The 15-Point Seasonal Bike Maintenance Checklist You Can Do Yourself

A seasonal home tune-up comes down to 15 checks in five groups: drivetrain (chain wear, cogs, chainrings, shift cables), brakes (pad thickness, rotors, bleed), bearings (headset, bottom bracket, hubs), tires and wheels (wear, pressure, true) and finishing (torque, lube). According to L'Atelier, 30 to 45 minutes at each change of season, twice a year, is enough to prevent 90% of breakdowns. Below are the pass/fail thresholds for each point.

This checklist is for riders who wrench on their own bike between shop visits. Every threshold comes from L'Atelier's maintenance guides (la-telier.com). They are general values: when your component's manual gives a different number, the manual wins.

What you need before you start

• A chain checker (L'Atelier cites the Park Tool CC-3.2 and CC-4) or a ruler/caliper.
• A torque wrench. L'Atelier mentions the Park Tool TW-6.2 (0-10 Nm) for cockpit bolts and the TW-5.2 (2-14 Nm) as a versatile option.
• A workstand, a floor pump with a gauge, a spoke wrench that matches your nipples (3.23 mm for standard Shimano/DT Swiss, 3.45 mm for Mavic).
• Chain lube (not WD-40), degreaser, clean rags and isopropyl alcohol for rotors.

Drivetrain: points 1 to 4

1. Chain wear. A new chain has a 12.7 mm (1/2 inch) pitch. Over 12 full links the theoretical length is 304.8 mm; it reads 306.3 mm at 0.5% wear, 307.1 mm at 0.75% and 307.8 mm at 1%. L'Atelier's chain guide reads the results like this: 0.5% means replace soon, 0.75% means replace now, 1% means chain and cassette, and probably the chainrings too. Its seasonal checklist is stricter on modern drivetrains: replace beyond 0.5% on 11/12-speed and 0.75% on 9/10-speed. Swapping the chain at 0.5% lets you run 2 to 3 chains on one cassette.

2. Cogs. Hook-shaped, asymmetric or pointed teeth mean the cassette is done. Compare with a new cog if in doubt. 3. Chainrings. Same test: no shark-fin teeth, and on a narrow-wide ring the wide/narrow pattern must still be crisp. 4. Shift cables and housing. Cracked, crushed or rusty housing at the ferrules, or a frayed cable, means indexing that won't hold. L'Atelier's rule of thumb is to replace cables and housing every 2 years in normal use, every year if you often ride in the wet, with compression (SIS) housing for derailleurs, never spiral brake housing.

Brakes: points 5 to 7

5. Pad thickness. A new disc pad has about 3 to 4 mm of compound; the wear limit is 0.5 mm. Below 1 mm, order new pads. Rim brake pads: the wear groove must still be visible. 6. Rotors. Respect the manufacturer's minimum thickness, often 1.5 mm, and spin the wheel to spot warping (intermittent rubbing). 7. Hydraulic bleed. A lever that comes to the bar or a spongy bite point calls for a bleed. Shimano brakes use mineral oil, SRAM/Avid use DOT 5.1, and the two are never mixed. L'Atelier's Shimano guide recommends bleeding at least every 12 months, every 6 months for enduro/DH.

Bearings: points 8 to 10

8. Headset. Lock the front brake and rock the bike back and forth along the fork axis. A clunk means play. On an Ahead headset: loosen the stem clamp bolts, tighten the top cap bolt to 2 to 3 Nm, no more, check the bars turn freely, then retighten the stem bolts (typically 5-6 Nm). Beyond 3 Nm you crush the bearings. To rule out hub play, repeat the test holding the fork crown. 9. Bottom bracket. Grab a crank arm and push it side to side; play or a creak while pedaling means a tired bearing. 10. Hubs. Spin the wheel by the axle: no tight spots, no grinding. Rock the rim side to side: no play allowed.

Tires and wheels: points 11 to 13

11. Tire wear. Check the wear indicator (small hole or line). Visible casing or cuts through the rubber mean replace now. 12. Pressure. Inflate to the pressure printed on the sidewall. Pressure drops by itself, by 0.3 to 1 bar per week depending on the tire. For a US gauge, that is roughly 4 to 15 psi a week (0.3 × 14.5 and 1 × 14.5, using 1 bar ≈ 14.5 psi). 13. True and spoke tension. Spin the wheel and watch the gap to the brake pads or caliper. L'Atelier's checklist says more than 2 mm of wobble needs truing; its truing guide treats 1-2 mm as common and easy to fix, and more than 5 mm (or a cracked rim) as a job for a pro. Squeeze spoke pairs: tension should feel even.

Finishing: points 14 and 15

14. Torque. Check stem, handlebar, seatpost, axles and brake calipers with a torque wrench. Carbon parts demand precision: too tight cracks, too loose slips. 15. Lubrication. Chain (dry or wet lube depending on the season), a drop at the cable housing entries, derailleur pivots and brake pivots. Avoid WD-40 on the chain: it is a degreaser, not a lubricant. Finish with a general clean.

Mistakes that undo a good tune-up

• Tightening by feel. Your fingers are not calibrated: L'Atelier notes that a stem bolt tightened by feel can easily reach 10-12 Nm instead of 5-6 Nm. On carbon, that means a crack.
• Wrong tightening order. Stem bolts go in a cross pattern, alternating, not one after the other, otherwise you create a pressure point.
• Dry threads. A drop of grease on aluminum-to-aluminum threads keeps the torque reading honest. On carbon, use carbon assembly paste instead of grease.
• Reusing tired bolts. Titanium and stainless bolts fatigue. If a bolt resists on removal, replace it.
• Contaminating the brakes. Don't touch rotors with your fingers, keep lube away from pads and clean a contaminated rotor with isopropyl alcohol. New pads need bedding in: 20 to 30 progressive stops from about 20 km/h (about 12 mph, using 20 × 0.621).
• Waiting too long on the chain. Past 1% elongation, a new chain will skip on the worn cassette, and you pay for chain, cassette and possibly chainrings at once.

Between seasonal checks: the schedule

The seasonal check works best on top of a light routine. L'Atelier's maintenance schedule breaks it down like this:

• Before every ride (2 min): tire pressure, wheel quick release or axle, brake test.
• Weekly (15 min): clean and lube the chain, inspect tires.
• Monthly (30 min): chain wear, headset play, spoke tension, brake pads.
• Quarterly (1 h): bleed if spongy, full drivetrain clean.
• Yearly (2-3 h): bearing overhaul, routine bleed, cable and housing check.
• E-bikes: the motor's torque wears the chain and cassette 1.5 to 2 times faster, so monthly chain measurement becomes essential.