The Beginner’s Guide to Getting Your Bike Ready for Spring

Fair weather is easy on the soul, especially in the winter. It’s simpler to transition to the bike and out the door if the temperatures outside are in the mid-forties. It gets even better if mother nature has sent a little sunshine your way. And even better if it’s the weekend and you don’t have to go into the office.

Yet, alas: winters are never gentle. Even if the sun shines a light in your direction, motivation may be lacking. After the holidays, when we return to the weekly grind, the last thing we think about is our bicycle.

That bicycle: hanging on the wall or propped up against the hot-water heater. The last time it saw any action was before Thanksgiving. Or possibly before Halloween. Labor Day? Heaven help us…

Now in mid-January roads where you live may be dirty, full of rock-salt and slush, wrecking havoc on your favorite bike. So why even take it out of the garage? Just let it sit there in the grimy old basement, getting dusty and rusty, losing air each day.

You won’t go very far on a bicycle in spring if it hasn’t seen any love since the Fourth of July. You need to take the time and grease, clean, inflate and do whatever is necessary to make your bike street ready by spring. Sure, you could bring it to your mechanic, but simple winter maintenance is easy, inexpensive, and helps you get to know you bike better than you ever knew it before.

Here’s what you need to do to get your bike road-ready for the spring:

Get Rid of the Gunk

Be sure to get rid of all that dirt and mud that has accumulated on the bottom of your bicycle during last season. Don’t attack the bicycle with a brush and soap. If the mud is hard, first spray it down with a garden sprayer or a hose to loosen up the larger bits and rinse them away.

Then take a simple brush and soapy water to those dirty parts. Dish detergent works fine. I typically use a separate brush to clean the drivetrain since I don’t want any of that grease on my frame.

Take special care in spraying the front derailleur, the bottom bracket, the pulleys and rear derailleur. Spraying clean water into all these crevasses will help you get the grit out of the springs and mechanisms.

Check your Chain for Wear

Your bike operates from metal-on-metal interaction.  Regardless of the amount of oil you put on your chain (of which you shouldn’t put too much), the drivetrain will wear down over time and create trouble when shifting. Use a Shimano or a Park Tool chain-checker to calibrate the amount of wear on your chain. Or if you have had trouble in the past with shifting, you may want to change out your chain.

Here’s a good rule of thumb: if you bike over 2,000 miles annually, replace your chain every year.

An even better rule of thumb is to replace your entire drivetrain all in one go. A new chain on an old sprocket will only wear down the chain faster. You’re better off replacing the chain, sprocket and cranks all at once. And if you think that is an expensive repair, consider what you would do for your car. You wouldn’t risk driving with an old timing belt, would you?

Give Yourself a Brake

Make sure your bike can stop. Check your breaks.

If you have cable-pull brakes, look at the cable ends. Frayed ends mean the cable is unraveling and is losing tension in the caliper. Replace the cables and put on new cable ends to prevent the new cable from fraying.

Pull the brake levers carefully. Are the cables getting jammed at any point? Are they difficult to pull? You may have water in the housing that has oxidized. Here, you’ll want to ask your mechanic to replace the cables and the housing.

Check your brake pads. Shimano road brake pads have a limit line. If you’ve reached that mark – or you can’t see the grooves on the pads anymore – it’s time to buy new ones.

Hydraulic brakes? They can get messy if you don’t know what you’re doing. But pull the levers towards the handlebars. If the levers touch the handlebars without properly engaging the rotors, you may have air in the line (or a lack of hydraulic fluid). In which case, bring it to the mechanic and have him fill the line.

Shifters and Cables

With cable-pull shifters, you’ll want to double-check (again) the ends aren’t frayed. Check again to make sure the cables aren’t rusted in the housing as you did with the brakes.

With electric shifters, make sure you charge your battery before your first ride! Sometimes the light will show green when in fact it is only a residual charge. Once you start shifting gears that green will quickly go to red and will leave you in the valley if the battery isn’t fully charged.

Double check all connections and wires with the Di2 setup. Give a couple of test shifts in your garage before you head out on the streets.

Derailleurs: Avoid Skipping Chains

Nothing is more annoying than a chain skipping during the first spring ride. After replacing your chain (as mentioned above) be sure to tune your derailleurs to make sure they aren’t rubbing against the chain when you shift. If you aren’t sure what to do, your mechanic can take care of this.

One item worth checking is your derailleur hanger: that small piece of aluminum attaching your really expensive derailleur to your super-expensive bike. They are made from weak aluminum for a reason: if your bike should ever hit the ground you want the hanger to break (not the derailleur or the bike).

These get bent (very, very easily) from time to time and cause a lot of shifting problems. Stand at the back of your bicycle and shift your bike down into the lowest cog. Does the derailleur look crooked? You probably have to replace the hanger. Talk to your mechanic and get it fixed for butter smoothness.

While you’re back there, take a small, flat-headed screwdriver and hold it against the black pulleys of your derailleur cage. Spin the wheels a few times and scrape all that gunk off the pulleys (don’t get the screwdriver caught in the spokes).

Rubber Side Down

No matter how bad you are at shifting, no other part of your bicycle will take the abuse that your tires see in a season. The sudden stops, the cornering, the fresh tar, and the spilled beer all add to tire wear.

Check your tires. Look for cracks in the sidewalls or exposed threads. Good tires are expensive – and they are worth it. If you replace your tires, consider replacing your inner tubes as well. However, if you haven’t had a flat, consider using the same tubes under new tires.

Spin your back wheel and look at its rotation through the rear (caliper) brake. Does it bobble to one side? You must true those wheels which takes a lot of talent and a lot of patience. If it does not interest you to learn how, bring it to your mechanic and get your wheels straight.

Lend a Hand

Handlebar tape is probably the second most abused component of your bike. Rain, sweat and drink-mix all combine into an unfriendly cocktail, ruining the adhesive on your bar tape and unraveling your master weaves.

Replace the handlebar tape if you see nicks or if there is unraveling. A good weave looks pro and is a secure hold when you’re on the downhill.

Adjust Seat Height

Many cyclists don’t realize their changes in physiology over the winter. Cold weather contracts muscles and makes it harder for them to perform the same actions they efficiently performed in mild temperatures. So if you are planning on just jumping on the seat after five months of abstinence, you may find the seat too high for your legs.

Take a second and lower your seat a few millimeters. Then, as your legs get warmed up as the season progresses, you can raise that seat to its normal height.

All set? Great! Let us know what maintenance you perform on your bike to get it ready for the spring.

Take a look at our spring selection of trips and get yourself biking in some good weather early in the season!