How often do you service your road bike?

[Mububban]

I'm approaching 3000km in ~16 months on my road bike, I know that's not much for many here, but I've never done this sort of regular mileage before.

I know it's a bit "how long is a piece of string?", but how often do you service your bike? Is it at every X thousand kms? Or only when something feels off?

I usually commute twice a week and do a <80km ride on the weekends. But I'll be ramping that up and doing more hill climbing and descents leading up to 3 Dams. So far the disc pads look okay.
I do ride this bike in the winter on wet roads, but that's after it's rained, not while it's actively raining.
I also clean and lube the drivetrain monthly. No high pressure washers used around hubs etc.

Thanks

[g-boaf]

I check it at the end of the week or before a particularly big ride. But not too much more than that. Mine tend to run trouble free.

3000km is fine for your road bike. I've done more than 1000km in seven days. You are doing relatively little kms on it, so I wouldn't be concerned. Just look over it regularly or if you notice any unusual noises or if something isn't quite working perfectly then look more closely.

I do my own servicing unless something very unusual happens - so my bikes are usually never seen at the bike shop where I purchased them from.

[eeksll]

regularly clean/lube chain, check for chainwear at the same time.

other than that, only look if something feels/sounds a bit off.

[Tim]

My maintenance schedule;

Pump tyres every 3-7 days. Quick visual inspection of bike.
200km - Wipe and oil chain, drop of oil to jockey wheels (optional). Oil chain after rain.
500-1000km - Drop of oil to Front and Rear Derailleur pivot points (all moving derailleur joints).
1000km - Replace No. 1 chain with No.2 chain. No.1 wash in petrol and stored till 2000km (rotate each chain every 1000km)
- Drop of oil to brake caliper pivot points.
- Check wheels true.
5000km - Replace Rear Derailleur Inner and Outer Cable. Tune RD.
- Check Headset, Bottom Bracket, Pedals and Wheel Bearings Tension (Very quick side to side"wobble" test)
7000km - New tyres
10,000km - 2 x New Chains on rotation, as above.
- Squirt of Boeshield T9 to shifter internals.
20,000km - New Cassette, New Sm Chainring (39T, Lge. 53T only used 10% of riding time, never wears out), New Chains.
- Open wheel hubs, inspect bearings, repack or replace if necessary (usually not). BB and Headset bearings replaced when needed.
- Replace Front and Rear Derailleur Cables (Tune derailleurs). Maybe brake cable/s if needed.
Check every nut/bolt/screw tension every six months. Just check not loose, don't tighten any harder.
Don't wash with a garden hose or ANY water (IMHO, it wrecks bearings).
This routine covers roughly a two year timespan.

[P!N20]

This routine covers roughly a two year timespan.

It would take me about two years to do all that.

[Tim]

^^^
Nah.
The slowest job is re-cabling.
Takes me less than an hour.
Everything else is quick and not really that frequent. Maybe 15 minutes a week on average.
I enjoy it. Bikes are very simple contraptions, generally. Di2 complicates things and that's why it doesn't appeal to me.
None of my bikes have ever been back to the LBS for service and I've never had roadside mechanical problems other than punctures and broken or frayed cables (touch wood).

[tez001]

Every 3-4 weeks, I'll do a wipe down of the bike, clean the brake rims and pads and lube the chain as well as a quick visual to ensure everything else looks on place (brake / gear cables not fraying etc).

Once a year, I might regrease the hubs and freewheel if I feel inclined.

Probably the bare minimum, however touch wood, my machines have been quite reliable.

Oh, the bike mounted on the trainer, zero maintenance.

[Duck!]

Typical routine would be to check chain lube and tyre pressure weekly. Give the bike a general once-over checking gear tuning, wheel true, bearings for play or rough running etc every six months, and a more thorough going over, servicing the bearings annually.

Some posts above mention putting a drop of oil on the derailleur jockey wheels, but that doesn't do much, the oil will just sit in the channel in which the flange of the bushing cover sits and not get into the bushings. As part of your annual service remove the jockey wheels from the derailleur so you can lift the covers off, push the bushings out (very eay, they're not a tight fit) and apply a lick of grease to them, then refit in the reverse manner. If the pulleys run on ball bearings (only the higher-level ones do), carefully pick one of the bearing seals off and squish a small amount of grease into the bearing. While you're playing with the jockey wheels, check the float, especially the top one, because that one affects the shifting. There should be a small amount of lateral float, but it should stay pretty well vertical and not tilt at all. If you can tilt the pulley by more than a few degrees the bushings are worn and the pulleys need to be replaced. The lower pulley is primarily just to tension the chain, so it can get pretty worn before it will begin to affect anything. At 3000km there shouldn't be any significant wear, but worth chucking some grease in.

3000km is about when you should at least start checking chain wear. Exact chain life is highly dependent on a number of factors, but 3000km is around the entry point of potentially expecting to need to replace the chain. However a well-maintained and not-abused chain could very well last at least double that. Staying on top of chain wear will extend the life of the cassette and chainrings; continuing to use a worn chain will rapidly eat the other drivetrain bits. I'm not a fan of removing the chain unless it's time to throw it out; with a tiny amount of care to lubing and cleaning, the chain never gets dirty enough to warrant removal for thorough flushing (which strips any remaining factory lube from inside the rollers where it's needed most), thus extending its service life. With good chain care, a cassette should see out three chains. Chainrings will last even longer.

