Two Wheels, One Voice.

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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