We all love #newbikeday when everything works so brilliantly smooth and quiet. The excitement to jump aboard that fresh steed is so nice for the first 500-1000 miles. After that, some routine bike maintenance to keep that new bike feel is required to keep the gremlins away.
There are some easy ways to revive bikes that are starting to feel tired. For me, most of these things would need to be done twice per year. Since I have two bikes + demos, I can get by with some of these items being done only once per year.
New Bike Feel Maintenance:
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General bolt/pivot and headset bearing regrease are super important. In case you are wondering why your bike sounds like a rocking chair convention – dried, oxidized or rusty surfaces are likely the issue!
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Suspension service – lower oil service and air sleeve service. Refer to your suspension manufacture here for suggested maintenance. Most forks and shocks need at minimum a lower oil service between 500 and 1,000 miles. I’ve opened forks and shocks with barely 500 miles that had ZERO oil in them. Here’s a basic how to I did: https://crankjoy.com/why-you-need-to-service-your-suspension/
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Tires – Not many tires these days last much longer than 1,000 miles without starting to let loose all over the place in the corners. Personal favorites right now are 2.4″ Maxxis Ardents – Not too XC, roll fast enough and long lasting!
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If your chain has more than 1000 miles, its likely time to check the wear (stretch). Be sure to replace BEFORE it wears too much into the cassette and chainring. Then you may have to replace those as well as your chain which is much more $$$.
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Grips – Not really a maintenance issue , but this is perhaps one of the easiest ways to spice things up and add some bright color and increase comfort. My personal favorites at the moment are Ergon GE1’s. Only one bar clamp on these for super easy installation.
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New brake pads – I’ve found that SRAM pads wear out pretty dang quick if you’re in the mountains and on them hard. Shimano pads seem to last a good amount longer. When your brakes are starting to feel mushy and the lever is pulling close to the bar its probably time. If they starting squelling and feel as though they are packed full of sand, its probably past time!
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Derailleur/dropper cable and housing – I recently recabled my Ripley even though things seemed to be good and was shocked to find one cable rusting/oxidizing and the derailleur cable.
These things are not as hard as you might think to take care of.
Your local shop can easily give advice on product and service items. I advise trying to tackle some (if not all) of these things on your own. Many are basic things you should know for when things go really wrong and you don’t have someone to lean on. Even the suspension service is much easier than you may think. Have fun enjoying that new bike day feeling while extending the usable life of your bike.
