Questions tagged [maintenance]
Tools, parts, techniques, and procedures to keep your bike in working order. MAINTENANCE is not the same as REPAIR, a separate tag. Maintenance is what one does on a regular basis. Repair is what one does only when something is broken.
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How to clamp an e-bike on a repair stand?
When doing maintenance on a bike, it's common in tutorials that the bike is clamped to the seat post, and not the top tube. I understood that the reason is top tube may not be designed to resist ...
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As an enthusiast, how can I make a bicycle more reliable/less maintenance-intensive for use by a casual cyclist?
The details of this question may end up being quite specific to my exact circumstances, but I think the information presented in the answers will still be usable and interesting for the general case.
...
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Guidance to replace cassettes sprockets "individually"
I've seen that sprockets were sold separately (or by "groups/spiders"). Given the small sprockets wear faster than the big ones, it could make sense to replace them at higher interval than ...
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How should I wash my MTB knee pads?
I have a pair of 7iDP Transition knee pads that are starting to smell and are in need of a wash. However, I am not totally sure the best course of action for cleaning the pads. Please let me know your ...
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Can I replace just the internals of a wheel's hub instead of the whole wheel?
After a while (e.g. 10 years or 40,000 km) the bearings in the hub of a wheel become worn-out -- this is with disk-brakes i.e. where the wheel's rim isn't worn-out.
The bike shop told me that it's not ...
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What is the most ecologically sustainable way to handle rags covered in chain grease?
I have a handful of cloths that I've used to clean and grease my bike chain over the years. Each is covered in chain grease and other gunk that was once on my chain. I'm starting to wonder what I ...
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How can I clean gunked up sprockets?
Over the past months my rear sprockets have accumulated a fair amount of gunk == chain oil + dirt + sand + hair + grass + wood chips. They look bad, and furthermore I fear the chain might be picking ...
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Cracks on tyres
Have cracks of tyres on two bicycles.
See attached photos. Bicycle 1 (top), 2 (bottom).
It isn't dry rot ( What are these cracks in the side of my bicycle tyre called? Does this mean that my tyre is ...
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would a sturmey archer trigger shifter work on an shimano 333 3 speed hub?
Hi everyone i have an NOS shimano 333 3 speed hub set which was given down to me by my friend,all seems to be intact but the only thing missing is the shifter,but i do happen to have a few SA trigger ...
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Should I be worried about small cuts on a tubeless tire/tyre?
My tubeless tires/tyres have a few cuts around the tread pattern. They are each around 3–4mm in length. I've been proactive with topping up sealant and have not had any flats since riding with these ...
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Brake caliper not springing back all the way
I've got got some road caliper rim brakes which don't spring back all the way after pressing them. They go back 95% of the way but there is a tiny bit of left after that they can travel. (without the ...
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How To Maintain a Electric Bicycle?
I had purchase an electric bicycle - Meraki from Ninety one cycles. It's very convenient and easy to use, but I still don't know how to do maintenance of my electric bicycle at home.
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What is this black residue remaining on damper body of rear shock after rides?
About a month ago, I bought a used 2009 Stumpjumper FSR similar to this. It was not used heavily and remains in great condition. Recently however, after medium to long rides, a black residue is left ...
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Seat post keeps sliding down after cleaning and lubricating folding bike
The last time I used my folding bike I gave it a thorough clean, and used WD-40 on the moving parts and then lubricated them again with a silicone-based lubricant spray. This is an eleven-year old ...
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I'm looking for a freewheel wrench to repair a Schwinn Le Tour
I recently bought the bike and it seems that the grease has dried up in all the bearings. Even the front fork doesn't want to turn unless some pressure is applied to the handlebars. Since it is an ...
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When to change quick release springs
The wife and I are newer to longer distance riding and have been learning along the way. While this might mean different things to different people, we are training for an Ironman and will do a half ...
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What bottom bracket tool is needed to install a miche evo max bb?
https://www.miche.it/en/products/strada/movimenti-centrali/evo-max.html
It is 16 notch. I can't find information on this anywhere and instructions didn't come with the BB. I have tried the hollowtech ...
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Why does crank arm need both a bolt and teeth to be fitted to the spindle?
I think the title is self explanatory: why wouldn't either one or the other be enough?
After removing the bolt, you still need a specific tool to pull off the crank arm from the spindle, because the ...
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Pro and cons of "torsion based" torque wrenches
Brands like Canyon are delivering their bikes with torque wrenches that are based on the torsion resistance of the metal that mades up the wrench, like the one pictured below (for the working ...
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How can I take part in downhill mountain biking on a budget
I have had an old specialized stumpjumper, and every 3-4 bike rides I go on something breaks or goes loose. In the past year and a half I have gone through:
2 rear derailleurs (the current one is on ...
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What are some pointers for newcomers?
Tldr: I'd like to know if there's any way for me to solve all of my problems on my own.
Good day there, I'm new to this community, and I'm very excited to join! I'd like to learn at least the ...
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Is it common for derailleur limit screws to drift over time?
I've just been adjusting my front derailleur, and found that the upper limit screw was severely impeding my shifting. My trouble getting into the big ring has been steadily growing, so it seems like ...
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After I lubricate my chain, I hear a gritty, sandy crunching sound coming from the chain and chainring. What am I doing wrong?
I tend to lubricate my chain about every 150-200 miles based on the conventional wisdom and general guidance I've read and heard. I have been using Rock N Roll Gold lube for some time, as it's been ...
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Seatpost/saddle moving down when riding
I noticed that that my saddle started moving down when riding (maybe 1cm/hour). When cleaning the inside of the seattube I noticed that the part at the height of the clamp became smooth, compared to ...
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How to make the grip stick in its place on the handlebar?
