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How much maintenance do you do?

MDJ

Monkey
Dec 15, 2005
669
0
San Jose, CA
So a while ago there was a thread where a guy said that he checks his pivots, spokes, and rotor bolts (!!) for proper tightness before every ride. I was amazed and responded that I'm lucky if I check my tires and lube my chain once a month. Someone else was horrified that I don't do more.

So...how much maintenance do you perform on your bikes? I'm not talking racing, just normal maintenance?

I was serious when I said that I'm lucky if I check tire pressure and lube the chain once a month. My philosophy is to do it right the first time and you won't have a problem and need to re-torque all of you bolts every ride. Rotor bolts??? Come on. I've been riding disk brakes since Mountain Cycles first had them and I've never had a rotor bolt come loose. Sure, I know I need to do more (my Boxxer spewed oil all summer and I never changed the seals), but even being 200 lbs, I rarely break anything or have mechanical problems. I rarely even flat.

It seems to me that the people that are constantly doing maintenance are the ones that always have problems. I ride with a guy that stops mid-ride, every ride to adjust his handlebars. WTF? Just set it once and be done already. I think people tend to over-troque bolts when then check them, which results in an endless bolt-ckecking cycle.
 

NY_Star

Turbo Monkey
I do just about the same as you. But since i have a crappy Manapoo stance i need to rebuilt it almost monthly. I think if it is not broken then don't fix it. I will oil my chain and stuff like that but i don't tear my bike down and put it back together for fun
 

MTBracer

Monkey
Nov 19, 2007
192
0
Massachusetts
eh...For my pitifully small amount of riding, I check my chain to see that it's oiled and I check the tires too. I do that every ride. every so often when I'm really bored I'll go over the whole bike and just jiggle things around to see if they're loose. If they're loose, I tighten it. If not, I leave it alone. Other than that, if i notice something wrong while riding, I'll obviously correct that ASAP.
 

ZHendo

Turbo Monkey
Oct 29, 2006
1,661
147
PNW
i don't usually flat often and i too have never had a rotor come loose, but i find myself doing maintenance relatively often. it's usually just little things, creaks and such. my old magura louise FRs were nothing but trouble, so i was doing battle with my brakes at least once every 2 weeks. my fork has been a pain too, i finally got it rebuilt and it's riding well, but it doesn't seem to ride well for very long (i bet you'll never guess the company). my cranks are being a bit of a pain as one of the bearings seized awhile ago, but i didn't want to replace the bba so i spent a couple days getting that thing back into fully working order. there are just little creaks that i can't stand and as soon as i find one i fix it. another part of it could be that i ride 3 bikes on a regular basis, so i'm usually doing some sort of work on one of them. i don't like it though, i have sort of learned what companies seem to produce parts that are less prone to maintenance so hopefully i can save a little and start replacing a couple things.
 

ronan

Monkey
Dec 7, 2007
786
0
Toulouse, France
before every ride i check my tires are pumped up, obviously wash it if its dirty, but during the season I dont do anything unless I feel something wrong

Mid season i strip the frame, relube and make sure everythings right and put it back together till the end of the season, do the same again and thats about it
 

buildyourown

Turbo Monkey
Feb 9, 2004
4,832
0
South Seattle
For a regular trail bike, I don't do anything other than wash and lube.

DH bikes on the other hand, require a full tear down after every weekend worth of riding. There is nothing worse that traveling with your bike and spending money on transport and lodging only to have something fail because a pivot was dry or a bolt came loose.

So yeah, I guess I do a lot of maintenance. A Whistler weekend is an insane amount of wear on a bike. 4 days worth of riding and you need new fork oil.
 

ronan

Monkey
Dec 7, 2007
786
0
Toulouse, France
For a regular trail bike, I don't do anything other than wash and lube.

DH bikes on the other hand, require a full tear down after every weekend worth of riding. There is nothing worse that traveling with your bike and spending money on transport and lodging only to have something fail because a pivot was dry or a bolt came loose.

