Bicycle Maintenance

Air: Do your tires have air? If they feel soft when pinched or are visibly flat, you need to inflate them before you can ride. Pumps are available at Buck, the BOC, and the Yellow Bike Club during mechanic hours.

Brakes: Do your brakes work to stop your bike? If you have brake levers, do they engage the brake before hitting the handlebars? If not, take your bike to Yellow Bike Club mechanic hours or a local bike shop. 

Chain: Is your chain noisy, rusty, or filthy? If the answer to any of those is yes, wipe down and lubricate your chain. It’s also a good idea to wipe down and lubricate your chain after riding in the rain for extended periods of time, or if your chain looks dry. 

About once a month or so, check your brake and shift cables for rust. If your cables are rusty, replace them! Rusty brake cables can fail when braking hard, and rusty shift cables work poorly or not at all.

While you're checking your cables, take a second to check your tire treads. If your tires are cracked or bald, they will need replacing sooner rather than later.

• Park Tool's Youtube channel is comprehensive and has many well-made maintenance and repair videos.
• RJ the Bike Guy on YouTube is a bit less comprehensive than Park Tool (and has lower production value), but is very helpful for older bikes. He also has many overhaul/replacement videos that are great references if you are interested in tinkering with and upgrading parts of your bike.
• Syd Fixes Bikes on YouTube has some great beginner-friendly videos, especially for mountain bikes.

• Stop by Yellow Bike Club open mechanic hours to learn from peers.

• If you are buying bike parts at a local bike shop, you can (politely) ask the shop mechanics for tips and tricks.

• Park Tool's Big Blue Book of Bicycle Repair is a great reference to start learning parts of your bike, how it's put together, and how to do all but the most advanced repairs (the Yellow Bike Club has a copy).
• A similar, although more bike-specific book, is Zinn and the Art of Road Bike Maintenance (for road bikes) or Zinn and the Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance (for mountain bikes)
• Though sometimes outdated, Sheldon Brown's website has a lot of (often opinionated) information on bike repair and how bikes work – especially helpful for learning how your bike is put together and why it works.

It can be tricky to find the space and tools to work on your bike when you live in a dorm! Luckily, there are a few places around campus to work on your bike:

• Outdoor repair stands at Buck and Edwards.
• Yellow Bike Club open mechanic hours.