I have this unbelievably frustrating situation:
Basically, on the right side of the steering handle on my bicycle, the "soft" (not really) rubber thing that you grip with your hand keeps ...
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Does it make sense to change the orientation of unmoving bearing components to equalize wear?
I was intrigued by one of the points mentioned in this question regarding grease fills, namely:
[...] which means that the ball bearings get to distribute the load over the entire surface area, ...
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Use non bike specific degreaser, is it safe?
I was using Park Tool degreaser but I ran out of it. Is it safe to use a non-bike-specific degreaser?
The one I am using is the Screwfix No nonsense Heavy Duty Degreaser 5lt.
I will probably switch to ...
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Pedal arm clunking & falling off, how to fix? [duplicate]
The pedal arm on the opposite side from the cogs is making a 'thunk' sound once per cycle when near the top. It has come off twice, with no apparent thread or bolt damage. Both times the arm has come ...
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SRAM GXP crank partially stuck in bottom bracket
I (unfortunately) have a SRAM Apex GXP crankset that I need to replace after less than a year of use because it's garbage. But I can't get the crankset out of the bottom bracket. I've taken the bolt ...
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How hard is it to get hydraulic disc brakes “tuned” well?
A few days ago my rear (disc, hydraulic) brake started feeling a bit funny, then “went” completely. I took it to the shop where it’d just been serviced a week earlier and they said I must’ve got a ...
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Through axle came apart, can't put it back together
When pulling the axle out after disengaging the quick connect, the shaft won't push through and the other side all the little metal pieces fell out.
Tire won't come out and cannot put it back together....
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Can the topbar(crossbar) be lowered?
Can the topbar(crossbar)on my fat bike be lowered?
I will ask a bicycle mechanic to do this job.
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Pitting/spalling on a new cup in a hub
It has been said that cones usually are the first to show signs of pitting, but in this case there is a single 0.1-0.3 mm wide dent on a new cup only after 80 miles of use. Therere was no play when ...
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I lost one of the rear rear derailleur hanger screws, what could be the cause, and is it safe to ride before I replace the bolt
I noticed that I lost one of the two small screws on the rear derailleur hanger attaching the hanger to the frame on my road bike. Might there be something wrong with my shifting that caused that? ...
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What is this nut, and can I remove it and put it back without damaging it?
I am working on my bike and starting with derusting. The nut in the picture below has got some rust on it and since I am going for a proper looking-after I want to make sure everything is taken care ...
user61304
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PROMAX DECIPHER hydraulic brake hose replacement
I have a set of PROMAX Decipher hydraulic brakes and need to replace the hose cable (basically adapt these brakes to another bike and the cables length is longer). I would like to know how to split ...
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Is this level of wear okay on a new chainring
Very recently I bought my first new bike! I only did 750km on it so far. However the the chain rings are showing some level of wear, see picture. The teeth used to be all black, now you can see bits ...
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Replacement hardware
I have a number of mount holes and bottle cage holes that I am not using. Overtime the hardware has fallen out and I would like to replace it. However, I can find any replacement hardware at shops ...
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Bleeding brake lever impossible (sucks air)
I did the bleeding procedure for my Avid Elixir CR (hydraulic disc brakes), following the Avid service manual. While performing the last step, bleeding the lever, it seems that air was sucked in from ...
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Oil squirting from somewhere on bike during ride
I have a hybrid-style bike (Dawes Discovery 301) with a Shimano Alivio/Deore gearset.
After a recent ride I noticed that the light-coloured t-shirt I was wearing had been speckled with oil around the ...
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Gear shifting is good enough after 6 years. Does that mean I don't need to replace my cables?
My road bike gear cables have never been replaced, they are 6 years old now. The shifting at the back needs at tune up now and then, more and more frequently as time goes. But once it's done the ...
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Chain clicking when pedaling?
I just purchased a new bike from my LBS today (Giant Escape 3 Disc 2021) and decided to take it out for a ride. I rode for maybe 4 miles and it rode perfectly for nearly the entire time until I ...
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Cottered Crank Bottom Bracket
Can anyone help me identifying the bottom bracket? It had a cottered crank arm but only on one side, the other side has nothing.
I have no idea how to remove the spindle. I already tried hammering it ...
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Shifting cable maintenance/swap with internal cabling on Cube nuroad
I need some guidance on how to replace the shifting cable on a Cube nuroad with its internal cable routing.
I prefer not to replace the outer cables nor to remove the hydraulic hose.
The hydraulic ...
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Cannot remove campagnolo zonda freehub
I have tried following tutorial videos to service my Zonda rear wheel bearings - I want to cleanup the grim and regrease the bearings - such as
They all show that ...
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1
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Shimano FC-M131 crank arm bolt
I have a Shimano FC-M131 crank arm and I want to use a bolt for the axis. I have tried an M20 bolt but it is too loose. I have measured the inner diameter and it is 20.8mm, slightly larger than the ...
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Disc brakes rub under load
Recently I started to have issues with my gravel bike, which I bought in April 2021, a Specialized Diverge Carbon Comp.
The first issue happens to be a clicking / creaking of the crankset when under ...
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Did this part come from my bicycle?
I was working on my bicycle, a 2021 Domane SL5, and laid it on the ground. When I picked it up, I saw a small metal ring on the ground underneath. I don’t know for certain if the metal piece came off ...
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How do I take apart a modern Silca Impero frame pump?
I have a new frame pump and I want to take it apart. All the way - down to the metal tubes. This is the top of the air chamber and I don't know how to proceed. There is no trim piece covering this and ...
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What non-obvious maintenance should I do after 6 years/~25k km without professional service
I've ridden my commuter and touring bike (cyclocross frame, but with mudguards, rack, hub dynamo etc.) extensively for the last six years and a total of maybe 25 000 km (~15 000 miles). It has seen a ...
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