My 2 cents...as part of my post-ride routine maintenance, first thing I do for drivetrain cleaning is take a scrub brush (used dry, no solvent) and scrub the rear cassette. Gets off a lot of road grime, which prevents a dirty cassette from re-contaminating a freshly cleaned and lubed chain. Thanks for posting a good, sensible tune-up routine. I've been doing essentially the same routine as what you posted, for years. I get great mileage for my chains, cassettes, and rings. And I start every ride with a clean bike, pristine drivetrain, & tested brakes. Takes about 10 min to hit the important stuff post ride. Over time, you get to really know your bike well, and can catch problems early so they don't surprise you on a ride. Having a workstand really makes the routine easy. That was a good suggestion!

That rear derailleur cable guide loosening trick was really clever, gonna do that tomorrow!

"slicker than snot on a door knob " that made me chuckle, new subscriber 👍

It's a mantra with me, whether I'm talking to a customer at the shop, a fellow rider on the road or trail, or someone admiring my shiny clean bike at the coffee shop: keep your bike clean, and you'll find little problems before they become big problems. Even if you don't know how to fix it yourself, or don't have time, or don't want to be your own mechanic, keep it clean for the mechanic you trust to fix it for you. 😁

Thank you. Despite some of the comments, this has to be the most concise, intelligent, and entertaining preventative maintenance videos I have ever listened to. I look forward to "flossing my nether regions" next time.

Thanks for clarifying your confidence in budget Shimano components. I'm not a brand loyalist so it's nice to hear what "works" especially when one is flipping bikes.

I once cleaned an entire bike with an old-school handkerchief. Flossing heaven!

Having a bike stand makes life so much easier. Wish i had one.

He should show us home users, how to true a wheel while it's on the bike! That, would be amazing.

I used to use Pledge furniture polish on my motorcycles as a final clean/wax. I didn't realize I could use it on my cycle. Awesome, thank you. 🙂 I've just finished watching the whole video and you're totally right. It's what I do with my bikes although I usually only do it once per year and adjust as needed. Once a month is a good idea and maybe I will change to a few times per year as I'm probably too lazy to be committed enough for every month. Life kind of gets in the way but a great idea.

I really appreciate your philosophy towards bikes. It's refreshing. Your content is interesting to me because you're just being you. I only just discovered you two days ago. Keep it up man, sending good vibes from Australia.

Dawn power wash and furniture polish are new to me. Love it.

A better way to check for inner tube leaks is to fill a sink or a mop bucket with soapy water, inflate the tube, dunk it and rotate it until bubbles appear, where the bubbles are coming from is where the hole is, I've done it many times when patching tubes it can be done on the side of the road too if there's clear water in a pond or ditch.

I’m no bike mechanic, but I’ve restored, maintained, and rebuilt enough bikes to hear that the gears needed some fine tuning. Excellent video. Thank you!👍🏼

i feel you give more attention to the customers bike than most shops. Kudos to you

Thanks Bike farmer. Good video.

I thoroughly enjoy watching your tuneups. Keep up the good content man.

Loved watching this maintenance video, especially on a Giant AnyRoad. I also give mine a clean and lube about once a month. Lovely bike. Many thanks.

Thanks for a great video (and channel)...freshly subscribed. I've been riding for almost 60 years with various bikes but had to take a 3 year hiatus due to retiring and moving and life in general...I dragged my bikes out a week ago and they were dirty! broke them down a cleaned them up, made needed adjustments etc. One thing I learned from trying to clean between the gears in the cassette was to use a piece of 3/16ths rope (or whatever size fits snugly between the gears) soaked in degreaser...simple green or whatever. I use it to "floss" the nether regions and it works great. It doesn't get caught on the gears like a rag. I had to learn to do most of my own wrenching because the only decent repair shop in the area I lived in had a 3-4 week backlog almost all the time and as a kid, I barely had enough cash to buy a tube repair kit. Where I moved to (southern Missouri) has like one or two bike shops inside a hours drive but they are booked solid as well.

Thanks for the tip on the Dawn Powerwash. Ive been using it for a couple weeks now and it even makes my shop smell better after using it!!

Thanks for the content, I've learned alot from you, with that being said i have come across a 1993 Trek Antelope 800 26 inch that im condidering in giving it life again.

Thanks a bunch, this really helps to get my ride ready for some touring this spring...

Thank you BikeFarmer- love your sense of humour!

Great stuff here! I just bought this very model bike a week ago. Needs Bar tape clean & tune up. The next video i watched was the Trek Mom bike restore. (my OTHER bike is a 2007 Trek 7400) Again, Great pointers.

Great info....ive been riding for several years, im not smart about taking care of my bike! This will help!

Great video! I learned a a lot. Thank you for sharing.

fastest bar tape wrapping ever lol good job... easy to understand and informative video. i feel like i can do some of that stuff

Love your videos brother, just found your channel. Keep it up man!!!!!

Great episode! Thank You!

Enjoyed seeing a tune on a modern bike with disk brakes and internal routing. Don't have any of those bikes yet, but glad I've seen how it works.

"Slicker than Ell Snot", my favorite saying.

I learned something. Thank you.

