Tips for Maintaining Mountain Bike

Do you love mountain biking? Exploring the muddy trails and smutty tracks can be more fun if you are on a mountain bike. For all wanderlust souls, mountains hold a special place in their hearts. Be it trekking in winter or spring, with mountain bicycles the journey can be smooth and full of adventure. Since mountain bikes are such an important part of your travel, it is also your responsibility to keep them in good shape. With a little care and maintenance, you can increase the longevity of your mountain bicycle. Want to know how to maintain a mountain bike? Here’s a guide. 

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Mountain Bike Maintenance Tips

Mountain biking involves rough landscapes, risky roads and technical skills. Only true riders and adventure junkies realise the value of riding a mountain bike. But riding a mountain bike is not enough, you must know how to maintain it as well. Follow these mountain bike maintenance tips and prepare for the upcoming trails which are challenging and full of thrill! 

Check the Tyre Pressure

Riding a mountain bicycle on rocky roads can affect the tyre and no one wants a flat tyre during their ride. It is thus important for the riders to check the tyre pressure. As a beginner, you may not know how to check the tyre pressure of your mountain bike. But don’t worry! With a mountain bike tyre pressure guide you will know exactly what to do. You can calculate the tyre pressure using a digital gauge. For that, you can use a digital gauge which helps to check the tyre pressure in the fastest way possible, without ruining your riding experience. 

Check the Shifting

Check your mountain cycle's gears when you run it for a test ride. If the gears don’t feel right, see whether the wheels are correctly positioned in the skewers or not. If the wheels are positioned well, move the barrel adjustment on the gears forward and backwards, if you know how to do it. If you don’t, be careful. Twisting parts randomly can make the gearshift worse.

Also, check for mountain bike chain maintenance to ensure the links run smoothly across the chainring and the cassette. If the chain is skipping, then there must be a frozen link. This issue can be fixed if you lubricate it. However, if your shifting and chain movement are still not smooth, you should check for the typical derailleur problems. 

Watch Your Brakes

Riding your bike during the journey is not the time to check the functionality of your brakes. If an air bubble gets trapped in the reservoir during mountain biking, it can cause serious trouble. For this reason, you should test your mountain bike around your house and pump up the brakes. If you find that the brakes are a little loose, it means there are bubbles in the reservoir and by pumping them a few times, you can release the air bubble. You can also flip your mountain bike upside down to release the trapped air bubble. If the brakes feel soft, ensure that the pads are not damaged. 

You must also check if there’s any leak in the lines. If your brakes are firm, you don’t have to check the pads every time you take it for a spin. However, there’s no harm in inspecting for a deterioration in the brakes every now and then. 

Watch the Fit

If you haven’t been riding your mountain bike in a very long time make sure you check every little detail of your bike. See if nothing feels off since the last time you rode it. Make adjustments to the saddle or post height, provided your bike has a dropper post. Ensure everything is in working order. 

Check the Pedals

Pedals are essential for a seamless cycling experience. However, they are the most ignored parts of a bicycle. When you take a mountain bike for a ride, it hits roads and roots damaging the pedals. If dirt and filth are stuck in the pedals, it causes them to freeze. Before you go mountain biking, make sure your pedals are clean and you can get in and out of it easily. 

Check Screws and Bolts

Suppose you are riding your mountain bike on the meandering trails and your wheels have come off. Sounds scary, right? To ensure this doesn’t happen, check the screws and bolts of both wheels and make sure they are tightened. Checking for these small parts is important especially if the bike’s components are newly fitted which offers a lot of torque, for instance, the chainring. After a couple of rides, these components tend to get loose. Thus, to ensure everything is fitted well, you should check for bolts and screws regularly. 

Take Care of the Drivetrain

After you ride a mountain bike, make sure you clean the chaining. Use a clean towel to wipe off the dirt and grime from the chain. Furthermore, to make sure it spins well, lubricate it from time to time. If you don’t know which lube to choose, consult a specialist depending on the terrain conditions. 

Lubing the chain after a ride keeps dust off the chain compared to lubing before a ride. Put on the lube carefully to each link and remove the excess. Don’t use lube in massive amounts as it negatively impacts shifting. Also, avoid deep cleaning or scrubbing the chain too frequently. You can clean the chain, depending on how much you go mountain biking. 

Conclusion