Gear cables WILL fray and break inside the shifter sooner or later; it's an inherent weakness of stainless steel cables in exchange for reduced friction over cheap & nasty galvanised cables. How frequently they go is largely dependent on how much you shift gears, moreso than a certain distance, but unless you're doing a lot of distance, generally you'd look at them as part of the first 12-month service, then every 6 months after that The front derailleur cable will last longer than the rear, firstly because it's shifted less, and secondly because it has a much shorter wrap around the shifter barrel, so less stress & fatigue. Cable outers also wear over time; the wear is internal so not visible, and again, individual riding conditions will affect lifespan, but worth at least checking as part of the annual bigger service. Good condition outers will feel quite supple and springy when bent; worn outers will be harder & more rigid.

Tyres you do as necessary. Due to the bike's weight bias, rear tyres will wear faster than front, but like chains, exact life will depend on numerous factors. As a general rule, when the rear tyre wears out, chuck it, move the old front tyre to the rear wheel and fit the new tyre to the front, where you want the better grip. Some tyre combinations are front/rear specific, but these are pretty rare; in these cases the front tyre will have a softer, grippier compound for handling, while the rear will have a harder, more durable but less grippy compound, so on balance the two will wear moe evenly.

[chriso_29er]

Probably not enough lol.
Now over 8000km, all I've done is a set of tyres (4000km) and rear gear cable (5000km).

I keep it well tuned and lubed though. And gets a wash when it starts looking dirty, about every 2 weeks.
Check tyre pressures before every ride, check tyres for cuts after every ride.

[Mububban]

Thanks all. I'll book it in for a checkup before 3 Dams. Might buy myself a chain checking tool too.

[Kronos]

I take my bike out for a test ride every now and then, give my bike a good look over and if everything is fine, ride on. If everything is fine there's no need to do anything, bearings are sealed and can only be really noticed when they become clicky. The derailleur will tell you itself if its hopping or clicking/grinding on something. The teeth on your cogs will tell you when they're worn out, tyres will tell you the same, etc... Bikes don't need much servicing, in fact over servicing can kill a bike. No need for special chain lube or anything else, I go to super cheap and buy a can of Fuchs chain lube for motorbikes suitable for O and X ring chains and ride on.

[Nate]

Its not helpful - but "depends on usage"

Think about it this way - your gear cables will last for 5,000 uses. How long that takes is up to you!

[Philistine]

Bikes don't need much servicing, in fact over servicing can kill a bike.

Late ninteenth century author and cycling buff Jerome K Jerome had this to say about over servicing a bike:

There are two ways you can get exercise out of a bicycle: you can “overhaul” it, or you can ride it. On the whole, I am not sure that a man who takes his pleasure overhauling does not have the best of the bargain. He is independent of the weather and the wind; the state of the roads troubles him not. Give him a screw-hammer, a bundle of rags, an oil-can, and something to sit down upon, and he is happy for the day. He has to put up with certain disadvantages, of course; there is no joy without alloy. He himself always looks like a tinker, and his machine always suggests the idea that, having stolen it, he has tried to disguise it; but as he rarely gets beyond the first milestone with it, this, perhaps, does not much matter. The mistake some people make is in thinking they can get both forms of sport out of the same machine. This is impossible; no machine will stand the double strain. You must make up your mind whether you are going to be an “overhauler” or a rider. Personally, I prefer to ride, therefore I take care to have near me nothing that can tempt me to overhaul. When anything happens to my machine I wheel it to the nearest repairing shop. If I am too far from the town or village to walk, I sit by the roadside and wait till a cart comes along.

[madmacca]

Bikes don't need much servicing, in fact over servicing can kill a bike.

Late ninteenth century author and cycling buff Jerome K Jerome had this to say about over servicing a bike:

There are two ways you can get exercise out of a bicycle: you can “overhaul” it, or you can ride it. On the whole, I am not sure that a man who takes his pleasure overhauling does not have the best of the bargain. He is independent of the weather and the wind; the state of the roads troubles him not. Give him a screw-hammer, a bundle of rags, an oil-can, and something to sit down upon, and he is happy for the day. He has to put up with certain disadvantages, of course; there is no joy without alloy. He himself always looks like a tinker, and his machine always suggests the idea that, having stolen it, he has tried to disguise it; but as he rarely gets beyond the first milestone with it, this, perhaps, does not much matter. The mistake some people make is in thinking they can get both forms of sport out of the same machine. This is impossible; no machine will stand the double strain. You must make up your mind whether you are going to be an “overhauler” or a rider. Personally, I prefer to ride, therefore I take care to have near me nothing that can tempt me to overhaul. When anything happens to my machine I wheel it to the nearest repairing shop. If I am too far from the town or village to walk, I sit by the roadside and wait till a cart comes along.

Nice quote!

[macca33]

Daily - tyre pressure and general lookover for tyre wear/damage,
Twice weekly - wipe and clean chain,
Weekly - wash, clean and lube chain, check all cables are good,
Annually - strip BB, Headset, Forks - clean and regrease, replace cables if necessary, true wheels (unless required during the year)...

cheers