Cycling guides / Maintenance
Most bike failures are caused by a dirty drivetrain and low tyre pressure, not bad parts. Clean the chain after every wet ride, check tyre pressure weekly, inspect brake pads monthly.
British weather is harder on bikes than the bikes themselves. Salt, grit and rain destroy drivetrains in weeks if they are not maintained, while poorly-pressured tyres cause more failures than any component. The Workshop Desk produces every maintenance guide on Cyclesite. Contributors hold Cytech qualifications and have worked on UK bike-shop service counters; every step is replicated on a real bike before publication.
Replace rim and disc brake pads yourself. How to tell which brakes you have, when pads are worn out, the step-by-step for both types, and how to bed new pads in.
9 min
Clean and lubricate a bike chain, cassette and chainrings properly. The kit you need, the order of work, wet versus dry lube, and the mistakes that wear a drivetrain out early.
9 min
Modern performance bikes often use an integrated cockpit, a one-piece bar and stem with cables hidden through the headset. It looks clean and is slightly more aero, but servicing costs more and the fit cannot be easily changed. Buy the right size, check the front end, and factor higher running costs.
7 min read
A roadside puncture takes 10 minutes once you have done it twice. Tools needed: tyre levers, a spare tube of the right size, a pump or CO2. The trick is to find what caused the puncture before fitting the new tube. Running fingers around the inside of the tyre stops the same thorn going through twice.
12 min
Most bike failures are caused by a dirty drivetrain and low tyre pressure, not bad parts. Clean and lube the chain after every wet ride, check tyre pressure weekly, inspect brake pads monthly. A basic three-month service prevents the expensive failures and costs nothing in tools.
25 min
Tubeless setup needs three things to work first time: a rim and tyre that are both UST or TLR rated, fresh sealant, and a high-volume air source (track pump with chamber, compressor, or tubeless-specific charger). Skip any of those and you will fight the bead for an hour.
22 min
Clean and lube the chain after every wet ride. Check tyre pressure weekly. Inspect brake pads monthly. Book a basic service every three to six months. An annual full service with bearing checks, cable replacement and brake bleeds runs £100-£200 in the UK.
See the full guide index or browse who writes our guides.
Follow us on our social channels to keep up with the latest listings, cycling guides and company news.
If you'd like to be added to our mailing list, or have any media-related enquiries, please contact our press team:
Contact our press team