- We spend a lot of time here on GCN
advising you about what you should do to maintain your bike.
But very rarely do we say what you shouldn't do.
We've probably all been there,
applying more and more pressure to a fragile,
yet seemingly immovable bolt,
only to find that instead of loosening it,
we either round off the head or strip the threads,
then requiring us to drill out said bolt.
Now, to avoid doing that in the first place,
only use tools that are in good condition.
So stop using them as soon as they get rounded off,
particularly Allen or hex keys.
Now, this is not at tool anymore,
this is a blunt instrument.
And then, when it comes to the bolts themselves,
always prep them as per the manufacturer's instructions.
So that may be applying grease to the threads,
or, indeed, some kind of locking compound.
Common contributing factor to that previous point
could very well be over-tightening the bolt
in the first place.
And it is very easy to get into the habit of that.
You may well think, well, that's the bolt
that's stopping my face from hitting the tarmac,
so I better make sure it doesn't come loose.
But that is the wrong attitude.
Over time, bolts can, indeed, break entirely,
or simply damage expensive
other parts of your bike that are next to it.
So the simple solution is to buy a torque wrench.
Now, overtime you may end up being able to judge
exactly what five newton-meters feels like.
But the fact is, it's probably an awful lot less
than you might think.
Removing your pedals needn't be a job
that is fraught with danger.
But yet, for some reason,
I'm sure we've all got a story about that time
when we casually sliced open our hands on our chainrings.
The trick, simply to get round it,
is to just to take a little bit more time
over the procedure and don't rush it.
So, for example, you start loosening the pedals
in a position where you wrench or your allen key
is not then gonna put your hand at any risk,
either skinning your knuckles on the ground
or going anywhere near your chainring.
And then, of course, also making sure
that your chain is in your big chainring,
or sort out any form of chainring danger.
If you are using through axles,
you can look away now.
But for the rest of us using quick releases,
make sure that your wheel is in straight
before you start trying
to adjust your breaks or your gears.
Ha, you think, that you'd never made this mistake,
but believe you, me, it's very easy to do it,
especially if your bike's in a work stand
and your putting your wheels in only to find
that having then spent 15 minutes
adjusting your gears and fastening your breaks,
they've actually, when you put the bike back on the ground,
the wheel is not in straight.
Speaking of work stands, as a general rule,
lightweight bikes do not like being clamped.
In fact, there's pretty much only one place
you can be almost sure that you'll be okay
clamping your bike in a work stand,
and that is your seat post here.
They are, by and large, built to be clamped.
But there are still exceptions, unfortunately.
Integrated seat posts don't like being clamped,
and some arrow seat posts do not like being clamped either.
So, in those cases, you will need a different work stand,
one, generally, that will clamp your front quick release,
your forks, and, indeed, will then rest
on your bottom bracket.
Hold on a minute.
Surely no one is gonna get this one wrong.
Well, hang around a bike event for long enough
and you will definitely hear that tell-tale gunshot sound
as a tyre blows off the rim.
You can only hope that yours isn't the head
that's right next to it.
And it is, let's face it, all too easy
to fit a new tyre, pump it up, only to find
the bead isn't seated quite correctly in one part.
And then as the pressure builds,
it suddenly blows off the rim.
So, to get round this,
make a point of spending 10 seconds
just checking that the bead of the tyre
is seated correctly.
Perhaps after you've got maybe just 30 PSI in there,
so that it will not blow off the rim at that stage.
It's definitely 10 seconds well spent.
Well, yes, and also no.
Some stuff might not be broken as such,
but without maintenance, it might well be soon.
So don't assume that you can leave anything
on your bike and still expect it to work.
Common areas for neglect are
leaving your seat post in place
and only then finding that when you do need to move it,
it has completely seized.
Or, indeed, your chain,
which will probably work brilliantly
until the moment that it doesn't.
And then when you replace it,
you realise that it's also prematurely
worn out your cassette and also your chain rings.
And then tripling the bill at your local bike shop.
Well, that is probably the tip of the iceberg
on how not to look after your bike.
There are, undoubtedly, many, many more.
I mean, we haven't even got started
on the fact that you probably shouldn't try
any maintenance procedure completely naked.
But we'll leave that for another day.
In the meantime, do make sure
that you have subscribed to GCN.
To do that, it's completely free,
and every Monday without fail
we will give you a maintenance video.
So in that case, you'll be in the right place.
For another simple maintenance video,
why not click just up there and you get through
to five essential road side maintenance skills
you will need to know.
And if it is a bit of nakedness you're after,
you can always try watching that one over there,
which is what not to wear when cycling.