Hot tip for disc brake bikes. Don't spray anything directly on the bike. Spray it onto the rag facing away from the bike, then wipe the rag on the bike. Will help prevent your brakes sounding like a Wookie.

Great video, learned a lot. Still don’t get using concentrated detergent without rinsing, but it seems to work!

I do the half way build an manual seat as well. I have stopped over filling tubes though, because i'm convinced bike tubes are less stretchy than they have been, and i've blown too many tubes over inflating trying to "CHECK" where the hole is.

That looks like a Shimano Sora STI up front. Anyhow, this is a great vid for riders that would like to tinker and know basics on maintaining their gears. I had to learn DYIs on this prior to learning the basics and newbie ways via youtube. Great stuff!

I use that stuff and furniture polish it works good like u said in previous videos

Million dollar tip with the polish Brother! Well Done Sir! Cheers - M

I'm watching your channel learning how to do KZfaq! Great work

I am sure it is obvious to you and me, and I imagine you have covered it in other videos, but before making derailleur adjustments, check the chain for wear; a worn chain will definitely impact shifting performance. Then, for the rear derailleur, it must be confirmed that the hanger is not bent, the hub bearings are not loose, and if it is a freehub, the cassette lockring is torqued so the cassette is not loose. Also, for a front derailleur, the bottom bracket must not have bearing play, and the cage is confirmed to be parallel and mounted at the proper height. It amazes me how many bikes come from the factory with the front derailleur improperly mounted.

Thanks for the wooden furniture polish tip!

Hmm, might be getting me some dawn powerwash and some behold. You are a great salesman!

Delighted to see that Machinery Row sticker on the seat tube! My Trek Pilot lives in Berlin now, but has the same one 😊 7:58

Real nice and calm, almost asmr

On the bar tape with no sticky, I use some masking tape on the edge that hides, it won't show and holds down the bar tape

Based on The Bike Farmer's suggestion, I bought a 4-pack of Dawn Powerwash. - And it works so well, gets so much dirt from my wheels, almost every wipe, one after another, that I have to wonder if it removes a lot of rubber particles from the tires. - And I also like his One Step product suggestion, but wonder, how could it possibly both clean AND lubricate? Huh? I also bought a big bottle of Tri-Lube I think it's called. The problem with it, is, as long as the straw is attached to it, the bottle falls over and starts leaking out of the bottle at the drop of a hat. So, I have to store it in a coffee cup, so it won't get knocked over. I'm learning so much from this channel, I could open my own bike shop!

Great tips, nice bike, and good content. An ounce of prevention, as they say....Thanks again! If I lived up your way, you'd be the bike shop of choice I'd frequent. I'd probably get a Park tool thrown at me... LOL.

The cheap wood furniture polish truck is brilliant!

Pipe cleaners are good to floss, use them on my mountain bike pivots

Great video! Thanks!

I had a flat tire like this last year on my brand new bike - couldn't find the hole by listening, it seemed to keep the air - but was flat again the next day. Found the hole with water, and luckily I could find the place in the tire (had marked the valve position): there was a small small thorn sticking from the outside, you couldn't even feel it from the inside! I assume it pressed into the tube during the ride making the small hole. So: it is _always_ a good idea to find the hole if possible!

I bought the cheapest RockBROS bike stand ~ $36, attached it to my wooden workbench, and just returned it for a West Biking Bike Stand. - About $9 more, but probably worth it, as the RockBROS stand couldn't hold my bike level when attached to my seatpost. - It would allow the front end to within an inch or two of the floor, as the joint where the Vertical Arm met the Horizontal Arm didn't have a groove, (unlike the clamp to Horizontal Arm connection), and couldn't keep the horizontal arm from twisting under the weight of my Diamondback bike. I probably could've attached the clamp to my Down Tube and had better luck keeping it level, but I originally did it that way, and was concerned the clamp may be restricting my shifter cable - just enough to make my rear derailleur cable adjustment off. - I'm not sure that was happening, but once I got the doubt in my mind, I couldn't not worry about it. I did post a review and about 10 pictures of the RockBROS Bike Stand, with a title like, "Best for rear wheel adjustments". RockBROS sent me an email, saying they could address my concerns, inviting me to contact them back. I almost did, until I realized that, my review and complete pictures should've been enough for them to come back w/ at least one suggestion. EX: They could've stated something like, "You need to tighten the clamp more." or perhaps, "You've got a defective unit. Lets replace it." But No. I got the impression they just replied because they didn't care for my review that rated it at just 3 stars, and thought maybe their attention to me would somehow improve my review. It didn't, because it wasn't a problem w/ Customer Service, or Product Instructions, or anything to do w/ my product choice or use.

Great video

Very well done; Helpful; thank you

Really fantastic - thanks very much ❤

Nice helpful video and great music .too

Well done!

@BikeFarmer: Andy, a question about the electrical tape you used: Have you ever thought about using hockey grip tape for finishing tape? I've used hockey grip tape before, and it works wonders for other things.

Love these videos

Thanks for the detail and for not cutting out any steps

Down to earth solid advice. Cycling is fun and this great channel reminds men of that. I’m tired of posh bikes and all the useless gadgets.

