large mountain bikes

with mountain biking is great exercise and great fun ... and if it is hard on the legs, it is hard on the machinery itself Keeping your bike be sure to maintain and keep the bike in better condition for the coming years.

There are three basic framework for the maintenance of the time your bike:

* Shortly before the trip,
* Only after the journey,
* Long-term storage and repairs.



Shortly before the trip, bike maintenance is relatively simple: Check the tire pressure, fill them up to level with you, and so on. Make sure that the seat canted to the right angle, make sure that the quick release levers on the wheels are sealed, and run the pedals with your hands to make sure that the derailleur is clear. Its goal is to ensure that if anything is to be observed, it is now, not when you are on the line.

After the ride, especially when it is wet or muddy, you should see the bike upside down (so it's balanced on the seat and handlebars), and run a damp cloth on the front derailleur, and the other moving parts, the shifting the chain in order to shift gears. The goal here is to take all the mud, twigs, and Brambles, before they have a way for moisture to enter. This is also the time to pop the wheels and clean it before the bike into the car to drive back home.

After the bike at home, you give everything a thorough cleaning. If you use a dry lubricant on the chain about once a month, the chain and re-apply. (We cook our bicycle chains in paraffin, but that's because we go in the winter, and it holds better, snow and salt). It is also probably the time, only the things partially apart, to the limits of your abilities and put them back together, which is great for adjusting damping systems (and the abolition of the annoying squeaks), and the tightening of the cable for the brakes the examination of brake pads, and the like.

Bicycles that in routine use in a fair bit of wear. Always check to make sure things are right, if you leave the bike and have it at home, again, the goal is to make everything and could fix before you go on the trail of fun as your limited by equipment failure.

If you do not have all weather cyclists (and not many people are), the implementation of certain measures to prepare your bike for storage and back on the road in the spring. First, if your bike, take the wheels and hang the frame. If the wheels are made of, has with the inner tubes through a bucket of soapy water to all the leaks and slow patch, and has tightened up and tuning everything you can achieve. A good book for this process is the complete bike repair manual in our online shop for bikes ready to sell. There is also a good time to true your wheels with a spoke wrench. (Some committed mountainbikers maintain their bikes after every ride ...)

If you think that the bike back into roadworthy condition, the top priority is to check the breaks, followed by the gearbox shifts - cable housing may be obtained from the shift of the bicycle is in storage, things are a bit louder than they should be. (Remember, if it makes noise, then parts that are likely not to rub, is friction.)

With this recommendation, you should also for mountain biking fun!

Derek Rogers is a freelance writer who writes for a number of British companies. For Mountain Bike specialists, he recommends Merlin cycles.