How To Maintain Your Gravel Bike

Maintaining your gravel bike properly will prolong the life of all of the components, as well as ensuring that your bike performs as well as it can. In the long run, spending small amounts of money on relatively cheap maintenance products, such as bike cleaner, can save you money on costly, preventable repairs caused by poor maintenance.

Why Maintenance Is Important

Gravel bikes are subject to more dirt and grime than a regular road bike, and so it is more important to clean and look after them. Dirt, sand, gravel, etc, can easily make its way into bearings, causing them to wear out quickly. Dirt build up on the chain can not only prematurely wear your chain, but can also cause other drivetrain components to wear out, leading to a very expensive bill.

Safety is another reason to make sure your gravel bike is properly maintained. Keeping tyres inflated to the correct pressures ensures traction is as good as it should be, and will prevent crashes casued by tyres folding over or over-compressing in an impact.

The last consideration is how the bike looks when clean, as opposed to dirty. A clean bike at the start of a ride can improve morale and lead to a better riding experience.

Essential Tools And Supplies

In order to properly maintain your gravel bike, you will need to invest in some tools, lubricants and cleaning supplies to allow you to perform the job. Although this does carry a cost initially, in the long run it is likely to be much cheaper than replacing prematurely damaged components and a lot of the tools are useful for other things as well as maintaining your gravel bike. Here is a list of some essential tools and equipment that you'll need, in no particular order:

Bike Chain Cleaner: There are two parts to the bike chain cleaner. Firstly is a mechanical component such as the Finish Line Pro Chain Cleaner which clamps over the chain and contains cleaning brushes to remove old lubricant and dirt from the chain. Secondly is some form of bike chain cleaner liquid such as a degreaser. This is added to the chain cleaner device to aid the cleaning brushes in removing the grime.
Bike Chain Lube: Once the chain is clean, it is important to lubricate it. This not only improves performance by allowing all of the moving parts of the chain to do so freely, but also helps keep water out, reducing the chances of rusting and preventing the chain from sqeaking.
Bike Cleaner: There are a number of general purpose bike cleaners that are usually applied by squirting it over the bike from a bottle and then washing it off with a hose or low pressure bike cleaner. The best selling product at Westbrooks for this purpose is Muc Off bike cleaner, instantly recognisable from its signature bright pink appearance.
Bike Torque Wrench: Each bolt on your gravel bike has a torque rating, which dictates the amount of force that should be used to tighten the bolt. In order to accurately measure the force you're applying, you'll need a bike torque wrench. An incorrectly torqued bolt can also affect the outcome of a warranty claim too, so this is an important one.
Sponges, Brushes, and Clean Cloths: To be used in conjunction with the bike cleaner, we have available an array of bike-specific cleaning brushes designed to get into hard to reach places and made with soft bristles that won't damage your gravel bike's paintwork.
Bike Pump: A quality bike tyre pump can make the job of pumping your tyres up to the correct pressure much easier. These often come in a HP (High Pressure) or a HV (High Volume) variant, with the former being more suited to raod bikes and gravel bikes, and the latter being used for mountain bikes.
Bike Stand: This is optional, but if you're going to work on your bike frequently then a good bike repair stand can make the job a whole lot easier. These stands hold your bike in the air, making pedalling it to apply bike chain lube a lot easier, and can make cleaning easier too, preventing the need for bending over too much.

Step-By-Step Maintenance Guide

1. Cleaning Your Bike

Rinse and Wash: Start by rinsing your bike with water to remove loose dirt. Use Muc Off bike cleaner, or an equivalent, to scrub the frame, wheels, and components. Rinsing the bike with water should always be done with either a bucket and sponge or a low presuure hose or bike washer, as too much pressure can force grease out of bearings.

Degrease the Drivetrain: Use a bike chain cleaner as outlined above to remove old lubricant and dirt from the chain. Use a degreaser and stiff bristled brush on the cassette, chainrings and jockey wheels, and let it sit for a minute before rinsing thoroughly to remove all the degreaser.

Drying: Use a clean cloth to dry your bike. Microfibre cloths are particularly good for drying frames and wheel rims, and the use of a polish on these areas can help to protect your paintwork and make it easier to clean in future.

2. Lubrication

Lubricate the Chain: After cleaning, apply a bike chain lube to the chain. Remember that lubrication only needs to be applied to the rolling part of the links, not the side plates, and make sure to wipe off excess lube to avoid attracting dirt. Regular lubrication is crucial for maintaining a smooth and quiet drivetrain.

Lubricate Moving Parts: Periodically, apply lube to pivot points of derailleurs and other moving parts to ensure they operate smoothly.

3. Check and Tighten Bolts

Using a Bike Torque Wrench: For carbon gravel bikes, it's especially important to use a bike torque wrench to tighten bolts to the manufacturer's specifications. Over-tightening can damage the carbon components and void any warranties, while under-tightening can lead to parts coming loose.

4. Inspect and Adjust

Brake Inspection: Check brake pads for wear and ensure that the braking surface is clean. Replace pads if necessary and make sure the brakes are properly aligned and functional.

Tyre Inspection: Look for any cuts, punctures, or excessive wear. Use a bike pump to inflate your tyres to the correct pressures.

Cables and Housing: Inspect for any signs of wear or fraying. Replace cables if necessary and ensure that the outer cable is not kinked or damaged.

5. Regular Checks

Periodic Inspections: You should regularly inspect your bike for any cracks in the frame, loose bolts, or worn components. Not only is this important from a safety point of view, but spotting a damaged or worn component quickly can prevent it from having a knock-on effect and damaging other components, leading to a costly repair. If you think you have a crack in the frame of a Carbon gravel bike, it is worth getting it inspected by a professional mechainc or carbon fibre specialist to be certain. In many cases, Carbon gravel bike frames can be repaired.

Storage: Ideally, you should store your bike in a dry place, but if you have to store it outside, try using a cover to protect it from the elements.

By following these maintenance steps, you can keep your gravel bike working better for longer, and save yourself some money.