Keeping your chain clean is essential, especially if you ride in the rain or other adverse weather conditions. Regular chain maintenance prevents rust and chain stiffness.

There are two camps in the debate over chain lubrication: proponents of lubrication and its opponents. The opponents’ argument is based on the idea that chain lubricants attract grime. When this grime becomes stuck to the chain, the opponents of lubrication believe it causes increased chain wear.

The camp promoting chain lubrication believes lubricants allow for longer chain life and reduced friction. There is little evidence to settle this debate. For more information about lubricating your chain, read on.

If your bike has been sitting all winter, or if you just purchased a used bicycle, a tune-up is in order. This article will help identify the areas of your bike you need to attend to when performing a tune-up.

The best way to start a tune up is by cleaning your bicycle. This will help you to identify any areas of concern, and who knows – you might even get a chance to see what is under all that dirt. To clean your bike, use a degreaser and some old rags. A toothbrush is good for getting into the small crevices on your bike. Don’t just sponge your bike and hose it off. It’s not a dog!

The front derailleur pushes the chain from one chainring to another. It works very similarly to the rear derailleur by shifting the chain so that it falls onto a smaller chainring, or so that is pushes against a larger chainring and eventually catches the teeth. A properly adjusted front derailleur will shift between chainrings without allowing the chain to slip off in either direction.

The Schrader valve is the type you will find on an automobile. Schrader valves are still used in some bicycle applications, but have become less popular because their size requires the drilling of a larger hole which significantly weakens narrow rims. The spring mechanism that keeps air inside a Schrader valve is also problematic for riders using compact pumps. A Presta valve can be identified by its smaller diameter and the locknut that is permanently attached to the tip of the valve.

A threaded headset gets its name from the threaded steerer tube at the top of a fork. The steerer tube is attached to the inside head tube on a frame with an adjustable race. A threaded headset can be identified easily by the quill-type stem that fits inside the steerer tube. This article will discuss repairs and adjustments of a threaded headset.

The easiest way to differentiate between a caliper brake and its counterpart, the cantilever brake, is to look where the brake is attached to the frame of your bicycle. If the brake is attached at two points, you have a cantilever brake. If the brake is attached by a single, centered bolt, you have a caliper brake. This article will discuss adjustments of the caliper brake.