General Bike Maintenance

• Pumping tires: The wheels have the PSI that they should be written on them - about 50PSI for mountain bike tires and 20-30PSI for fat tires. I pump them about every 3 weeks.
  • But in winter, you might want the tires to be not pumped up quite as much, because tires with less air have more traction.
  • Keeping them pumped prevents flat tires.
• Cleaning and oiling chain: I lubricate the chain every 5 weeks or so, and clean it even less often, but it might be more ideal to clean it before lubricating it. When you clean it, dry it off afterwards with a rag, don't leave it wet.
  • In the winter, it's good to clean and lubricate the chain much more often. This is because the sand and salt are hard on the bike (it's good if you can avoid sand and salt, but they can't always be avoided). If you don't do this you'll probably need the whole gear system and chain replaced in the spring.