What to do to 'maintain' my Bicycle?

On Apr 10, 1:54*pm, wrote:
Can someone point me to a website that has directions (and pictures)
on how to "tune up" a bicycle?

Is there a website that can show me step by step where to oil, etc.

Try bicycletutor.com
Pretty useful info, easily understood, in little videos that play
right there on the website that show you how to do stuff.
And if you don't quite catch it the first time, just play it again.
You could start with "How to Clean and Lubricate a Chain".
Just use the stuff you want, and save the rest for another time.
Cheers,
ABS

On Apr 10, 6:04*pm, Nate Nagel wrote:
I'm sure that if there's any regular readers of the automotive groups
that I frequent here, they'll recognize that I'm trying to restrain
myself from ranting here... WD-40 is NOT a lubricant! *I can't stress
that enough! *It's a mixture of (a little) very light oil and (a lot of)
solvent. *It's great for its intended purpose, which is displacing water
from parts that aren't supposed to be wet but are. *It's also a halfway
decent solvent when you really ought to disassemble something for proper
cleaning but can't for whatever reason. *It's a lousy lube. *It seems
like it works well at first, but any lubricating properties that it has
will be gone in a week or so.

But there SOME oil there.
Wouldn't putting WD-40 be better than not doing anything?
Like I said in the initial post, I rode the bike regularly for the
first 5 years, then once in awhile for the next 5, and I never oiled
anything, and there were no problems.
Im not even sure it needs oil now, I just assume I should since its
been sitting in the basement for the past 2 years, the oil probably
dried up.

IMHO if your chain is really crapped up, *cleaning* it with WD-40 might

I dont think the chain is too bad, the last time I rode it (2 years
ago) it was fine.
I guess I will go to a bike shop and buy some oil.
I'll use a rag and run the chain through it, then apply some oil.

So I'm guessing has flat bars, not "drop" bars? *(that is, mountain bike

I have 12 speed handle bars.
But I hold...where the brakes are.
My palms are sort of facing each other (wrapped around the brake).
Sort of like this:
http://www.cyclinghalloffame.com/rid...mstrong_L5.jpg
So all my weight is on the pads of my palm (which is touching the
handle bar), and it hurts after awhile.
I figure I'll replace the sponge grip with padded grip.

On 2008-04-11, wrote:
On Apr 10, 6:04*pm, Nate Nagel wrote:
I'm sure that if there's any regular readers of the automotive groups
that I frequent here, they'll recognize that I'm trying to restrain
myself from ranting here... WD-40 is NOT a lubricant! *I can't stress
that enough! *It's a mixture of (a little) very light oil and (a lot of)
solvent. *It's great for its intended purpose, which is displacing water
from parts that aren't supposed to be wet but are. *It's also a halfway
decent solvent when you really ought to disassemble something for proper
cleaning but can't for whatever reason. *It's a lousy lube. *It seems
like it works well at first, but any lubricating properties that it has
will be gone in a week or so.

But there SOME oil there.
Wouldn't putting WD-40 be better than not doing anything?

Yes, if it needs oil at all. If WD-40 is all you have in the house then
you can use it fine.

It's not that I am disputing what these more knowledgeable people say
about WD-40. I am sure there are better products for this application. I
don't use WD-40 on my chain myself. But to get things in perspective,
WD-40 doesn't really do any quantifiable harm. I used to use it on the
chain for years before the internet was invented and my chains lasted
just as long. YMMV etc. If the chain is sticking or rusting then WD-40
will be better than nothing.

At that time there was a rumour going around that WD-40 caused the pins
to come loose and pop out of the chain! I never really believed that.

Like I said in the initial post, I rode the bike regularly for the
first 5 years, then once in awhile for the next 5, and I never oiled
anything, and there were no problems.
Im not even sure it needs oil now, I just assume I should since its
been sitting in the basement for the past 2 years, the oil probably
dried up.

If it looks oily then it's probably OK. If it's rusting, put something
oily on it.

wrote:
On Apr 10, 6:04 pm, Nate Nagel wrote:
[...]
So I'm guessing has flat bars, not "drop" bars? (that is, mountain bike

I have 12 speed handle bars.
But I hold...where the brakes are.
My palms are sort of facing each other (wrapped around the brake).
Sort of like this:
http://www.cyclinghalloffame.com/rid...mstrong_L5.jpg

That is called "riding on the hoods", the "hoods" being the rubber
pieces that cover the mechanical bits in the brake levers.

So all my weight is on the pads of my palm (which is touching the
handle bar), and it hurts after awhile.
I figure I'll replace the sponge grip with padded grip.

Try raising the handlebars enough that you can ride on the "drops" (the
lower curved part of the bars) also. Riding an upright bicycle for
longer distances WITHOUT varying the hand position is almost a guarantee
of hand discomfort, even with padding on the handlebars and/or in the
pads of the gloves.

See this article by the late Sheldon Brown:
http://sheldonbrown.com/handsup.html.

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
The weather is here, wish you were beautiful

On Apr 11, 2:15*am, wrote:
On Apr 10, 6:04*pm, Nate Nagel wrote:

I'm sure that if there's any regular readers of the automotive groups
that I frequent here, they'll recognize that I'm trying to restrain
myself from ranting here... WD-40 is NOT a lubricant! *I can't stress
that enough! *It's a mixture of (a little) very light oil and (a lot of)
solvent. *It's great for its intended purpose, which is displacing water
from parts that aren't supposed to be wet but are. *It's also a halfway
decent solvent when you really ought to disassemble something for proper
cleaning but can't for whatever reason. *It's a lousy lube. *It seems
like it works well at first, but any lubricating properties that it has
will be gone in a week or so.

