Bike Maintenance Tips: How to lubricate and adjust brakes and gears

Do you need bike maintenance tips? Do your bicycle care in the right way, including lubricating and adjusting brakes and gears of your beloved bike.

Cleaning and lubricating your bike on a regular basis, as part of usually given bike maintenance tips, help in keeping bike riding smoothly.

Every two weeks or so, lubricate its brake pivots, freewheel, derailleurs, chain, and inner cables if you ride a lot. Try using a dry (graphite) spray lubricant for it will not attract dirt, unlike oil.

Also apply a light, water-resistant grease to the bearings on the headset, wheel hubs, bottom bracket, and pedals once a year or so. Also try adding light machine oil to the oil holes in 3-speed hubs.

Bike maintenance tips on bicycle brakes

Remember that with either center pull or side-pull caliper brake, the pads must contact the rims of the wheels, not the tires. Retighten the nuts if they don’t loosen the nuts that fasten them and adjust their orientation in the slots of the caliper arms.

If the hand levers are open in full, brake pads must clear the wheel rim on each side. The levers if squeezed must be at least ¾ inch from the handlebars when the bike stops. Try squeezing the pads against the wheel rim by hand when the pads or levers need adjusting.

In order to loosen the locknut on the adjuster screw, use a wrench. Turn the screw by hand counterclockwise to bring the pads closer to the wheel rim, clockwise to move them farther away. Then tighten the locknut and test the brakes.

The cable is probably  slack when the levers or pads are still out of adjustment after the adjuster screw has been turned as far as possible. So try loosening the anchor nut and ask a helper to hold the pads against the wheel . Alternatively, you may use a C-clamp to hold them.

To take up the slack, pull the free lower end of the cable with the use of pliers. Tighten the anchor nut while holding the cable taught. The release the pads and recheck the adjustment.

When the pads on side-pull brakes become stuck in the closed position, loosen the pivot bolt just until the pads come free, but do not wobbe.

Side-pull brake pads shoud be equi-distant from the wheel. If not, use hammer and screwdriver to tap the spring on the more distant caliper until the pads are balanced. The center-pull brake pads shoud be equidistant from the wheel. If not, turn the yoke using an adjustable wrench across the topes of the caliper arms in one direction or the other to bring the pads into position. The anchor nut must not be snug.

Bike maintenance tips on bicycle gears

Do not lay your bike down on its right side, shift only while pedaling, and never backpedal, in order to prevent derailleurs from slipping out of adjustment. You should adjust the rear derailleur if the chain slips off the freewheel cogs while you are riding, or refuses to go onto the largest or smallest cogs. 

Make the rear wheel off the ground. On the rear derailleur, look for the adjustment screws, usually marked H, for the smallest gear on the freewheel, and L, for the largest. A little at a time, turn the screws until the chain centers absolutely on the proper cog when you shift and pedal by hand. In the same way, adjust the front derailleur.

Adjust the sleeve nut on the end of the toggle chain to slip or bind hub and sprocket gears. You have to shift to first gear the handlebar lever, then turn the sleeve nut while looking at the inspection hole in the tunnel nut.

Then shift to second gear when the rivet at the end of the toggle chain is in the center of the hole. Give the sleeve nut another half turn then shift back to first gear. Make sure that the cable is taut, with the lever just managing the shift. Then turn the locknut finger tight against the sleeve nut … Read more

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