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I weigh ~190lbs and ride a rigid 1999 Gary Fisher Wahoo. I ride about 1x/week in the South Florida area at Quiet Waters, Pinehurst, Markham, etc… I’m not doing much jumping but obviously the bike gets rattled. I don’t want to waste money with unnecessary tune ups, but I don’t want it breaking down and I plan to ride more frequently with it soon being light later. Any recommendations? Appreciated.
Keith
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If I ride hard for a week like 3-4 times I give it a good cleaning…I usually wait till the off season time here in the northeast to do a tune-up on my bikes. Do you not do it yourself…? I was timid about it at first but it is really not that bad. I watched the shop do it once and reading through the "Zinn’s Guide to Mountain Bike Maintenance" book…good book. I love working on my bikes and now I work on some of my buddies too. All in all I would clean your bike up every couple of rides and study up on the tune-ups and before you know it you will be doing your own…
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I keep a close eye/ear on my bike on every ride and address any items as they come up. It makes it easier on the budget that way too.
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Thanks for all the recommendations and suggestions. I appreciate them and may look into that book.
Chili – hit me up if/when you head down to Quiet Waters; I may be able to ride with you. Not sure you’ll be blown away by Quiet Waters since you seem to ride Alafia, Santos and other elite trails, but it’s a good workout and the volunteers are improving the ride every month.
Keith
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Like Madd
I too go over the bike when the ride is done. I tend to clean the bike before I put it back in the house. I tend to go over all the gears and cables to make sure everything is fine…For tune ups I do it as necessary. I don’t let anything wait till next time.
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Also, turn the iPod off and listen. Your bike will tell you when it’s unhappy. 😉
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there are just too many variables to give a simple answer to this seemingly simple question.
– where you ride
– what you ride
– how you ride
– how often you ride
– what the conditions are when you ride
– what kind of equipment we’re talking about
– what kind of condition and tune that equipment is in
and more,…bottom line; pay attention to your bike, and learn how to check it to tell what it needs. do (or have done) what it needs when/before it needs it, and know how to tell the difference.
(note that equipment kept in good tune tends to chew itself up less frequently.)if you plan to learn more about how to take care of it yourself, expect to make some mistakes, some of which may cost you parts. overall, even after you pay to have those mistakes resolved, it will cost you less in the long run as what you learn from those mistakes will be lessons you keep with you forever.
cheers!
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"zouch" wrote
if you plan to learn more about how to take care of it yourself, expect to make some mistakes, some of which may cost you parts. overall, even after you pay to have those mistakes resolved, it will cost you less in the long run as what you learn from those mistakes will be lessons you keep with you forever.
This is also true…when I started tuning my stuff and giving a good cleaning I started tinkering with my shifters and messed one up. As a result I got some new shifters…(I wanted them anyway)
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I go over my bike before every ride. A full tune one a week.
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"garbanzo" wrote
I go over my bike before every ride. A full tune one a week.
Wow…how much do you ride in a week? Do mountain bike for a living…? 😮
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"kvnrbrts" wrote
[quote="garbanzo":c3k2103r]I go over my bike before every ride. A full tune one a week.
Wow…how much do you ride in a week? Do mountain bike for a living…? 😮[/quote:c3k2103r]
usually 4 days a week , 20,000 vertical feet per day ( lift access bike park ) DHing is very violent.
I’m not a pro biker. I’m just a pro at being a biker.
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I just hit 10,000 miles on my Mountain Bike and other then some light adjustments I have replaced nothing and it is running fine. So it really just depends on many factors.
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"Bike_Freak" wrote
I just hit 10,000 miles on my Mountain Bike and other then some light adjustments I have replaced nothing and it is running fine. So it really just depends on many factors.
I call shenanigans on this.
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"mtbgreg1" wrote
I call shenanigans on this.
Why? I usually get 20-30,000 miles on my brake pads and chains. Tires are another story. I only get about 15,000 out of those. I blame the shoddy materials used by the manufacturer for such a poor lifespan.
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I think that you can probably u tube most of the things that you should check before you ride. Adjusting your brakes and shifting is really easy. Save the harder things for your Local bike shop if your not comfortable. For me I want my bike perfect I don’t like walking back to the car.
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When you say "tune up" your bike, do you mean adjustments and light lubrication, or are you talking about overhauling bearings, etc? In my opinion, the former should be done on an on-going basis. I clean and lube my chain, chainrings, sprocket cassette, and rear derailleur; and clean the brake mating surfaces after virtually every ride. I lube the levers and cables/housings, and make any adjustments, after every third or fourth ride; and lube pivot points, pedals etc. once a moth or so. I make a habit of cleaning and re-packing bottom brackets, headsets, and wheel bearings long before they show any sign of really needing it. Any major bearing components with replaceable cassettes I let go until they are actually wearing out. As the folks above pointed out, it makes no sense to do it all at once since each component requires attention on it’s own schedule.
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I use tune-up for the routine maintenance. When I’m getting into the bearings, etc., I call that an overhaul.
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"gar29" wrote
I use tune-up for the routine maintenance. When I’m getting into the bearings, etc., I call that an overhaul.
I would say the same thing. I basically give me my bikes a going over after every weekend of riding. I give it a good washing and check every thing at this point. I make sure everything is straight and tight, lube chain and basically kick the tires so to speak.
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I ride 3 times a week and do a pretty thorough check over the bike before each ride. As the owner of a bike shop and 30+ years in the saddle both on and off road, so much depends on how often you ride. Roadies can get by perhaps with a once a year tune up but I find mountain bikes take such a beating that there is almost constant maintenance to do, especially on the drive train. Mud, dirt, sand, and water are brutal on bikes. Every rider needs to keep their bikes clean and dry between rides. It will extend the life of nearly everything on it.
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I don’t work mine that hard, but it gets a pre-flight before every ride. Tire and shock pressures, brake check, cables and shifters, quick release’s, handlebar and seat tight, chain and cassettes, deraileurs. I also don’t like to push a bike back to the truck, and don’t want to crash due to poor maintainence.
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Yeah, whenever I get lazy and just go ride, something inevitably breaks!
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"schwim" wrote
[quote="mtbgreg1":1xkv6gzq]I call shenanigans on this.
Why? I usually get 20-30,000 miles on my brake pads and chains. Tires are another story. I only get about 15,000 out of those. I blame the shoddy materials used by the manufacturer for such a poor lifespan.[/quote:1xkv6gzq]
Wow, I take care of my equipment, tune it, clean it, listen, feel, pet, stroke and I still have minor failures here and there, on top of that some parts such as bottom brackets and bearing need to be taken apart and overhauled/replaced overtime. I at a minimum go through my bike twice a year, complete tare down, pull crank, head, pedal rebuild, new chain, inspect hubs…..I go through two sets of brakes and tires a year.
Maybe its a difference in riding style, I am riding all mountain, Marin County single track mostly.
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