As you've probably noticed, cycling can be quite an expensive sport, especially mountain biking, where parts are most likely to break. In many cases, maintaining your bike properly can increase its lifespan. So, here are a few tips to help you:

Washing your bike:

Washing your bike properly is important, but be careful not to spray it with the hose too often. We often mistakenly think that we can wash our bike like we wash our car. If you want your bike to shine permanently, prioritize dry cleaners . On very muddy days, it's not a bad idea to rinse it with water, but always be careful not to spray the water directly on your headset or your suspension pivots. Otherwise, after a season, your bearings may be rusty or dry and you will have to change them prematurely.

Check your channel:

If you want to save money on your drivetrain, check your chain often and change it regularly. This will help you keep your cassette and chainring in good condition for longer. To do this, it's recommended to change your chain when its stretch is 0.5 for a 12-speed and 0.75 for an 11-speed or below.

To give you an idea, a SRAM GX chain costs around $50, but a GX cassette costs around $340. Then, cleaning your chain and drivetrain with a degreaser is a good practice to adopt, since this will prevent there from being lots of dried mud in clusters in the pulleys or between the gears . At the very least, wipe the chain with a cloth before applying oil and there is no need to brush your system, a simple drizzle of oil is enough.

Perform the 50-hour service of your suspensions every year:

Whether you ride 7 days a week or once a week, I strongly recommend servicing your suspensions every year. Why? Because your suspensions are one of the most important components on your mountain bike. By doing the 50h, we can also detect that your cartridge is starting to wear out and therefore rebuild it with a 200h service to prevent it from giving up on you in the middle of the 1837. Also, you will see that your suspension will be more ¨plush¨ if you maintain it well.

Replace the tubeless sealant every year:

If you're riding tubeless and a small hole appears on your tire, you want your sealant inside to still be liquid and not crusted inside the tire. Otherwise, the chances of your flat sealing are pretty slim, and you'll have to walk to your car to either put a tube in while you wait or go to a bike shop to get a dose of sealant.

Bleed your brakes every year:

If your brakes use DOT (SRAM) oil, this is even more true since they tend to absorb a little more moisture, leaving more room for air bubbles. You definitely don't want to run out of power when you need to brake quickly. Over time, unwanted materials can get into your oil and get stuck in your lever or caliper, which can cause a lockup while braking and greatly reduce braking efficiency. So, if you want to avoid going full throttle and hugging a tree, maintain your brakes!

Check the wear on your tires:

If your studs are almost gone or if the grooves on your hybrid bike tire are significantly worn away, this is a good indicator that it might be time to look into new tires. If, on the other hand, the studs are still there, but the tire has a lot of cracks, it's also best to replace them because your rubber has become quite dry, which will greatly increase the risk of a puncture.

Of course, if you don't want to worry, you can always bring your bike to us and we'll check all that and more! For winter, we even have a great maintenance package that includes the installation of new parts and a 50-hour suspension service. It's called THE WORLD CUP package.