Bike servicing

[jonnow]

I was wondering... My bike is about 5/6 months old, and i haven't been able to ride much. When should i service my bike? Should I service it now before I start training again?

[WillemT]

If there's no problems just see that there's some lube on the chain and go ride.

Road or MTB? If there's no wear on the parts there's really no need to service it, just have a good look and see that everything is still working well. You'll maybe have to fine tune gears and so on but that's all stuff you can do yourself...

[Johan Bornman]

At least give it a good look-over. Take off the wheels, spin them in your hands and feel if the bearings rumble, indicating they're dry.

 

Then wash the bike, looking at brakes, BB headset etc. See if all bearings are still moving smootly, if the brakes don't feel gritty and the pedals move smoothly.

 

Then lube the chain and go for a ride. If your gears were OK 6 months ago, they'll be OK now, since there's nothing Father Time can do to make them go out.

 

There's nothing like a ride to  bring out any obvious flaws that need attention.

 

[jonnow]

night tider: It is a road bike..

 

Johan Bornman: I know almost nothing about servicing my bike. I'm still new to cycling and bicycles. Any recommendations for any books/ manuals that i can use?

 

 

[Minion]

The Park Big Blue Book of Bicycle Repair is quite useful for reference. If you don't feel like buying the book, most of its contents are included in the repair section of the Park website:

http://www.parktool.com/repair/

 

The late Sheldon Brown's website is also a very useful technical reference:

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/

 

I agree with Johan that if the bike's been standing for six months, then the only things that really need checking are things where the lubrication may have deteriorated over time or wear dirt could have settled.

 

If you're not up to doing this yourself, I'm sure most bike shops are prepared to offer a discount rate for a simple wash and lube.