Lucid Chaotic

Just wondering if anyone had any tips for upkeep of bikes.

I've recently bought a mountain bike - now that I'm in a city where I can enjoy the outdoors more - river parkways... park trails and mountain tracks etc., I thought this would be a good way to get in shape.

Since I haven't really owned a bike since my teenage years, I'm wondering what are the main items that I should keep an eye on.

Also, I'm looking for suggestions for accessories etc. - I've already installed a bell, light , kick stand and water bottle cage.

If anyone's wondering, this is the bike I bought:

Trek Bikes | Bikes | Mountain Hardtail | 4300

Ask99

I have learned one thing with keeping bikes is not to leave them in the rain (the hard way though
But apart from that Usually a good thing is to check the tire pressure weekly as that really makes a difference for me.
It is recommended to lube the chains after couple of weeks, remove dirt from them if you ride a lot off road that is.
One another thing is to keep a watch for brakes. I dont know where you got the bike from , but a lot of times if its not from a bike store there can be problems in the way it is assembled. Sometimes the brakes are not tight enough..that happened to me but I requested that they make sure they were. I have recently gotten a bike with disc brakes..sure is a lot of difference for me.
Also if you 'd like you can get seats from any store like target and replace the existing one for more comfort.

ravage

a bike kit, which is basically a set of screw drivers for different parts of the cycle. thats useful for making minor adjustments yourself.

I think something that makes a huge difference is riding position. depending on how you intend to ride, there is an optimum position of the seat and the handle (whether you lean forward for speed or want to sit upright for a more laid back ride). Also the seat should be relatively high, so that your leg is almost fully extended when its most stretched (i.e. the pedal is in the lowest position).

also if ur offroading (or even on the road) its a good idea to invest in some mudflaps. and reflective clothing if you're cycling at night

This seems like a good guide for the positioning of the seat and also how big your cycle in terms of frame size should ideally be

http://www.totalbike.com/service/frame_size.php

ahmadjee

If you are riding more than 5~6 miles in a day, buy bike shorts. Your behind will thank you bunch.

Tune the bike often, mainly it means the brakes are working fine and that when you change gears it's not making noise.

Oil the chain once in a while.

ravage

ajee what do bike shorts do? i bike about 8-12 miles a day aur my behind isnt complaining.

ahmadjee

Ravi jee, do you ride a comfort/commuter bike?

Most road/mountain bikes have hard narrow seats, the bike shorts have gel paddings which makes riding long distances bearable/easy/fun.

ravage

ah yes

i have a hybrid, but i replaced the seat with a gel one after the earlier one took liberties with my behind

ahmadjee

They also claim that the bike shorts keep the thigh muscles tight, which supposedly help against pulled muscle. But I think they just want people to wear skin tight shorts cos they look $eXi *toba toba*

Lucid Chaotic

Thanks for that website ravage... some useful info there.

Thanks for the tip about bike shorts AJ...

One of the first things I noticed was the saddle uncomfort and I got it replaced with a gel one.


I got a question regarding the Quick-Release mechanism... how durable is it? I mean if I'm removing and installing the front wheel often - does it affect the spring loading mechanism? etc.

What do you guys use for locks? if I get two Kryptonite coil locks - one for front and one for back... how is that? I tried the Kryptonite hard frame lock but find it too time-consuming to take the front wheel off and use the lock around both wheels and the bike stand. Any tips?

Thanks guys.

ravage

i've stopped relying on locks, the cycle park in my uni has a number of the strongest locks left as apparent souvenirs on the cycle railings. if the thieves cant break the lock, they'll break the railing. all an expensive lock does is tip off the thief onto a bike worth his time.

i think a much more effective approach is to keep the cycle looking ugly and go with a couple of basic locks.

ahmadjee

^ I totally agree.

Mine is a quick release but I have never used it because my bike rack is in the back of the car, not the front and it's not that expensive for me to bother taking it off when parking it somewhere.