Tips Archive:

Hot Tip of the Month- April 2004: "Brand New Bikes – Brand New Maintenance Approach."
If your facility has received brand new bikes, then your good to go, no maintenance required, no lubing, no special attention, right? WRONG! Typically, new bikes are delivered to the facility either in boxes or they have been built by a third party. If the bikes are delivered in the boxes, the builders are either you’re inside maintenance people, OR the manufacturer will dispatch builders whom are short on time and their goal is an expeditious build. In any case what usually happens is the bike is pulled from the box, pedals seat and handlebar towers are slapped on the bike and BAM! the bike is done. How about flywheel alignment and adjustment? Any part or area of the bike that will see future repair or parts replacement should have the hardware or small parts removed and lubed, so that these future repairs can be performed easily. Here’s an example; 6 months down the road, you need to replace a bottom bracket. First you have to remove the outer chain guard, if the hardware that holds the outer guard has been bathed in sweat and never pre- lubed, it’s sometimes impossible to get the outer guard hardware to turn , much less removed. If you can’t get the outer guard hardware out of the bike, you can’t remove the outer guard, to gain access to the cranks, which will have to be removed so you can replace the bottom bracket! What about something as simple as a water bottle cage replacement? One year goes by after your new bikes arrive. A bottle cage breaks and needs replacement. To replace the cage you first need to remove the old one. You attempt to remove the water bottle cage hardware and you can’t turn the water bottle cage hardware because, again, the hardware has never been lubed and the only thing between the water bottle cage hardware and the frame is a year of sweat from hundreds of riders that has rained down on the water bottle cage hardware. When your bikes are new, it is so critical that they are properly adjusted; the hardware in important areas is prepped for future adjustments and repairs. And imagine this, if the person who puts tools to your new bikes doesn’t ride regularly or take classes how can they possibly know what the bike is supposed to feel like? All the tech manuals we write have sections on new bike prep and how to effectively adjust and do simple repairs. Even a self cleaning oven needs to be cleaned regularly.