Bike Repair Clinic

I. Introduction

II. Major Components

A. Drivetrain

B. Hydraulic Brakes

C. Frame Parts

D. Steering

III. Maintenance

A. Every Ride

B. Every 10 Rides

C. Once a Season

IV. Tools

A. Tools for the Trail

B. Basic Home Mechanic

C. Advanced Home Mechanic

Grizzly Outfitters Presents:

Care and Feeding for your

Mountain Bike

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Important Drivetrain Components

Crank Arm

Chainring

Rear Derailleur

Derailleur Pulley

Front Derailleur

Disc Brake Components

Master Cylinder

Brake Lever

Hydraulic Line

Caliper

Frame Components

Head Tube

Fork Stanchion

Down Tube

Top Tube

Chain Stay

Seat Tube

Seat Stay

Swing Arm

Fork Lower Leg

Steering Components

Headset Bottom Cup

Headset Top Cup

Stem

Cassette

Before you ride (preferably when you are done riding so your bike is ready the next time), do the following:

Apply lube liberally, totally saturating the chain. Lube contains petroleum solvents which will aid in lifting off surface grime.

Using a clean rag, whip off excess lube and any dirt that comes off with it. If the chain is very dirty, you may have to repeat this process.

Reapply lube, and let dry. Ready for your next ride.

Check your headset. While holding your front brake with your left hand, gently rock the bike forward and check for any play with your right hand.

Check your wheels. Lift bike by the handlebars and spin the front wheel. Check for major wobbles. If you have cantilever brakes, it will be quite obvious because the wheel will rub on the brake pads. If you have disc brakes, it may be less obvious. Either way, major wobbles should be fixed - sooner is better, since an out-of-true wheel is much weaker than a true one! Repeat for the rear wheel.

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If you have a suspension fork, wipe the stanchions to remove all grim and excess oil.

Your bike is now ready for the next time you go for a ride.

Inspect chain rings for excessive wear. When they have the appearance of a shark’s fin, it’s time to think about replacement. Chain suck is another tell-tale sign of worn chain rings.

Every ten rides, perform the following inspections and maintenance:

Inspect brake pads for excessive wear. Replace if necessary. Good brakes are fairly important, particularly around Big Sky, which has steep hills. Make sure they are working well at all times!

Remove cable housing from its stops and lubricate the

inner cable with a light oil such as Triflow. Don’t use

too much oil as this will just attract dirt. Doing this

more often, particularly for the rear derailleur shift

cable and housing, will aid in good shifting perfor-

mance. If cables are rusted, apply oil, then wipe with

a clean rag, then reapply a thin layer of oil. Sometimes

replacement of the internal cable is necessary, and if

you let it go too far, cable and housing replacement is

required.

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Inspect frame for cracks. More common on hard tails,

a particularly with aluminum hard tails, cracks can

lead to catastrophic failure. Not a good deal if you

happen to be riding down a steep hill when it hap-

pens. Pay attention to welds and spend more time in-

specting chain stays, seat stays and around the bottom

bracket, as these are common failure points. A frame

can break anywhere.

Lube all the pivots on front and rear derailleurs. Use a

light oil such as Triflow, and wipe off any excess. Work

the derailleur with your fingers so oil penetrates into

the pivots.

Once a season, more often if you ride frequently or ag-gressively, the following inspections and maintenance should be performed. Some may be beyond the scope of the average home mechanic. Whether you do it your-self, or have a mechanic do it, do the following:

1. Change fork fluids and check seals.2. Bleed hydraulic brake fluids.3. Send rear shock (if applicable) to the manufac - turer for service. There is usually a charge of $30.00 to $75.00 for this maintenance.4. Inspect the entire drivetrain and replace the chain, cassette and any worn chain rings. Re- placing the chain more often can lengthen the life of chain rings and cassettes, which can be costly parts.

Check crank bolts and chainring bolts for tightness.

On full-suspension bikes, check pivot bolts. Go to

manufacturer’s web site for torque specifications.

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Take-Along Tools

Carry on the bike or on your person on every ride.

Item

Tire pump (an alternative is “quick fill” cartridge systems)

Match your valve type

Spare inner tubes (2)Wrap them in a bag to prevent abrasion

Inner tube patch kit (also carry 2-3 packages of alcohol swabs)

Tire levers

Chain rivet tool (and a spare Shimano® IG/HG replacement pin)

Extra links are nice too!

Spoke wrench

Folding tool set with 4, 5 and 6 mm hex wrenches.

Small Screwdriver #1 Flat & #1 Phillips head.

Lube Small well sealed container

Tools to Have at Home to Compliment Take-Along Tools

Item

Floor Pump

Drive Train Cleaning Kit in-cluding gear cleaning brush.

Hex Wrench/Screw Driver Set

1.5 - 10mm hex set#1, #2 & #3 phillips and stan-dard screwdrivers

Nice to Have Tools & Supplies for the Home Mechanic

Item

Bicycle Repair Stand

Metric wrenches open & closed end 6mm-15mm

Cone wrenches 13mm - 17mm

Pliers - needle nose

Adjustable wrench Get a large one- to fit up to 1”

Cable & Housing Cutters

Can be pur-chased as sepa-rate tools, but dual purpose cutters will do the job.

Bike specific grease

Zip ties

Cassette Removal Tool

Chain Whip

Spare Brake & Derailleur cables