1275 miles is too long for routine maintenance. I usually ride 200-350 miles between maintenance work, to keep the bike looking nice and inspect common things for damage/wear. This is especially important for fendered bikes, as it’s difficult to inspect the tires on those,
My maintenance routine: 1. Remove front wheel and put bike on Euro-style stand. 2. Remove rear wheel and put on idler pulley like this <https://www.abbeybiketools.com/collections/tools/products/wash-buddy-1>. 3. Cover leather saddles with plastic bag if necessary. 4. Degrease chain with a strong degreaser like this <https://www.walmart.com/ip/Purple-Power-Degreaser-Concentrate-2-5-Gallons/16778257> and a chain cleaner like this <http://www.finishlineusa.com/products/cleaning-tools/pro-chain-cleaner>. 5. Repeat as necessary (if you wash regularly, you won’t get caked on grease). 6. Use degreaser and old toothbrush to scrub chainrings, cassette, and brake pads. 7. Rinse thoroughly. 8. Make up pail of car wash shampoo and use that to clean entire bike, top to bottom, including wheels. Use brushes and sponges as appropriate. To save time, you can use those wash-n-wax car shampoos. 9. Rinse thoroughly. 10. Dry bike with microfiber towels, and dry chain with shop towels. 11. During drying, inspect components (including tires) for wear, or damage. Actuate brakes, and shifting to feel for correct response. Grab and twist derailleurs, brakes, cockpit, saddle, and crank to see if there’s any unexpected play. Rotate wheel axles and freehub with fingers to check for smoothness and play (a little is expected for cup-and-cone hubs that I prefer). 12. Lubricate chain (yes, I drip oil on individual links), other moving parts and pivots as necessary. Modern cables do not need to be lubricated. 13. Put rear wheel back on. Rotate crank and inspect/adjust shifting. Also inspect/adjust rear brakes. 14. Remove bike from stand and put front wheel back on. Spin in air to inspect/adjust front brakes. 15. Go for quick test ride down the block to ensure everything is good. I have my process set up, and I’m practiced (originating from being the shop monkey years ago), so these steps combined don’t take more than an unhurried hour, including setup and takedown. If I have two bikes in rotation and clean them together, it’s even less time per bike. Given my average speed of between 13-15 mph, it’s about an hour of maintenance for every 20 hours of riding. This routine ensures my bikes are almost always clean and nice looking, and *quiet*. People often comment on my “new” retro bikes, when they’re usually more than 10 years old. Chain life also appears to benefit, as I barely use up chains, even when they tick over 6,000 miles. On Saturday, November 14, 2020 at 3:12:21 PM UTC-8 aeroperf wrote: > > > It’s that time. > > I got my Sam in 2015, and as of yesterday I have put 5000 miles on it. > I’ve also made my yearly 1275 mile goal, so it is time to take it down for > real maintenance. > I’m starting this thread for advice/discussion about what “real > maintenance” means. > > Every year I thoroughly wash and wax the bike frame. I clean and degrease > the chain, chainrings, and cassette, and rotate the tires. > I put Phil Tenacious oil on the derailleur mechs, RocRide All-Purpose on > the chain (twice a year for this), and replace any batteries like the 2032 > in my computer. I check the brake pads (I’ve had to replace a set once), > make sure the headset doesn’t have any play, check all bolts, adjust the > cables, and… that’s it. > > The bottom bracket and front and rear hubs are sealed units and not making > any noises. The chain checker says the chain is less than half stretched. > Bar end shifting (friction front, index rear) seems to work just fine. I > don’t really stress my Sam. > > My thoughts are: tear it down, have the LBS check the wheels for true, > replace the tires and tubes, and lube the cables with Finish Line Dry. > Then put it all back together after inspecting and lubricating the parts as > normal, and ride on. > > What am I missing? Does anyone have a different maintenance for that kind > of mileage? I’ve got a tool set used to build up four frames, so I’m not > worried about tearing everything apart if it is warranted. But I’m > curious. What do you do? > > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/2cf2bbec-2419-4782-af52-1c363461b110n%40googlegroups.com.
