MAINTENANCE MATTERS: TIPS FOR KEEPING YOUR TRIATHLON BIKE IN TOP CONDITION

Your triathlon bike isn’t just the most expensive piece of gear in your arsenal; it also requires the most maintenance. Unfortunately, too many triathletes end up neglecting their bikes, which can cause costly mechnicals that can interrupt training, ruin their race, and lead to expensive repairs. Don't ignore maintenance!

Just by doing a few simple maintenance tasks, you can optimize your bike’s performance, increase its reliability, help it last longer, and save money in the long run. Follow these easy maintenance tips, and you’ll keep your triathlon bike in top condition. 

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1. Keep Your Chain Clean and Lubricated

• Do this weekly

Lube early, lube often

Cleaning and lubricating your chain is the number one piece of regular maintenance you need to do for your triathlon bike. A clean and lubricated chain is faster and more efficient than a dirty or dry chain, and keeping it clean and lubricated reduces wear on important drivetrain components. Your chainrings and cassette cogs are expensive to replace, and taking care of your chain helps them last longer.  

We generally recommend cleaning and lubricating your bike chain weekly, but this can vary depending on how often you ride and your riding conditions. If you’re knocking out big miles or riding in a lot of rain, you may need to clean and lube your chain daily. If your bike gets ridden once a week, you might need to do it every few weeks. Some athletes track the mileage of their bike using an app (like Strava) and lube the chain based on mileage (e.g., lubing every 100-200 miles).

Don’t put off cleaning and lubing your chain. If your chain gets dry and squeaky, or it becomes coated in a sticky black grime, then it’s causing excess wear to your drivetrain! 

How to properly clean and lube your chain

If your chain and drivetrain are relatively clean (i.e., the chain and cassette aren’t coated in sticky black grime that will require a brush and degreaser to remove), you can often get away with cleaning your chain by giving it a thorough wipe using a rag or towel. For a more thorough clean, you can spray a small amount of degreaser or rubbing alcohol on your towel, or use a product like Gear Wipes. 

Once you’ve wiped away as much visible dirt and grime from the chain as possible, you can drip lube onto the chain. Ensure you get a drop of lube on each roller. After applying lube, wipe away all excess lube with your rag or towel. The rollers inside the chain are the only part that needs lubrication! Any lube lingering on the surface of the chain links or on your chainrings or cassette cogs will attract dirt and grime, so wipe that away before you ride. (Watch the video above where we demonstrate how quick and easy it is to apply live and wipe it away.)

If your chain and drivetrain are especially grimy, then you’ll need to clean with a brush and degreaser first. Spray your degreaser of choice (bike-specific degreasers are great, but Simple Green is easy to find and works well too!) into the chain, cassette, and any other drivetrain surface that looks grimy, then agitate it with a brush. Rinse it off with a hose or spray bottle full of water. Dry the chain and drivetrain with a towel or compressed air. The chain and drivetrain components always need to be dried after washing to prevent corrosion and before applying lube! 

What type of chain lube should to use? 

As long as you are cleaning and lubing your chain regularly, any standard bike-specific lubricant will be fine. At the Quintana Roo factory, we use Rock-N-Roll Gold because it’s extremely affordable and available at most bike shops. It’s designed to clean as it lubes, so it reduces the amount you need to wash/degrease your chain, and it keeps your chain and drivetrain fairly clean. It doesn’t last as long as some other options, but it’s very efficient in most riding and racing applications. 

If you want to nerd out on lube performance, you can check out the results of independent lube tests and decide for yourself which lube best suits your budget and needs. If you want to get serious about performance, though, you can consider some more complex lubrication methods like chain waxing, but that’s a whole different can of worms that will require its own article! 

2. Wash and Wipe Down Your Bike Regularly

• Do this weekly to monthly

During training and racing, a lot of nasty stuff ends up on your bike, like salt water, dirt, sweat, carb mix, and maybe some other unpleasant fluids. Clean it all off after your ride! Riding your bike hard and putting it away wet is a recipe for corroded hardware, bearings, and cables. It can destroy your beautiful paint, too. 

Quick wipe downs

Keeping your bike clean doesn’t mean you need to do a full wash with a hose. You can give your bike a quick wipe down after rides with a clean microfiber cloth with a spray-on cleaner like Pedro’s Bike Lust or Silca Ultimate Ceramic Waterless Wash to remove light dust, sweat, and carb mix. 

