Essential pre-ride maintenance tips

So you're planning a big ride? Great. There's nothing better than enjoying a day out in the saddle (unless the weather's awful but, you know, that's character building, right?). One thing that can spoil a ride very quickly is a bike that's not working properly. Clicking gears, squealing brakes, punctures or worse are at best a real motiviation-killer and a worst a day ender. It only takes a few minutes to check whether you're bike is ready for a ride, so here are a few things to think about that'll make sure you have a ride you'll remember for all the right reasons, not a day to forget.

Gear indexing

There's nothing more annoying on a long bike ride than gears that are clicking or jumping. Most of the time your gears will be perfectly fine, but if you've travelled with you bike before the ride there's a chance that your rear mech may have been knocked which can cause things to be slightly off. Stick the bike in a workstand (or get a mate to hold it) and just cycle through the gears at the back to check if the chain's running true on all of them. If not, use the barrel adjuster (for mechanical) or the app/adjustment mode (for Di2) and get those things back working noiselessly. 

Check the front mech too - there's nothing worse than starting a descent and not being able to get back into the big ring or being tired/climbing and not being able to use the small ring (well for us, anyway, you may well be much stronger!). 

Clean your bike

If you're the sort of rider that has a constantly dirty bike then you need to hear this: clean it. Just clean it. Clean bikes look better, they work better and they last longer. The only excuse for not cleaning a bike is, well, there isn't one really. You might not always have time to clean straight after a ride, but leaving your bike filthy for any length of time is just not okay. 

Cleaning a bike doesnt have to be a chore, either. Just spray Finish Line Super Bike Wash all over, leave for a few minutes to let it work and rinse. It really is that simple. Once the bike is nice and clean, you get rid of any muck that's left on the drivetrain using Speed Degreaser to get all your components looking like you've just taken them out of the box. 

The final thing is chain lube. If you want seamles shifting and better chain life then lube is a must. But don't go crazy, none of this slathering it on like ketchup on chips (you know what we mean) rather adopt a more cautious approach and apply the lube to each single link of the chain, wiping off any excess. Oh, and lube the inside of the chain because when you ride the lube will work its way out. 

Check bolt torque

This one isn't necessarily for every single ride, but it's a good idea to periodically check all the bolts on your bike just in case anything has come loose. So take a look at your stem bolts (both faceplate and steerer end), seatpost bolt, crank arm retention bolts, saddle clamp bolts and pretty much anything else you can think of. Chances are nothing will be off, but there's never any harm in making sure. 

Take a good, hard look at your tyres

When was the last time you looked at your tyres? We mean really looked. Not like as you're riding along and working so hard you can barely shift your gaze from just in front of your handlebars, but pre or post-ride to see what state they're in. We'd hope we dont have to tell you that your tyres have a wear indicator that when reached you need to change them (they do, and you should), but aside from that it's a good idea to check tyres in case there's anything embedded in them that could spoil your next ride very quickly. 

Glass, small bits of stone or thorns are all things that love to just sit partially in a tyre waiting for the chance to get through and ruin your day. Give your tyres a good check before or after a ride and remove anything that's embedded in them. You can always use the old roadie trick of supergluing any small nicks shut if you fancy it. 

While you're at it, dont forget tyre pressure

Tyre pressure is an easy one to forget in the haste to get out the door, but it's an important one. Tyres are one of the most important parts of a bike - being the only part that contacts the ground - and pressure is a key factor in both comfort and grip so you want to get it right. The beauty of things like tubeless tyres is that they let you run lower pressures, but the thing with lower pressures is that if you dont check them you can easily end up rolling out the door with a tyre that needs a little more pressure. Last thing you want is to hit that first lump of the day and feel the rim strike the ground, that's not only uncomfortable but it's also potentially a very expensive mistake.