Most maintenance checklists run on the calendar: lube weekly, check the chain monthly. But chains wear by the mile, suspension by the hour and sealant by the month, and a rider doing 40 miles a week and one doing 250 wear things out at six times different rates. Tell the schedule how you ride and it works out each job's interval from its published limit, whichever comes first.
Your riding week
Enter your weekly riding to build your schedule. The sheet below shows a 100-mile dry week until you do.
Print your checklist
One page with your intervals and a last-done column, for the garage wall. No email, no signup.
| How often | Job | Done means | Last done |
|---|---|---|---|
| Every ride | Air, brakes, chain, quick check | Tire pressure by gauge; both brakes bite before the lever hits the bar; chain runs quietly; axles and bars tight.Source: League of American Bicyclists ABC Quick Check | |
| Every 2 weeks | Clean and lube the chain | Wipe, lube each roller, wipe the outside dry. After any wet ride, regardless of miles.Source: Lube makers’ dry-lube interval (Active.com cites 200 mi) | |
| Every 3 weeks | Inspect tires | Pick out glass, look for cuts showing casing threads and a squared-off rear tread. Casing visible = replace.Source: Tire makers’ wear guidance | |
| Every month | Wash the bike | Soap, soft brush, rinse (no pressure washer at bearings). Inspect the frame for cracks while it’s clean.Source: Shop consensus | |
| Every month | Torque check | Stem, bars, seatpost, crank and axle bolts with a torque wrench at the published spec.Source: Component makers’ torque specs | |
| Every 5 weeks | Measure chain wear | Chain checker: replace at 0.5% on 11/12-speed, 0.75% on 10-speed and below.Source: Park Tool and chain makers’ wear limits | |
| Every 5 weeks | Check brake pads and rotors | Disc pads: replace below 0.5 mm of pad material (Shimano); rotors below 1.5 mm (Shimano) / 1.55 mm (SRAM). Rim pads: replace at the wear line.Source: Shimano and SRAM brake manuals | |
| Every 6 months | Check bearings for play | Headset (brake on, rock the bike), hubs (wiggle the rim), bottom bracket (wiggle the crank). Any knock or grind = service.Source: Shop consensus (Active.com: every six months) | |
| Every year | Replace shift and brake cables (or bleed hydraulic brakes) | New inner cables, housing if kinked or gritty; bleed if the lever feels spongy.Source: Shop consensus (Active.com: yearly or 6,000 mi) |
Each interval is the first of its limits to arrive — miles for wear, hours for suspension, months for things that age. Wet and mixed riding shortens the drivetrain, brake and washing jobs (up to half; our estimate, as no maker publishes a wet interval). Every row's source is on the web page; a manufacturer's number for your part wins.
What should I check before every ride?
The ABC quick check, about a minute: Air (tire pressure with a gauge, because a thumb can't tell 60 psi from 80), Brakes (squeeze both levers hard; they should bite well before the lever reaches the bar), Chain (spin the cranks backward: quiet and clean, no squeaks or stiff links), then a quick look at the axles and a twist of the bars against the front wheel. It catches the failures that end rides, and most of the ones that cause crashes. Your pressure comes from the tire pressure calculator.
How often should you lube a bike chain?
Every 150–200 dry miles, and after every wet ride, whatever the mileage. Wet riding speeds up the drivetrain and brake jobs too: this schedule lubes a 100-mile week every 2 weeks when it's dry and every week when it's wet. The method matters more than the brand: a drop on each roller, spin the cranks, then wipe the outside of the chain dry. Lube inside the rollers does the work; lube on the outside collects grit and turns into grinding paste. A chain that's black and sticky needs cleaning before it needs more lube.
| Job | 50 mi a week | 100 mi a week | 200 mi a week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clean and lube the chain | Every month | Every 2 weeks | Every week |
| Measure chain wear | Every 2 months | Every 5 weeks | Every 3 weeks |
| Check brake pads and rotors | Every 2 months | Every 5 weeks | Every 3 weeks |
| Wash the bike | Every month | Every month | Every 2 weeks |
| Replace shift and brake cables (or bleed hydraulic brakes) | Every year | Every year | Every 7 months |
Dry riding. Each job's published limit in miles, capped by its calendar limit when you ride little. The same week can't have one schedule for everyone, which is the problem with calendar checklists.
