A bicycle maintenance schedule that actually gets done

Before every ride — 30 seconds

Tyres, brakes, quick releasesSqueeze the tyres, pull both brake levers, check wheels are properly secured. This catches most of what actually strands people.

Weekly, or after a wet ride

Wipe and lube the chainWipe first, then a drop per roller, then wipe again. A dry chain wears its cassette; an over-oiled one collects grinding paste.

Monthly

Chain wear, brake pads, boltsA chain checker costs a few pounds. Chains are consumables; cassettes and chainrings become consumables if you ignore them.

Every few months

Cables, tyres, headsetFrayed cable strands, cuts and embedded glass in tyres, and any knocking from the headset when braking.

Annually

Bearings, brake fluid, full cleanHubs, bottom bracket and headset serviced or checked; hydraulic brakes bled if the lever feel has changed.

The one that pays for itself is chain wear. A chain replaced at the right point costs a fraction of a chain, cassette and chainrings replaced together because it was left too long, and the measurement takes ten seconds. This single habit is most of the difference between a drivetrain that lasts and one that does not.

• Worth learning immediately — Punctures, chain cleaning and lubing, brake pad replacement, cable-operated gear adjustment, bar and saddle position. All are cheap to learn, hard to get dangerously wrong, and needed often.
• Worth learning eventually — Cable and housing replacement, bearing adjustment, tubeless setup, wheel truing. Each needs a specific tool and a bit of feel, and each removes a recurring shop visit.
• Reasonable to pay for — Hydraulic brake bleeding, press-fit bottom brackets, wheel building, suspension servicing, and anything involving a carbon component with a torque specification you cannot meet with the tools you own. Not because they are unlearnable, but because the tooling costs more than the labour for a long time.
• The two to be careful with — Brakes and carbon. Brakes because the failure mode is immediate, and carbon because it fails suddenly rather than gradually when over-tightened. A torque wrench is the cheapest insurance in the workshop.