Some good tips - thx 🙂

Ya, some people do that. I usually wait until it's critical. I like living on the edge.

Excellent...thanks!

YOUR SO TRUE! TY

Did not know about trim shift. Next time out, I will see if my bike has trim shift. Thanks!

Brother, that move at 13:30 to drop the rear shifter cable housing to lube the cable... Have I been living under a rock??? So nice, i ran out to the shop and did it on my gravel bike. Awesome new (to me) tip. Thank you!

'How to try to jinx yourself in the first ten seconds of a video' 😂 Thanks for the furniture spray tip! Just one thing, the reflector in the back wheel wasn't exactly on the opposite side of the valve, it would have driven me crazy...but unnecessary reflectors alone will have that effect on me. That being said the owner of the bike probably isn't riding the smooth dedicated bicycle paths I am used to.

Personally I like to apply Armour All on the knobs of my tires. It makes riding more challenging.

weird. you mentioned it in passing, but i was trying to figure out which tier group it was. it has all the hallmarks of a nice crank (and 10s derailleur) from a few years ago but it only has "shimano" on both. I think they're bb7 calipers. this was a decent spec bike when it was new. the spoke guard kinda makes sense with the components though unless it was added later

Thanks!

I'm looking about getting into mountain biking when I get my taxes I want to get more into shape but also too I've been riding bikes and dirt bikes my whole life but I finally got almost 6 years sober off alcohol and almost 8 years clean off all drugs so I want to ride and I like trail riding and stuff because it helps with my ADHD but I'm kind of stuck at what bike to have I have roughly about 4 to 500 dollars to spend on a bike I want a hardtail for sure but I want disc brakes and everything as well but I sub to your channel and this is the only video I watched so far🎉❤❤🎉

Are you ever tempted to make balloon animals out of the tubes?

You're the man!

Excellent

Do you have any issues with the bike polish attracting dust and grime onto it? Great video as always!

Fantastic tutorial! What is the cleaning foam sprayer ?

Best way to clean the disc brake hub? Damp cloth?

As always this video was entertaining also with good tips for watchers to use. I have been looking at your bike stand and have a question. I see the Park tool logo on it but it looks nothing like any Park stand I have ever seen especially with the red head on it. Could you provide some insight on what it is?

Waterless wash and wax spray on everything except braking surfaces, tyre tread and drive train. After a ride, mist spray from a hose get's even UK mud off. If there is any mud sticking, means the wax has worn thin, so wash and wax on that bit and you are good to go. I love the stuff.

I like my Park bike stand.

Occasionally find an ancient bottle of turtlewax or simoniz. Sniff n' shine. Found wire wool was good to rub scratches and ground in-dirt out of hard and glossy paints

Where did you get the nozzle for the TriFlow lubricant?

How often do you change your bicycle tires? Mine hasn't changed since 2013 I only ride my bicycle in the summer from May to September.

Question: can you use furniture polish on a bike with matte finish?

Wash your bike the way you did but use liquid detergent soap dilute in water, use toothbrush to clean the chain, drueller, cogs, pedals, sprocket… then wash thoroughly with spray water until all dirt at soap totally remove… let it thoroughly dry, totally dry… then again, use toothbrush dip in a crude oil ( spoonful crude oil is enough to clean the whole bike), brush the chain, pedal, drueller, cog while rotating your pedal mechanically until you hear that smooth sound.. wipe your bike with clean rug ( cotton) dip in crude oil.. brush bolts, expose cables w crude oil…do this after using your bike for a long ride..remember; a spoonful of crude oil is enough to clean the entire bike… i been using this method for more than 20 years by now…

Was thinking to myself "that's a nice bike" then checked the price new & thought "well it should be". Still, nice bike lol.

what do you use for lube and chain cleaner/lube?

For many years I've regularly sprayed WD40 on my groupset/derailleur and then used a rag to remove the excess. It seems to keep it rust free and running like a sewing machine.

One of the first things I do when rebuilding a street find bike is remove the wheels, break down the tire and tubes, inflate the tubes, set them aside and crack on with what ever is next. After a while if they go flat I know the need to be binned. I stopped using patch kits they just fail too much.

What brand is the good stuff electrical tape? Thanks

Pretty much exactly how I do it. Comes with repetition, experience. Neglected to true my wheels, at a glance they seem fine. 2600 miles coming up. May as well experiment with bracket oil. ep90.... 🤫

Ever tho you smoke a shit load of green I like the vids bro.

Best bike repair stand...other than expensive Park tool

WE ALL DON'T HAVE SHOPS TO WORK IN, HENCE WORK AREAS 😎

I was waiting to see if you used any sort of polish on the bike after using Dawn. I use dawn to degrease my car before I clay bar it and do a serious wash. I haven’t used furniture polish on my bike but I frequently use waterless wash and wax.

Do you every use any brake cleaner for a full clean on the chain etc?

is that furniture polish safe for matt carbon frame?

Easy Peasy lemon squeezy

What is the attachment on your air hose when pumping up a tire… I haven’t seen this at my local bike shop - maybe a good gift to say thanks for all the help over the years?