So yeah, I guess I do a lot of maintenance. A Whistler weekend is an insane amount of wear on a bike. 4 days worth of riding and you need new fork oil.
What do you do to your bike :confused:
 

pinkshirtphotos

site moron
Jul 5, 2006
4,827
521
Vernon, NJ
last summer i rode diablo nearly every day till i got banned (search threads if you want to know) but anywho i rode a sunday wc and rode almost every day in all conditions and just lubed the chain and hosed off the drivetrain..... once aweek i hit it with simple green thats about it.
 
depends on how hard my riding has been... my cheeta used to need a good working once a week- spoke tension, tire pressure, brake alignment, etc.
now on my Rotec, everything works together worlds more, so it doesnt need that kind of work very often, but i do check the tightness of my pivots, lube them, re-center my derailleur, lube the chain, tighten my crank bolts, etc. after a few decent rides...

its just something to do for me when i'm sitting around in my garage rattling things off the wall with Opeth on a 20" sub...:busted:
 

Enduro

Monkey
Jul 3, 2002
159
0
A country with no mountains
Is it important to lube your stanchions and rear shock shaft with stanchion lube every once in a while?

I do this before every ride, along with pumping my tires and lubing my chain, but I was wondering whether this is generally deemed necessary.
 

VolcanicOne

Chimp
Dec 1, 2007
10
0
A couple years ago I became certified as a bike mechanic for my dept. Since I actually learned how to properly maintain my bike, I found myself doing a lot more than I used to. I enjoy working on my bike kind of like car guys like to work on their cars, I guess. That said, I usually completely break it down only twice a year. Once over the winter and once after the 24 hr race that my brother and I do. Other than that, I clean and lube the chain after every ride, check the tire pressure before every ride and tweek the shifting and braking as needed.
 

Racerx7734

Monkey
Mar 4, 2002
616
0
Hostile Sausage
I am always checking and cleaning my bikes............but for me, it really is a chance to get away.........and relaxe.......I love my bikes...........and I love how they ride when I take care of them..........I check all the bolts, pivots, chain, spoke tension, all that stuff........I can honestly say that it's almost as fun building them and maintaining them as it riding them......in my opinion.
 
The thing about always tightening your bolts is that if you dont loosen them a bit then retighten them is you end up over tightening them. If you tighten your bolts every ride, one ride per week for two months, that turns into an extra full turn on the bolt and can be overtorqued and cause some problems
 

dexter

Turbo Monkey
Sep 23, 2001
3,053
99
Boise, Idaho
when i used to race i would tear my bike down after every race/weekend to the bare bolts and parts and re build everything. now i just check ever once in a while to make sure ****s legit and roll. in whistler this summer i did it whenever it was raining outside and i was board and not at the airdome
 

RMboy

Monkey
Dec 1, 2006
879
0
England the Great...
i found the more work i did on i, he more stuff i broke, as in i was trying to make it to perfect...lol (or heavy handed)

So i keep it low now, but chain is checked before each ride and tires...winter it sees abit more maintenance as it gets so much mud on it over here
 

JRogers

talks too much
Mar 19, 2002
3,785
1
Claremont, CA
I pretty much only do what I have to. Lube the chain and check tire pressure before DH rides. Tighten spokes/true wheels if they get wobbly or mad loose. Change fork oil maybe 2x a season. Tune shifting if it's off. I probably end up tearing the whole thing down maybe once or twice in a season to check the pivots/bearings. Bearings/bushings changed maybe once a season, but only if they're worn. Cables changed once or twice a season. I do tighten up the pivot bolts every now and then, as they come loose sometimes.

I actually have had rotor bolts come loose on me once. I felt something knocking around and figured it was the caliper bolts coming loose. Slowed up and checked it- all of the bolts had backed out a bit (yikes!).

I do more work on my DH bike than any other (road/cx, trail and ss hardtail). I'm not a huge fan of maintenance and, to be honest, I'm not very good at it.
 

ridiculous

Turbo Monkey
Jan 18, 2005
2,907
1
MD / NoVA
Before a ride I normally check all pressures, and literally just make sure everything works. Run the bike through all the gears and make sure brakes work. If all is good I ride. When something goes wrong, I fix it then. I share the same mentality of the first poster, "Install it right the first time and you shouldnt have to worry." Though i do double check everything during a bike wash after a ride to be sure.
 

vtminuteman

Monkey
Nov 29, 2004
166
0
Sharon VT
I don't check bolts each ride, I use medium loctite and proper torque the first time. I like to rebuild my fork(06 boxxer team), once a month(if riding it two lift days a week). Do Marzocchi 888's require less rebuilds to stay feeling good? Include how much you ride between rebuilds.
 
