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Home > Tips and advice > Keeping your bike in good condition

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Keeping your bike in good condition

If you keep your bike in good condition, it should last longer and you might avoid problems like punctures and loose chains preventing you from getting out and about on you bike.

Here are a few helpful tips to help you to make sure that your bicycle keeps running smoothly:

• Keep you chain clean and well oiled. (More details below.)
• Have your bike serviced regularly.
• Carry spare batteries for your lights.
• Help prevent punctures by buying good quality tyres and using anti-puncture tape or slime to reinforce them. (More details below.)
• Park your bike somewhere sheltered to avoid it getting wet and rusty.
• Avoid riding too close to the kerb where there is a build up of grit which might cause punctures or damage your bike.

More detailed advice

How to clean your chain

Removing dirt and grime from a chain is easy and, best of all; you shouldn't need to remove the chain from the bike. If it's not too grimy, spray a few links at a time with WD4O, degreasant or a specialist bike chain solvent, and run the chain through a piece cloth. It it's badly clogged then the best solution is to buy a chain bath. These have brushes inside which clean the chain, while soaking it in solvent. Use an old toothbrush to remove muck from the freewheel, chainring and rear derailleur. Once all the dirt's been removed, dry the chain with a clean rag before applying lubricant.

When to oil your chain and other bike parts

Keeping your bike parts properly lubricated is crucial for good performance. Oiling protects moving parts from excessive wear caused by friction and keeps rust and corrosion from attacking exposed metal components.

Be careful not to over-lubricate your bike as this can lead to poor performance and damage as excess oil can attract dirt.

To keep a bike and all its parts in good condition, you must oil it regularly. For those who ride their bikes daily this means about once a week in winter and every 2 weeks in summer. For those who ride perhaps weekly or monthly, monthly will suffice. Remember to oil your bike after you've washed it.

When you oil your bike, make sure you use lubricants that are suited to the weather conditions you'll be riding in. Rainy areas require more durable bike oils, while drier areas require lighter oils that don't pick up as much dirt. Wetter conditions typically require more frequent oiling.

How to avoid getting a puncture

• Choose good tyres (some have anti-puncture reinforcement).
• Your bike shop can fit anti-puncture tape between the tyre and inner tube.
• Opt for good quality inner tubes.
• Your bike shop can provide anti-puncture sealant which is squirted into the inner tube through the valve. This seals any small holes from inside.
• Keep your tyres well pumped up (so that less tread surface touches the road).
• Take a spare inner tube and puncture repair kit with you.
• Replace tyres before they get too worn out.
• At the end of your ride, check your tyres for glass, thorns, stones, etc. and remove them so that they don't cause problems on your next ride.