When does a bicycle need wheel maintenance?

Even if you don’t ride a bicycle very much or are a so-called “Sunday” rider, you should still have your bike serviced at least once a year. If you ride a bicycle a lot and on a daily basis, you need to pop your two-wheeled “friend” more often. Even so that he serves you longer. The bike looks nice and stylish – so are you! 😊

The toughest time for a bike is arguably the beginning of the season – early spring. In early spring, there is a lot of residual salt, sand, and granite debris from winter road maintenance on the roads. They break both shoes and bicycles. In autumn, the main unpleasant phenomenon is dirt.

Apparently, not everyone has the time or desire to deal with a squeaky wheel and a gear shift that makes suspicious noises. Therefore, such work can always be left to the professionals.

A proper bicycle must ride silently. When you hear some kind of rattling, rattling or even clattering, you have to start dealing with the issue, and for that we are here we.

Signs that indicate that the bike is “crying” for maintenance:

• The bicycle makes a “sound” – when cranking, the bicycle squeaks or even rattles.

You may also feel a slight jerk when cranking. Trying to shake the pedals a little and if they give even a little to the shaking is a clear sign that the center bearings are worn. We replace the old bearings in the mid-range with “tucks” and the bike cranks like new again.

• Gear shifting is difficult or rattles.

A slight click should be heard and felt when changing gears. However, if you have to apply force when changing gears and the gear shift is no longer accurate and you can hear a rattling sound, the cables that control the gear shift may be stretched or excessively rubbed.

It can also happen that the gear shift is out of place. It is relatively easy to adjust in itself, but as always, it requires knowledge. We can help quickly in this regard!

The chain and cassette can also cause shifting problems. As we know, everything in this world wears out, perhaps if you have “damaged” your bike a lot, the chain and cassette will also need to be replaced at some point. The chain and cassette can cause gears to “slip”.

• Braking takes more time/ground than you have calculated.

That’s already a bigger point of concern, isn’t it? If the brakes don’t work, nothing more or less than your life can be at stake. Safety first and must be checked now!

Brake pads will sooner or later wear out and the cables that control the braking can stretch. Dirt and dirt caught between the brake pad and rim also inhibits braking power.

Roller brakes, on the other hand, have an advantage because it is a closed system and therefore sand and dust do not get into it. Roller brakes can be considered practically worry-free.

The effectiveness of disc brakes can be reduced by dust and ultra-fine sand particles, getting into the braking system.

In conclusion, the brakes should bring the bike to a quick stop with just a light push of the brake lever. Otherwise, it’s not worth spending time on it or bothering yourself, but it’s wise to immediately contact the service!

• Nuts and bolts are difficult to loosen.

If you tried to adjust the height of the saddle and despite your efforts you could not loosen the nut, you need help!Thought you could adjust the fork bearing yourself as an advanced bike enthusiast, but the hex wrench didn’t move a millimeter? It’s no wonder if you keep your bike outside all the time, regardless of the weather, and the bike has only seen the oil bottle from a very long distance. When moisture and iron meet, what happens? You know – the punt will rust. The above can be prevented quite easily by using grease for the purpose and regularly. That’s what bike maintenance is for!

• The wheel rim is no longer quite round.

If the rim already has a bigger “eight” inside, it will of course not go unnoticed. On the other hand, a smaller rim curvature may go unnoticed. If you have accidentally hit a large hole or a curb with a crash, it is worth checking the rim. By lifting the bike with one hand and pushing the rim with the other hand, it should run perfectly straight when looking directly at it. If it even seems that the rim is flopping to the sides, it is necessary to come in for maintenance immediately. It is still possible to fix it, but if you drive with such a curved rim for a long time, the consequences are irreversible. In this case, the only option is to remove the rim and replace it with a new one. And this is already a much higher expense.

So what to recommend? In order to ride a bicycle for a long time and with pleasure, you need to take care of it. And if you are not a specialist yourself, come to us! Meie bicycles are taken care of by bicycle maintenance professionals with extensive experience. You can book an appointment for maintenance here.