It’s important to give your bike some love again and again, aka. “bike care”. Regular care of your bike not only reduces wear and fewer defects, it’s also an important safety factor (keyword: brakes!).
Overall, good bike care guarantees a longer-lasting, better function of the frame and attached components. In this article we’ll give you helpful tips, you’ll learn what matters when caring for your bike and which care products shouldn’t be missing.
Attention! Before bike care comes cleaning, the instructions for that are also in the Bike Blog. With a thorough cleaning of your bike, you’ve already taken a big step towards an optimally functioning bike, but you shouldn’t neglect the subsequent care either, because during a thorough wash important lubricants are rinsed away.
A good chain oil or chain spray is essential for flawless drivetrain function. But there are a few aspects you should consider when oiling your chain.
The bike hairdryer: compressed air as help against moisture
You’ve cleaned your bike… and now it’s soaking wet. Here’s our secret tip right at the start: if you have a compressed air compressor to hand, you can use compressed air to free your drivetrain and all bearings on the frame from the remaining moisture. This dries your bike faster and prevents water marks on the frame and surface rust on the chain. Overall, this shortens the waiting time significantly, because depending on the temperature, drying can take a few hours. That way you can move on to the next care steps (like paint care, finish, etc.) faster and get riding again.
Bike care tips – an overview of care and lubricants for your bike
The bike is clean and dry, now it can continue! Only… with what? There are lots of bike care products, but which ones do you really need?
Care for the bike chain
After cleaning, check whether the chain has enough lubrication. If there’s still enough chain oil, it’s enough to roughly dry the chain with a lint-free cloth. But if the chain is dry and too degreased, you should apply a special chain oil or chain spray.
If your bike chain is too oily or greasy, it makes sense to fully degrease the lubrication with chain cleaner and then lubricate again.
> Chain spray, Chain wax and Chain oil buy online
- Make sure you wipe the outside of the chain with a cloth again afterwards, because excess oil on the chain attracts dirt like a magnet.
- You can also put a drop of oil on the rollers of the derailleur. It’s especially important to make sure that no oil gets onto the brake rotors or brake pads , otherwise braking performance won’t be guaranteed.
- Completely dirty chains where oil and dirt stick the chain links together need a bit more care urgently. With a special chain cleaner you can remove dirt and grease temporarily and thus clean the chain. After that, however, you have to apply enough lubrication again, because without grease the drivetrain quickly goes to the dogs.
> Want to know more about the different bike greases? In the blog article “Bike greases explained” you’ll find lots of information on assembly lubrication, screw locking, etc. Carbon assembly paste is covered in another article.
Bike paint care – protect the paint on your bike frame with good care
In this step your bike gets a bit of shine… it looks good and protects against new dirt!
A bike care spray or spray wax provides fresh shine and helps new dirt not to stick to your bike so quickly.
Bike protect sprays for lots of shine
The paint care is an important point because it seals the surface. That means it’s not only a protective layer; it also guarantees a radiant look for your bike.
- In the next step of bike care, apply a bike protect spray to your bike frame
- After that, you can polish the spray in with a soft, dry microfibre cloth.
- The spray makes your bike shine and also ensures that no new dirt sticks in place.
- In addition, it protects your bike from weather influences by displacing moisture and letting raindrops run off better.
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The spray mist from the bike protective polish must not end up in your lungs or on your brake rotors and brake pads. |
Frame protection films also keep the frame scratch-free after long and hard rides. They also protect the frame from unsightly stone impacts.
❗ The BMO team recommends this bike care ❗
Bike cleaner | Bike care | Carbon care | Corrosion protection
Protect vulnerable areas: frame protection films against scratches and stone impacts
Especially on a mountain bike, unsightly scratches and stone impacts on the bike frame are hard to avoid. Here, frame protection films are a simple, quick and cost-effective solution that can help you avoid bigger paint repairs. The robust plastic films are equipped with a very strong adhesive film and can be applied to the frame or bike components easily without any additional tools.
- To ensure good adhesion, the corresponding areas on the bike should be clean and free of grease.
- Right after washing the bike and before applying the protective polish is a good time to stick on the protection films.
- Before that, you should also degrease all areas thoroughly with brake cleaner and a clean cloth, then you can apply the protection film.
Frame protection films are available in different colours and designs; there’s guaranteed to be a suitable motif for your bike too.
To avoid suddenly being stuck in the middle of Wald with a fallen pedal, you should always do a quick function test as part of bike care.
The right place to store the bike
You should park your freshly cleaned and cared-for bike in a room-temperature place for the final drying. Especially in winter when it’s below freezing, uninsulated garages and basement rooms aren’t the optimal place – and let’s be honest, the freshly cleaned bike looks much better in the living room anyway!
After bike care comes the quick check
The bike is clean and cared for; finally, a short function test as part of maintenance helps you identify any problems early and fix them right away.
The following points/components are particularly important during the bike check:
Cranks and pedals
- Can the cranks and pedals be turned cleanly and without noise?
- Are the threads tight?
➔ If something isn’t right, most high-quality pedals can be disassembled into their components. A bit of assembly paste on the pedal axle and the pedal threads (before you screw the pedal back onto the crank) in most cases ensures a quiet and clean run.
Can the handlebar move without noise?
The cockpit also connects you to your bike and should therefore always work perfectly.
- Are the handlebar and stem aligned straight?
- Are all screws tightened?
- Can the headset be turned smoothly and without noise?
- You should also check the headset play. To do this, hold the headset cups with your thumb and index finger, pull the front brake and move the bike forwards and backwards. The headset cups shouldn’t move forwards and backwards. If they do, you need to loosen the stem bolts and tighten the top Ahead screw from above. Then tighten the stem bolts again.
➔ Especially in wet and cold seasons, dirt and moisture in the headset often cause unpleasant noises or functional problems. Then you have to remove the headset, clean it and before reinstallation apply enough grease to all components.
Other bike parts in the test
Pedals and cockpit are half the deal, but if you’re already at it, it’s worth checking other bike parts too. Maybe cleaning, maintenance or care is needed here?
- Are your spokes too loose?
- Does the telescopic seatpost move easily?
- Can the brake levers be moved without resistance?
- What about the typical wear parts? Look at the brake pads, cassette, chainrings and the chain. Usually there’s not much you can repair here; often replacement is the better solution
Read more in the Bike Blog
Clean your bike | Clean and care for your bike in winter | Bike care from F100 in the test | Riding a bike in the rain
