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I bought a mountain bike today. I bought it mainly to get to and from work easier as i don't and never will drive. I know a few members here are into Mountain Biking and i was wondering if they have any advice to maintaining the bike etc.

A mountain bike to get to work? Generally a road bike is used for that, unless you've got some woods you want to ride through on the way.

Get a Helmet.

Saved me from some nasty injuries a while back.

If you are going to be riding in traffic at all you might want to consider an orange vest as well.

If you think there's even a chance you'll be riding at night you'll what lights and lots of relective stuff to make you very visible to people driving cars.


I'd also second Faram recomendation about the helmet.

Sea Skimmer wrote:A mountain bike to get to work? Generally a road bike is used for that, unless you've got some woods you want to ride through on the way.

A mountain bike is slower than a road bike, but most people find it gives a more comfortable riding position and is also easier to control. They're also less fragile than road bikes and stand up better to the wear & tear of commuting.

Advice? Get a helmet, a good helmet, one that fits you perfectly and that you'll want to wear. Doesn't matter if the helmet's worth more than your bike, your brain is too valuable to cheap out on. And wear it, Always. Cycling gloves are nice to have too, when, not if, you fall off your bike they'll save you some skin, and they also keep your hands from getting too rough and calloused.

As for the bike, keep it clean, you don't have to wash & wax it but do wipe the crud off it every now & then. Keep the chain clean & oiled. You don't need to drown it in lube but you want enough oil on it so it doesn't squeak. It's best to lightly lube the chain every few days and then run it through a rag while spinning the cranks backwards to wipe off the excess lube and grime. You'll also want to clean the gears off with a rag when they start getting gummed up. Also check the air pressure in the tires every week or 2.

Also, if you notice something funny or wrong with your bike and you can't figure out what it is, get it to a bikeshop ASAP. I'm a bicycle mechanic and I've seen countless cases where customers kept riding when something was wrong and turned a $5 repair into a $100 repair or even wrote their bikes off altogether.

Get a helmet. Wear it. Always.

Can't help too much on maintainance other than lubrication of certain parts, but to reiterate what everyone else has been saying (and perhaps adding one or two):
1. Helmet. Wear always.
2. Orange reflector vest
3. Red flasher light for the back and possibly a headlight as well (not that they do too much, but it's good for helping others see you.)
4. Make sure you know your hand signals and use them.

Mountain bikes also allow you to do things other than ride along nice paved roads... One reason why I love them.

Yeah i'm not long back from the bike shop. I bought a nice helmet, in red and black and it's very comfortable. I also bought a few puncture repair kits just incase, mud guards, a new gel filled seat for my jelly filled ass and bicycle clips considering i wear a suit to work. I chequed my tyres with my dads pressure gauge and they are good. Tomorrow i'll take it arround the park to get used to riding it. If i get the norion i may even take it to a forrest and use it as it was intended. I'd need to lose a lot more weight however before i go our in public in tight lycra.

Lord Pounder wrote:Yeah i'm not long back from the bike shop. I bought a nice helmet, in red and black and it's very comfortable. I also bought a few puncture repair kits just incase, mud guards, a new gel filled seat for my jelly filled ass and bicycle clips considering i wear a suit to work. I chequed my tyres with my dads pressure gauge and they are good. Tomorrow i'll take it arround the park to get used to riding it. If i get the norion i may even take it to a forrest and use it as it was intended. I'd need to lose a lot more weight however before i go our in public in tight lycra.

Good for you

When you feel that you vant more power in the pedals take a look at SPD pedals.

They keep your foot on the same position all the time and you get some power when you lift them also.

--I have been riding my bike for ages all over the place. The best advice I can give you is to ride such that a person in a car could not hit you if they tried to. This isn't always possible, but often it is. Never trust drivers to do anything remotely intelligent.