But there SOME oil there.
Wouldn't putting WD-40 be better than not doing anything?
Like I said in the initial post, I rode the bike regularly for the
first 5 years, then once in awhile for the next 5, and I never oiled
anything, and there were no problems.
Im not even sure it needs oil now, I just assume I should since its
been sitting in the basement for the past 2 years, the oil probably
dried up.

sure, it'd be better than doing nothing, but don't you have a spare
quart of 10W30 taking up space in your garage already? That'd be even
better IMHO.


IMHO if your chain is really crapped up, *cleaning* it with WD-40 might

I dont think the chain is too bad, the last time I rode it (2 years
ago) it was fine.
I guess I will go to a bike shop and buy some oil.
I'll use a rag and run the chain through it, then apply some oil.

So I'm guessing has flat bars, not "drop" bars? *(that is, mountain bike

I have 12 speed handle bars.
But I hold...where the brakes are.
My palms are sort of facing each other (wrapped around the brake).
Sort of like this:http://www.cyclinghalloffame.com/rid...mstrong_L5.jpg
So all my weight is on the pads of my palm (which is touching the
handle bar), and it hurts after awhile.
I figure I'll replace the sponge grip with padded grip.

I second the recommend for gloves in your case.

nate

On Thu, 10 Apr 2008 22:03:07 -0500, Tom Sherman
wrote:

WD-40 is no more liked by the RBT regulars. I find WD-40 useful for
cleaning asphalt off of test equipment.

And removing stickers from metallic surfaces..

On Apr 10, 3:54*pm, wrote:
Can someone point me to a website that has directions (and pictures)
on how to "tune up" a bicycle?

I am not a serious rider like most of you.
I have a 12 speed Panasonic that I bought like 16 years ago.
I use it to ride around the neighborhood, I never oiled it, or done
any type of maintenance.
Never had a problem with it, I actually don't even shift the gears, I
just ride it by the water to enjoy the weather, nothing serious.

But I have not ridden the bicycle for 2 years.

I want to start again, but since I haven't ridden it for 2 years, do I
need to do some type of tune up?
I called a bicycle place asked them, they said a tune up is $70, but
they wouldn't tell me what is involved.
My brakes are fine (Im riding slowly by the water anyway, heck, I can
stop by putting my foot down!)
The only thing I think I need to do is oil it (since I never done it
before) and also change the wrap around the handle bar. *Right now its
a sponge-like material and it hurts the palm of my hand when I lean on
it.

Is there a website that can show me step by step where to oil, etc.

Thanks

a bike that has not been maintained is best left alone- in my
experience- if you start undoing things and so on you will wind up
with a bike that falls apart on you on the road. keep riding it until
you are tired of it and decide to get a new bike- it's a lot easier,
you don't need to buy all kinds of tools and replacement parts that
are difficult to fit onto the older frame. a bike is surprisingly
efficient machine, evemn a poorly maintained one has a very high
efficiency index

WD 40 IS DEODORIZED KEROSENE

after 16 years, take it apart and reassemble from cables to tires and
hubs-headset-intra warp egneator -you name it. grease dries up and
after 16 years - Who knows ?
new bearings...

Went to the bike store this week to buy some lube/oil.
The guy kept taking out bottles that were way too big.
I told him "I had my bike for over 15 years without oiling, I doubt I
will need to oil it more than twice"

Finally he found a tiny tube:
Tri-Flow, superior lubricant - 1/4 of an ounce.

So heres my plan, how does it sound.
1. have someone lift up the bike by the seat
2. I will turn the pedal while holding a napkin on the chain (to wipe
off the old oil)
3. Then turn the pedal while putting some of this lube thing on the
chain
Thats it.

Do I need to lube every link of the chain?
Or can I do half and then due to the chain turning, the oil/lube will
get on the gear while will then in turn get it onto the rest of the
chain?

Now whats the best way to oil:
1. Turn the pedal and as the chain is turn, put the bottle mouth on
the chain and squeeze
OR
2. dab the mouth of the bottle on every link, then when Im done, then
turn the pedal to turn the chain?

wrote:
Went to the bike store this week to buy some lube/oil.
The guy kept taking out bottles that were way too big.
I told him "I had my bike for over 15 years without oiling, I doubt I
will need to oil it more than twice"

Finally he found a tiny tube:
Tri-Flow, superior lubricant - 1/4 of an ounce.

So heres my plan, how does it sound.
1. have someone lift up the bike by the seat
2. I will turn the pedal while holding a napkin on the chain (to wipe
off the old oil)
3. Then turn the pedal while putting some of this lube thing on the
chain
Thats it.

Do I need to lube every link of the chain?
Or can I do half and then due to the chain turning, the oil/lube will
get on the gear while will then in turn get it onto the rest of the
chain?

Now whats the best way to oil:
1. Turn the pedal and as the chain is turn, put the bottle mouth on
the chain and squeeze
OR
2. dab the mouth of the bottle on every link, then when Im done, then
turn the pedal to turn the chain?


You didn't oil your chain for 15 years and now you make such a big deal
of it? Slap some oil on it, let it penetrate for a couple of hours, wipe
off the excess oil on the outside of the chain and done with it. It is
no rocket science you know.

Lou