Annual Servicing
Wheel Life column - 30 January, 1999
by Todd Litman and Suzanne Kort - Victoria Transport Policy Institute

Your bicycle takes good care of you, so it's only fair that you should return the favor with regular preventive maintenance. Winter is a good time to give your trusty metal steed its annual servicing.

At a minimum your bike probably needs a tune up. This involves adjusting brakes, deraillures, and bearings, truing wheels, and checking for loose or worn components. This is also a good time to replace worn tires, cables, chairs and gears, and to install any new accessories. A typical tune-up costs $25-50, plus parts.

A bike should receive a complete overhaul every few years, or more frequently if it is ridden regularly in wet and muddy conditions. An overhaul involves dismantling each bearing set, checking for signs of wear, and reassembling it all with clean grease. It's a major project that typically costs $50-150.

Of course, if you fancy yourself a mechanic, you can try it yourself. First you'll need to invest a couple hundred dollars in a repair stand, specialized tools and lubricants. That's assuming that you already have a full set of general mechanics tools.

Be warned that bicycles are delicate machines much easier to take apart than to reassemble. Amateurs often find that they make matters worse rather than better with their first attempts.

Truing bicycle wheels is particularly demanding, as much art as science. To the uninitiated it looks easy to tighten and straighten a wheel using a few turns of a spoke wrench, yet beginners inevitably get it all mixed up and warped.

There's no shame in making mistakes, of course. Chalk up each error as part of your learning experience. After a few hours of frustration and damages you'll get the hang of it. If worst-comes-to-worse you can simply deliver the disassembled bicycle to your trusty bikeshop and let them reassemble it. Believe us, your bike mechanic has done it before.

Whatever you do, don't turn your beloved bicycle over to an overeager friend who claims to "know something about bike mechanics." Let your friend mess up his own bicycle!

Once your bike looks and works well, you'll want to find a good place to park it, especially if you bicycle commute. Choose place that is protected from the weather and secure from theft. A growing number of worksites have special areas for bicycle storage. If you're not sure, check with your building manager, who may be able to find you a suitable spot.

For a small fee you can store your bicycle downtown at Chain, Chain, Chain (1410 Broad Street, 385-1739). They also offer a changing room, repair services and a shot of organic coffeeeverything a bicycle commuter needs.

Almost all of the downtown parkades have bike racks located within view of the attendants' booths. The Olympia City Council recently decided to keep these employees, at least for another year, rather than automate their functions, which helps provide secure bicycle storage in downtown. See today's map for locations.