Top 10 Road Bike Maintenance Tips You Should Know!

Wouldn't you like to keep your road bike in great shape? Just like our bodies, a road bike needs a similar level of maintenance to stay fit and perform better. Riding your road bike comfortably, safely, efficiently to all places and enjoying it in the process is the will give you the best riding experience.

Knowing the best maintenance tips is key to keeping your road bike for a very long time, save you money and time as well. Therefore, in order to achieve the best riding, we have compiled for you some of the best maintenance tips that will save you big time even from a broken chain in the middle of nowhere.

Road Bike Maintenance Tips You Should Know

Parts Of A Road Bike:

Let's first look at the basic bicycle parts for a better view of your road bike. This will help you know what to repair and maintain when they get small issues.

  • Handlebars- This is basically the bicycles' steering wheel. It is useful for maintaining balance and control on the road.
  • Pedal and toe clips. Hitched to the crank of the bicycle which the cyclist turns round to power the bicycle. Toe clips attached to the pedal keep the front feet from slipping.
  • The front derailleur is a device for shifting the front gears by raising the chain from one wheel to the other. Enabling you to adapt to various terrains.
  • Drive chain is a chain link which conveys pedaling motion to the rear wheel.
  • Chainstay is a frame linking the rear chain locus to the pedal system.
  • Rim is the circular metal where the wheel is framed.
  • The tire is a structure coated with rubber where the inner tube is placed.
  • The hub is located at the center of the wheel where spokes are attached and enable your wheel to go round.
  • The stem is the adjustable part connected to handlebars.
  • The crossbar joins the seat tube to the front tube for stability.
  • Brake mechanism consists of both the front and rear brakes. When applied it pushes the pair of brakes to the side of the rim to stop motion.
  • The brake lever located on the handlebars activates the caliper through a cable.
  • The reflector reflects light back to detect a cyclist ahead.
  • The generator is connected to the rear wheel producing electric energy to power the headlights and rear lights.
  • Seat stay and post-This is a frame joining the rear hub to the seat hub while the seat post is a component attached to the seat to help adjust seat height.

Now Here Are The Best 10 Road Bike Maintenance Tips For You

1. Keep Your Road Bike Clean And Lubricated:

After a muddy or dusty ride, clean your bicycle just as you clean your car. Do a thorough clean up and let it dry before lubrication. Put only a few drops of bike oil. Use your hand to rotate the pedals to sink the lube. Rub off any excess lube with a cloth.

Some of us like to lubricate just before the ride but this will attract dust which causes difficulties when shifting. Therefore, in order to keep all your bike's parts fit it’s essential to do this to get you ready for your next ride.

 2. Inspect The Tires:

Before you take that ride, take your time to check the condition of the tires. Check for any damages on the rubber that may be caused by wear and tear and ensure there's enough pressure on both. This will save you a lot of time and energy fixing flat tires. Remember to carry a pump and patch kit to fix punctures.

3. Ensure The Tire Is Fitted Correctly On The Rim:

Ensure there are no stones, thorns, pieces of glass on the thread. These are usually picked up during rides and easily cause punctures. A thorough check of both tires before a ride is very important.

4. Check Brakes & Tighten Bolts, Nuts, And Screws:

Squeeze the brake levers gently to feel their tension. If they feel loose tighten them or replace with new ones. The brake pads wear out after some time of use.

If the brakes become sluggish and you have to pull them more than halfway towards the handlebars, it’s time to tighten them. The easiest way to do it is by freeing the brake cable, pull to tighten the cable and close the nut tight.

Check the tension on the brake cables. If it doesn't feel safe, please adjust it. As you are well aware the brakes are a crucial part of that safe ride that will help you stop the bike when is moving fast and will ensure your wheels are not ruined. 

Don't risk your bike falling out. Before you go out on a ride with your friends, make sure all the nuts, screws and bolts are intact and are not losing at all. Tighten loose screws and nuts and replace lost ones. This will give you confidence while riding your bike as you are sure nothing will spoil your ride.

5. Silence Squeaking Sounds:

Modern bikes are made in a way that it's hard to track down the creaking sounds easily. Most of these sounds come from the chainrings and the spider. Check for the source and fix immediately.

Some of the new levers are amassed with no grease and this gives rise to issues. For creaking sounds on the pedals, thoroughly clean the pedals before greasing.

The headsets bearings easily get spoiled by sweat from the biker on a hot day that corrodes with the parts. Dismantle the stem and remove the fork from the frame. Check for damages or stress close to the bearing holders and clamps.

For squeaking pivots, remove the shafts and clean them. After greasing the metal spacers you can reinstall them back. Inspect the bearings for wear and tear.

If it's hard to detect creaks coming from the rear side, look for a grease gun with a long tip and inject oil into the small hole on the pulley cage. There's no need to disassemble in this case.

If creaks come from the front of the bike, the sleeve retainer could have slipped so make sure to check with your technician.

Read Our Most Popular Road Bike Reviews Here:

6. Get Your Bike Serviced Regularly:

Bike experts at the service center are able to inspect and advise you accordingly on basic maintenance, minor adjustments required on your bike and can tell when it's time to replace the bike chain. Take the bike for general service often. They will diagnose and have it fixed accordingly.

7. Keep The Bike Dry:

After a rainy day, the bicycle needs to be cleaned and dried properly. Water on the drivetrain and rear derailleur do more harm than good. If left for some time rusting starts to occur. It might be cheap purchasing a new chain but the inconvenience it will cause is much. Imagine your chain breaking down in the middle of your road trip. As they say “prevention is better than cure".

8. Avoid Contact With The Brake Pads:

Your hands produce oil that's necessary to keep them from drying. However, this oil is dangerous to the brake pads. It makes them slippery thus reducing the braking power. Never touch the pads with your hands and in case you do, use sandpaper to polish and remove the oil to ensure that the brake pads are totally free from any oils.

9. Store The Bike Upright:

When storing your bike, ensure the handlebars are parallel to the floor while it's not in use. Instead of leaning the bike on a wall which by the way is very risky to your bike as the derailleur part will have a lot of stress put on it causing a misalignment.

This will cost you a lot to have it repaired by a professional. Therefore, try keeping your bike standing upright when not in use. You can best do this by getting a bike stand to hold it firmly upright.

10. Immediately Touch Up Scratches:

The good news is some manufacturers sell touch up paint that could help you easily touch up those scratches. A simple small scratch can end up becoming bigger once you keep ignoring them.

These once they are big cause rusting to your bike which could harm the sturdiness of your frame. Black or white bikes can easily rhyme with car touch up paint perfectly. If it isn't a standard color bike, then you can use nail polish which can also prevent the scratches from becoming bigger.

Conclusion:

They are that simple and you don't have to be a professional to do any of them. Perfect the efficiency and health of your bike with these easy tips that won't take up much of time. Take a little of your time to make a few improvements and you won't have to go through hassles later.

We hope our easy maintenance tips will help you overcome those small challenges that you have always encountered while riding your bike. Don't spend a lot when you can do it yourself. So go out there ride your bike with total confidence and ride safely.

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