question for you guys. What would cause the teeth on my main sprocket to be chipping/wearing down? I'm a largish guy (235 lbs.), but I didn't think I hurt it that much. I don't do trails anymore. Just paved paths. Bike's from about 2000, but has has the main sprocket set replaced once before. (Came down on a log and bent the original.)

[RagingAsian]

Jesus, I thought this was a Accord=Inspire thread.

[Masamune]

Jesus, I thought this was a Accord=Inspire thread.

Nah, title would've had 'homes' in it somewhere...