If you’re new to cycling, looking after your bike may seem like a daunting task. But don’t worry as basic bike maintenance can be broken down into three main tasks: pumping your tyres, cleaning your bike and lubricating your chain. Alex talks you through each of these steps in this video!
0:00 Intro
0:49 Pump Up Those Tyres
2:46 Clean That Bike
7:37 Lube That Chain
9:13 Outro
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48 Comments
What other tips do you have for looking after your bike?
Great video for newbies like me. I really need to clean my bike! 😬
The visual framing of the presenter at 1:07 is great. More like this please.
??? Do carbon fiber road bikes with disc brakes have different chain and seat stays ? That have been designed differently than non disc frames?
Excellent video for us beginners. Thank you
Thank you GCN for another solid video, however I do have a couple of thoughts to add to those already made, firstly, don't hose your bike in front of a window, they won't thank you for that, and secondly, degrease the oily bits before washing the frame otherwise you'll spray muck onto the frame and have to clean it twice.
maybe its too early in the morning for me but did you get the lever on the air pump in wrong way round?
I bought the Canyon Grizl CF SL 8 one by with dropper and suspension the bike is so capable
And how do you know where NOT to spray the degreaser??
Hi Alex, recently developed a couple of weird side bulges on my Hutchinson tire. No external damage, cuts, abrasions, etc. and nothing on the interior either. The tire just suddenly developed two hematomas in the sidewall on a recent ride. The tire had maybe 500 miles on it, barely broken in. What would cause such a thing? I replaced the tires right away of course with some new Conti Gatorskins. Hopefully they last a lot longer. With tire prices these days I’ll go broke if I have to buy a new set of tires every 500 miles ☹️.
I need to maintain my bike?!
There are excelent manual wap water sprayer for help cleanning the bike.
Nice bike that
Step 1) locate a mechanic
Step 2) prepare wallet
step 3) collect and pay
Easiest method. Works for all bike problems. 0 fuss
Do you shift this with box?
I use a garden leaf blower to dry my bike, works really well.
Great video. thanks for the tips. Just a couple of comments – DON'T lay your sponge on the ground unless you want to risk turning it into sandpaper and secondly DON'T soak either the top or the underside of your saddle if it's a Brooks or any other leather saddle – you could wreck it. It's also worth keeping any chemicals off the tyres. They may not do immediate damage but they MAY gradually weaken tyres with repeated soakings.
Thanks again for a good video.
Do you have to protect your disc brakes?
This is so helpful! I just purchased my first bike for commuting, and I was terrified by all the professional bike cleaning tutorials, they're just a bit too much for me. But u keep it simple and easy enough to follow. Thank you so much!
For beginners the tip of pushing the Presta valve in before starting to inflate; and if necessary adjusting the amount that the screw is undone. The screw works by pulling a rubber sleeve up to block the valve, and understanding this helps a lot
Nice 👍
I realize bike need more maintenance than I imagined!
but a clean bike pays off !
😂
Perfect, this is all I need to know before doing my first bike maintenance myself (instead of always going to a local mechanic, they're pretty busy when spring begins). 🙂 Thank you!
Why you wasting water to clean a bike which is already clean..?
That’s a clean as bike
What do you do after wash your bike for the brake disc noise ???
nice one
Really good video, but just concerned about all of the degreaser and soap going into the drains… animals end up drinking that water. Perhaps there is a way to contain all of the soap and chemicals?
Thank you!
Wd40 on chain after washing it??? Is that ok? To prevent rust?
How many times do you have to do that? Cleaning probably after every ride out. What about Lubeing your chains?
Excellent video very useful cheers
Up and rolling
Wait… where are the bearings? 😅 I just cleaned my bike and I may have done that. I just sprayed it everywhere😩
How often should I clean my drive train like this given my usage below?
I only ride on pavement for about 45 minutes, three times a week in sunny conditions and store my bike in the garage when not in use.
What oil are you using for chain?
Awesome vedio
Thanks! 🙂
Loved the video! Is it ok that these chemicals are released into the environment?
Why does GCN insist on using what may very well be the worst chain lube on the market… Muc-Off. In some tests it's actually worse than using no lube at all. See the ZFC test data. Muc-Off is kinda a low-brow dishonest company in general. Makes me wonder about GCN. Birds of a feather fly together…
Great vid. Btw what is a hose pipe? Do you name everything twice.
Hi, very helpful video. One QUESTION- what lube did you use?
ty!
Respect your mechanic! NO more water pressure than you'd use on your flowers in the garden please! Standard dish soap works just fine as long as you rinse well, put it directly on your sponge to wipe the drivetrain, brush it on the rest.
IMHO you put way too much lube on that chain, you're either gonna end up with a mess or spend a lot of time wiping off the excess. Capillary attraction will carry the lube into all the key areas of the chain so less is more.
I’m enjoying the bike so far https://www.youtube.com/post/UgkxMesz3KOGEmwmvyKQfLfrRSUXLFzfVHZA My only real complaints are the brakes and the pedals. I feel like a bike designed for bigger people should have much larger pedals and more heavy duty brakes. I’ve only gotten two really good rides out of it, minimal downhill action, and the brakes feel like they’re already going out. A larger person has more momentum, so I think this wasn’t thought through very well. Also, I wear size 13-14 wide shoes. My feet cramp up on these pedals that are clearly made for smaller feet. Since I’m not a pro rider (and I don’t think many are who purchase this bike) I don’t think that the straps on the pedal are necessary at all. None of this takes away from the enjoyment I get from riding, however. I’ll just head to a bike shop to improve on a few things.
Thanks !!!!!!!’
Ive been riding bikes since 6 years old and only now as an adult am I learning anything about maintaining them :/
Didn't he just spray degreaser straight into his jockey wheel bearings?
Omg 😳 have been using a bike pump wrong for 30+ years. I pushed the lever in the wrong direction to put it on and then moved it the wrong way. I always thought bike pumps were garbage. FFS.
Can WD40 be used in a bike chain as lube?