9 Tips for Beginner Cycling Maintenance Needs

It’s important to build up your beginner cycling maintenance skills.

As you ride your bike more and more, it will require maintenance work. You can pay a bike shop to do it all for you or you can learn how to do some of the basic work yourself and save a lot of money in the process.

In this article, I’ll show you a few great beginner cycling maintenance skills that you can start learning on your own.

As you ride more and more, I highly recommend you learn more about repairing bikes.

You might learn enough and enjoy it enough to start making all the repairs necessary that you’ll have to do on your bike.

Why Beginner Cycling Maintenance Skills Are Important

Beginner cycling maintenance skill building is important for many reasons.

The main reason is that you can quickly identify problems with your bike before they lead to bigger problems. Bigger problems can lead to more expensive work to be done and even accidents that can get you hurt.

Learning beginner cycling maintenance skills will also allow you to save a lot of money when your bike needs basic repairs and work done to it.

You might enjoy bike maintenance so much that you start doing all your repair work yourself. You can build an entire shop and get all the tools you’ll ever need for bike repair, too.

Every cyclist should learn at least the basic skills listed in this article.

Beginner Cycling Maintenance Tips

The following beginner cycling maintenance tips will help you save money when your bike needs to be repaired for something so simple that anyone can do it with little effort.

1 – Learn How to Fix a Flat

This is the most important beginner cycling maintenance skill you need to learn.

Learn how to patch an inner tube on your bike, how to change an inner tube if it can’t be patched, how to plug or fix a tire if it has a hole, and how to change a tire when you need a new one on your bike.

These simple skills will keep money in your wallet, and you’ll be able to make repairs on the fly whether you’re riding or not riding your bike when the repair is needed.

2 – Clean the Drivetrain After Every Ride

Take the time to clean your drivetrain after every ride outdoors.

As you ride outside, elements of the terrain you ride on will get into your drivetrain. This includes your chain, chainrings, derailleurs, and brakes. Debris can damage these parts and require you to replace them, which is often expensive. I recently replaced my entire road bike drivetrain for over $700.

Take the time to fully wash your drivetrain after every ride to prolong the life of those components.

3 – Reapply Chain Lube

On a monthly basis, you should inspect and reapply the chain lube on your bike.

This is especially important after you wash your bike or clean your drivetrain, just in case too much lubricant has been removed from the chain. Reapply the chain lubricant and wash excess lube off your bike frame and components to prevent rust.

Make sure you change out your chain from time to time to ensure it doesn’t wear out your chainrings and gearing.

4 – Check Tire Pressure Before Every Ride

You should check your tire pressure before every bike ride.

Make sure your tire has the right amount of air before you go on a bike ride. Different bikes lose air differently. Road bikes typically lose air within days after you’ve aired the tires last. A mountain bike will tend to hold air in longer but should still be checked before each ride.

This will save you the hassle of having to patch your tube or change it out because of a flat due to lack of air.

5 – Keep Your Bike Clean

Try to ensure that you keep your bike clean to prolong its life and the life of your components.

A dirty bike will eventually start to rust. A dirty bike can also weaken frame materials. You should wash your bike after every ride, which causes it to become dirty. Gravel and mountain bike cyclists will be washing their bikes after pretty much every ride.

A clean bike looks better, rides better, and lasts a lot longer than one that is always dirty.

6 – Avoid Cross-Chaining

Learn how to use your gears wisely and avoid cross-chaining.

Cross-chaining occurs when you have the wrong gear configuration, and your chain rubs the frame or components on your bike. This will essentially cause damage to your bike and frame, which can eventually be severe enough to break your bike.

If you use your gears properly, you’ll be able to prevent this. Listen to your chain. If it doesn’t sound right, it’s probably not right.

7 – Carry Bike Tools

Make sure you carry bike tools with you on your bike rides.

You need to have the basic tools. You should have a multi-tool designed for your type of bike. You should have some extra chain links with a chain breaker tool. You should have tire levers. You should also carry a patch kit and a spare innertube even if you run tubeless (just in case). You should carry a portable air pump.

If you have the right tools with you when things go wrong, you can fix it and continue your ride without worry.

8 – Get an Annual Bike Tune-Up

Once a year, you should take your bike to your local bike shop for a tune-up.

A local bike shop will check your bike’s basic vitals. A tune-up might include new tires, spoke adjustments, a new chain, a new drivetrain, new brakes, and other such items. An annual tune-up can prevent many high-cost repairs from being forced to happen.

Like with your car, you have to have your bike checked out from time to time to make sure it’s running well.

9 – Learn Basic Bike Maintenance

Try to continue your beginner cycling maintenance knowledge.

There are plenty of great videos on YouTube about bicycle repair. You can even get some books. There are even online certification programs. I suggest you buy an old bike and start replacing parts, doing repairs, and making upgrades to teach yourself how to do it.

The more you know about beginner cycling maintenance, the better off you’ll be.

Final Thoughts About Beginner Cycling Maintenance

This concludes my article about beginner cycling maintenance skill building. While the tips above will help you get started, there is plenty more to learn about the more and more you develop your cycling love and skills.

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