Bike maintenance calendar for UK weather
Bikes used in Britain wear out faster than bikes in drier countries. Salt on winter roads, grit in the chain, and rain that never quite stops all shorten component life. The good news is that the maintenance which prevents most of the damage takes ten minutes a week.
This is a schedule built around British conditions, not a generic one. It is organised by what fails, and when.
The weekly ten minutes
Do these every week, or every few rides in winter:
1. Wipe and lubricate the chain. A dry cloth through the chain, then a drop of lubricant per link, then a wipe to remove the excess. Excess lubricant attracts grit, which is what wears the chain out. In winter, use a wet lube; in summer, a dry lube that does not attract dust.
2. Check tyre pressure. Tyres lose pressure slowly. A tyre at 55 psi that should be at 80 is the difference between a bike that feels fast and one that feels slow, and it invites pinch punctures.
3. Squeeze the brakes. Both levers should feel firm and should not reach the bar. Check the pads for wear: most have a wear line, and if you cannot see it, replace them.
4. Spin the wheels. Look for wobble in the rim and listen for grinding from the hubs.
5. Look at the frame and tyres for damage. A cut in a tyre sidewall or a crack near a weld is worth catching before it fails on a descent.
The monthly job
Clean and inspect the drivetrain. Not just the chain: the cassette and chainrings. A worn chainring has hooked teeth, and a hooked tooth means a new chainring, not just a new chain.
Check bolt torque. Stem, seatpost clamp, brake calipers, and on e-bikes, the motor mounting bolts and battery mount.
Check spoke tension. Squeeze pairs of adjacent spokes; they should ping with a similar tone. A loose spoke leads to a wheel going out of true, which leads to a broken spoke, which leads to walking home.
Check brake pad thickness. Rim brakes: if the pad is down to the wear indicator, replace. Disc brakes: 1 mm of pad material left is the point to change.
The seasonal calendar
January-February: the salt months
The worst time for a bike in the UK. Road salt accelerates corrosion on chains, cables and bearings, and it gets into everything.
- Wash the bike more often than usual, especially after riding on treated roads. A rinse with a hose on low pressure, then dry.
- Use wet lubricant and reapply after every wet ride.
- Check the chain for stretch with a chain checker. In winter, a chain can reach 0.75% wear in 1,500 miles.
- Inspect brake pads monthly; grit wears them fast.
March-April: the transition
Bikes come out of winter with worn components and stretched cables.
- Full drivetrain check: chain, cassette, chainrings, jockey wheels.
- Replace cables if shifting has become vague. Inner cables cost £3-5 and change how the bike feels.
- Check the bearings: headset, bottom bracket, wheel hubs. A grinding bottom bracket is a £20-40 job if caught early, a £60-100 job if it seizes.
- Replace brake pads if they have not been done since autumn.
- Service the suspension on a mountain bike if it has not been done in a year.
May-August: the riding season
The weather is kind and the mileage is high. Maintenance is about keeping pace with wear.
- Check chain wear every 500 miles.
- Check tyre tread and sidewalls before long rides.
- Clean and re-lubricate more often if you ride dusty trails, because dust is as abrasive as grit.
- Check the brake fluid on hydraulic brakes if it is more than two years old. Fluid absorbs moisture and the lever feel degrades.
September-October: the preparation
This is where you decide whether the bike survives winter.
- Replace the chain if it is anywhere near 0.75%. A worn chain eats the cassette, and a cassette costs three times a chain.
- Fit mudguards if the bike takes them. They protect the drivetrain as much as the rider.
- Switch to wet lubricant.
- Check lights and reflectors before the clocks change.
- Check tyre pressures drop: cold weather and slow punctures become more obvious.
November-December: the grit and dark months
- Rinse the bike after every ride on gritted roads. Salt does its damage within hours.
- Check brakes weekly. Wet grit destroys pads.
- Inspect the frame for paint damage where salt has got under it. Touch up bare metal.
- Check the battery on an e-bike: cold cuts range by 10-25%, and charging cold damages cells.
What you can do yourself, and what to pay for
Do it yourself (needs a hex key set and a pump):
- Cleaning and lubricating the chain.
- Changing a tube or repairing a puncture.
- Adjusting brake pads and gear indexing.
- Replacing brake pads (disc): a 10-minute job with the right pads.
- Changing a chain, with a chain tool.
- Adjusting saddle height, stem, bar angle.
Pay a shop (needs specialist tools or judgement):
- Wheel truing and spoke replacement (needs a truing stand and skill).
- Bottom bracket and headset bearing replacement (press tools).
- Hydraulic brake bleeding.
- Suspension servicing.
- E-bike motor or controller diagnosis.
A typical annual service at a UK shop costs £60-120 for a conventional bike, £100-180 for an e-bike. That is worth it once a year, because a shop catches wear you will miss.
The wear items, and how often
These figures assume a commuter doing 2,000-3,000 miles a year in British conditions. Halve the intervals if you ride off-road or through winter salt.
| Component | Typical life | Cost to replace |
|---|---|---|
| Chain | 1,500-2,500 miles | £15-40 |
| Cassette | 5,000-8,000 miles (3 chains) | £25-60 |
| Brake pads (disc) | 1,000-2,000 miles | £15-35 per pair |
| Brake pads (rim) | 2,000-4,000 miles | £10-20 per pair |
| Tyres | 2,000-4,000 miles | £25-50 each |
| Inner tubes | Replace when punctured | £5-8 |
| Gear cables | 3,000-5,000 miles | £4-8 |
| Wheel bearings | 5,000-10,000 miles | £20-50 per wheel |
| E-bike battery | 3-5 years | £150-400 |
The one number to remember: a chain is cheap and a cassette is not. Replacing a chain at 0.75% wear costs £20 and saves £50 later, plus the chainrings, which are the expensive part.
The tools that pay for themselves
- Track pump with gauge (£20-30): the most-used tool you will own.
- Hex key set (£10-20): 4, 5 and 6 mm cover most of a bike.
- Torque wrench, 2-15 Nm (£25-40): prevents the expensive mistake.
- Chain checker (£8-15): tells you when to replace before damage is done.
- Chain tool (£10-15): lets you replace a chain yourself.
- Tyre levers (£3-5): plastic, so they do not damage rims.
Total about £80-130, which is one shop service. After that, every job you do yourself is money saved and a bike that gets looked at more often, which is the real benefit.