A "monthly" chain check is too late for a 250-mile week and far too early for a 40-mile week. By mileage, the heavy rider measures every 2 weeks and the light rider every 3 months. A checklist that ignores how much you ride is guessing for most of its readers.
When should I replace my bike chain?
When a chain checker says so: at 0.5% wear on 11- and 12-speed drivetrains and 0.75% on 10-speed and below. Chains don't really stretch; the pins and rollers wear, which lengthens the pitch. A long chain rides higher on the teeth and wears the cassette and chainrings to match. Replace the chain in time and a cassette outlasts several chains. Let it go, and the new chain skips on the old cassette and you buy both. In dry road riding a chain lasts roughly 2,000–3,000 miles; wet, gritty and gravel miles take far less.
| Weekly riding | Chains a year (dry) |
|---|---|
| 50 mi | 0.9–1.3 |
| 100 mi | 1.7–2.6 |
| 150 mi | 2.6–3.9 |
| 250 mi | 4.3–6.5 |
At 2,000–3,000 miles per chain. A planning number, not a replacement rule: the checker decides.
A 100-mile-a-week rider goes through about 1.7–2.6 chains a year. Replaced at the wear limit, those chains protect the cassette and chainrings, which cost several times as much and can outlast two or three chains. Skip one chain check and the saving disappears. That's why the chain check sits near the top of the sheet, and why a chain checker is the cheapest tool on it.
How often to replace brake pads and rotors
By thickness, not by date. Disc pads are done when the pad material is down to 0.5 mm (Shimano's limit; replacing at 1 mm is common sense). Rotors are done below 1.5 mm (Shimano) or 1.55 mm (SRAM), measured with calipers, and the minimum is usually stamped on the rotor. Rim-brake pads have a wear line. Wet grit wears pads several times faster than dry roads, so the schedule checks twice as often in bad weather, and a squeal that wasn't there last week is worth a look before the next ride.
How often should you add tubeless sealant?
Every two to seven months by Stan's NoTubes' own range: sooner in hot, dry places, later in cool ones. The schedule uses three months. The check takes seconds: hold the wheel with the valve at the bottom and shake it. If you hear sloshing there's sealant left; silence means it has dried into a film and the next puncture won't seal. Add a scoop through the valve (core out) rather than waiting for a flat to tell you.
Suspension service intervals
Fork and shock makers count hours, because a smooth hour and a rough hour work the seals about equally and mileage means nothing on a trail. RockShox and Fox both put the lower-leg service at 50 hours and the full damper service at around 200 hours, or yearly:
| Job | 3 h a week | 6 h a week | 10 h a week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fork lower-leg service | Every 4 months | Every 2 months | Every 5 weeks |
| Full fork and shock service | Every year | Every 8 months | Every 5 months |
Hours of riding, whichever comes first with the yearly limit. Mud, dust and pressure washers shorten both; wipe the stanchions after every dirty ride.
The yearly jobs: cables, bearings and a torque check
Cables stretch and housing collects grit. New inner cables yearly (or around 6,000 miles) keep shifting crisp, and hydraulic brakes want a bleed when the lever goes spongy. Bearings get a twice-yearly check for play: hold the front brake and rock the bike for the headset, wiggle the rim for the hubs, wiggle the crank for the bottom bracket. A knock or a grind means service, and if the bottom bracket needs replacing, the bottom bracket standards chart tells you which one you have. Once a month, go over the stem, bars, seatpost and crank bolts with a torque wrench at the published specs. Bolts don't loosen often, but a loose one is found by this check or by a crash.