Don’t ignore cleaning your bike if you’re riding indoors on a trainer! Indoor riding produces a lot of sweat, which is one of the most corrosive things you can get on your bike. Wipe sweat off your bike after trainer sessions, especially any sweat that has pooled in bolts or hardware, or around your cockpit or headset. 

How to wash your bike

When it’s time for a deeper clean, then wash your bike with a hose (or spray bottle if you don’t have access to a hose) and a soft sponge or brush. When washing your bike, we recommend cleaning it with a gentle soap. Bike-specific soaps are great, but you can also use any gentle alternative like automotive soaps, Dawn blue dish soap, or diluted Simple Green. Whatever soap you choose should be gentle to prevent damage to your paint and components. Remember to regularly wash out your top tube nutrition storage, too! 

Do not leave your bike or drivetrain wet after washing. Dry your bike and drivetrain completely with a towel or with compressed air. This will prevent corrosion. Be sure you don’t leave water sitting in things like the bolt heads in your cockpit. Corroded cockpit bolts can cause serious headaches! After drying, you can lubricate your chain and apply a protectant like Pedro’s Bike Lust or Silca Ultimate Ceramic Waterless Wash to your paint. 

3. Inspect Your Bolts, Chain, Tires, and Brake Pads

• Do this monthly

Bolt Check

Loose bolts can cause annoying distractions, ruin your race, damage your bike, or even cause serious injury. We recommend doing a full bolt check once a month. A full bolt check is one of the free services our mechanics provide at events, but it’s super easy to do yourself. Use a torque wrench or torque key to ensure your bolts are properly tightened. 

The key bolts to check are:

• All cockpit, handlebar, aerobar, and stem bolts

• Seatpost binder and saddle rail clamp bolts

• Bottle cage bolts

• Derailleur mounting bolts

• Wheel thru-axles

• Disc brake caliper mounting bolts

• Disc brake rotor bolts 

• Any top tube nutrition storage mounting bolts

A monthly bolt check is also a great time to check over key wear items on your bike, like your chain, tires, and brake pads. 

Chain wear check

Most athletes will need a new chain after 1,000-3,000 miles (1,500-5,000 km), but this can vary depending on cleaning, lubrication, and riding conditions. After cleaning and lubrication, checking for chain wear is the next most important piece of drivetrain maintenance because worn chains accelerate drivetrain wear. This can lead to expensive repairs where you have to replace your chainrings and cassette, along with your chain, so avoid riding a worn chain at all costs! 

You can simply track the mileage on your chains with an app (like Strava), or you can use a chain checker to periodically check chain wear. The most accurate yet affordable chain checkers are the Pedro’s Chain Checker Plus II or Park Tool CC-4.2 Chain Checker. Most chains should be replaced by the time they reach 0.5% wear. 

Tire and brake pad check

Tire wear indicator (left), flat spotting (right). Photos courtesy of biketiresdirect.com

Inspect your tires for cuts, dry rot, or flat spots. Many tires also have wear indicators that tell you they’re worn out. If your tires are set up tubeless, you might want to check your sealant levels or add more if it’s been a few months since your last refresh. 

Brake pads usually only need a visual inspection. We recommend replacing any brake pad that has been worn beyond 50% to maximize safety, braking performance, and brake feel. 

4. Perform an Annual Full Bike Service

• Do this once a season 

The winter off-season is the best time to get your bike into the shop for a full service. You can avoid the pre-season rush if you get this done early! If you’re mechanically inclined, then this is also something you could tackle at home, too. YouTube and Park Tool are amazing resources for aspiring home mechanics.  

An annual bike service generally includes: 

• Full wash

• Drivetrain tuning to dial in shifting

• Replacing cables and housing (for mechanical drivetrains)

• Firmware updates (for electronic drivetrains) 

• Bleeding hydraulic disc brakes

• Bolt check + replacing any corroded or stripped bolts

• Chain replacement

• Brake pad replacement

• Tire/tubeless sealant/tubeless tape replacement

• Bar tape and elbow pads replacement + cleaning under cockpit touch points 

• Bearing check/replacement: headset, bottom bracket, hubs, and pulleys

• Truing wheels

• Frame & wheel inspection for cracks/damage

Staying on top of annual services will help your triathlon bike last longer and keep it riding like new for years to come. 

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