Dec 11, 2007
43
0
ha! u crazy mang... must not be riding at a very high level then if u dont check tire pressure or lube your chain.

i whipe off and lube my chain before everyride (everyday) i then clean my seals and fork fixtion if needed. At the end of the week i'll throw the bike on the stand and i'll degrease and re lub the chain. I'll fixtion the forks seals, check shifting and make it perfect, and whipe down rotors. Then every month... i'll completely take the bike apart including headset, bottom bracket and then i'll regrease the frame and clean. make sure everythings clean and proper. i perfect riding bike everytime is very nice. If it rains while im out i'll i'll degrease drivetrain and lube... and i will also overhaul the bike that day or withing the next couple days.
 

DirtyMike

Turbo Fluffer
Aug 8, 2005
14,437
1,017
My own world inside my head
Check tire pressure EVRY ride, Check chain stretch after every ride, lube chain as needed. Check the bolts and pivots about once a month, check brakes about once a month, Oh, and there isnt a bolt on my bike that wasnt tightened with a torque wrench, Including the bearing cups on the BB, and pedals. Oh, and I stick a tension meter on the spokes about once a month also, jus to make sure. Complete tear down about once a year, or more if something feels wrong. Replace cables as needed, bleed the brakes twice a year. Overhaul the fork as needed.
 

TomBo

Monkey
Jan 13, 2004
300
0
Calgary,Alberta
Tire pressure, quick check spokes, lube, knock off the heavy dirt, every ride.

Check pivot, dropouts, spokes, shock psi, brake bolts / pads, every so often. Say once a month.

Replace / adjust: bearings pivot / hubs / BB, drive, headset, rims, fork seals, bleed brakes, cable. As I notice it.

Loctight and proper torque are key.
 

kuksul08

Monkey
Jun 4, 2007
240
0
Every ride I do the following:

-Check the pivots (VPP) for creaking
-Clean off chain and re-lube
-Check brake functionality and rotor tightness
-Air pressure in SPV chamber
-Tire Pressure
-Wheel Trueness

and then a quick once over looking for cracks or anything loose...
 

- seb

Turbo Monkey
Apr 10, 2002
2,924
1
UK
Fork & shock service once a year - chain lubed (but not cleaned) every couple of months maybe, often after I've jetwashed it (twice a year tops) and left it to rust all week :-)

Other than that, nothing. I put a new shifter on my DH bike last week and I think it was the first time I'd done anything mechanical to the bike for a year or so! I just leave it until things break, which seems to be incredible infrequent these days!!

That said, first race of the season next week, might strip it down this week and rebuild the eccentric etc (DHi)
 

MDJ

Monkey
Dec 15, 2005
669
0
San Jose, CA
I guess I should make one point of clarification. Living in CA has made me lazy since my bikes rarely see water and mud. I did a lot more maintenance when I lived in a wet and sandy locale.

Racing and excessive Northstar runs will increase my maintenance frequency.
 

William42

fork ways
Jul 31, 2007
3,908
634
heres a question: how many of you are currently working at a shop, and how much maintence do you do on your own bike? Once I finish a day of working on other peoples bikes, the last thing I want to do is touch my bike. If I hear or feel anything odd, I'll figure out whats going on, i'll lube the chain every/every other day of riding or so (using a light lube), but thats about it. I haven't checked my tire pressure once since I went tubeless other then to grab it and make sure theres still enough air in there to not ding my wheels.

I'm a huge fan of doing everything right the first time, and i'm also a huge fan of not having to ever touch my own bike. The last thing I want to be doing is fixing a bike when I feel like its ride time. Any other mechs feel this way (and not people who used to work at a shop - i imagine when I don't any longer, i'll pay alot more attention to my bike).
 

J

Monkey
Dec 7, 2003
437
0
San Luis Obispo, CA
Its a great idea to check limit screws, they seem to move themselves on my X9 all the time. Of course I only smash the chain into the spokes when I begin a pedal out from a long ride. I try to check them more often now after learning the hard way.

I regularly lube my chains and check tire pressure but unless something else is clacked out, I don't touch it.