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Two Wheels, One Voice.
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General Mechanic Skills
Threads
- Pedals, stem bolts or water bottle bolts,
grease everything before installing.
- Boat trailer bearing grease is inexpensive and
waterproof.
- Grease all flats on bolt heads that will be up
against other metal pieces.
Bearings
- Bearings should be repacked (cleaned and
re-greased) about yearly.
- Races are smooth, precision surfaces on which
bearings roll; clean then re-grease.
- Bearings are easily destroyed if you don't
understand how to adjust them properly.
Cranks
- Grease crank bolts, never grease bottom
bracket tapers; you may damage crankarms.
- Grease chainring bolts and surfaces where
chainrings attach to crankarm.
- Clean out pedal threads with a rag, bristle
brush or degreaser.
Derailleurs
- Take care not to lay bike down on its
derailleurs; you might damage them.
- Remove dirt or lube related buildup with a rag
and flathead screwdriver.
- Inspect derailleur cables and housing for
cracking and fraying; replace if necessary.
Headset
- Bearings in your headset need annual
re-packing; more often if you ride in the rain.
- Clean bearing surfaces, re-grease and replace
bearings; use grease to hold them in.
- Clean old grease out with rag, inspect bearing
for wear and replace if necessary.
Seatpost
- Use sand paper to smooth out inside of seat
tube to avoid scratching seatpost.
- Apply liberal coating of grease to top three
inches inside seat tube.
- Grease help keep water out of frame tubes and
allow easy removal of seatpost.
Hubs
- Hubs roll on bearings like your headset;
regular service is necessary.
- Turn axle by hand to check hub status; if it
feels loose and gritty, clean and re-grease.
- Riding on hubs with no grease can destroy
bearings and races.
Noises
- Creaks are usually caused by metal shifting on
metal under stress, like pedaling.
- Every place two pieces of metal are touching,
there should be grease between them.
- Locate noise and silence by re-assembling with
a liberal coating of grease.
How tight is tight?
- Most parts on a bike do not need to be as
tight as humanly possible, just snug.
- Turn bolt until threads are buried then a
quarter turn to tight.
- Grease on threads helps to overcome friction
and allows proper fastening.
Copyright © 2001 League of
American Bicyclists.
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