DIY bicycle repairs: Give your bike some TLC with these simple tips from a cycle expert

Jumping on your bike can be an easy way to factor out paying for petrol, parking, or public transport, but sometimes it needs a little love to keep it in tip-top order.

While taking it to a bike shop for some TLC is an option, you could also learn how to service it yourself.

Andrew Stark manages The Bike Shed, a Melbourne-based community shop run by volunteers. He says knowing how to do it yourself can be empowering, and help you get even more joy out of your bike.

While a shiny bike chain looks pretty, giving it a clean can also prolong the life of your bike and can ensure it's riding smoothly and quietly.

"Generally you can get away with just kind of giving the chain a bit of a wipe down," Mr Stark says.

"Just grab the rag, putting the chain between it and back-pedalling."

While the rag should do the trick, if your chain's been neglected or is particularly grimy, adding products like a degreaser, or even just a little bit of soapy water, can help.

"You can either spray this directly on the chain or maybe just once on the rag and just run the chain all the way through that rag," he says.

"You can also use the rag to get all the grime that builds up inside the jockey wheels of the derailleur here."

For extra difficult cases, you can use a screwdriver as well as a rag to pull off the grease.

The next step is to help keep the chain running smoothly with a lubricant specifically for bikes.

"The best way to put on lube is to just position the bottle over the chain, then you want to slowly back-pedal, make sure that you get lubricant just on that and all the joining pins or in-between all the links," Mr Stark says.

Being able to stop is a top priority, so making sure your brakes are in good working order is probably worth it.

A tell-tale sign that your brakes have come loose is that you have to pull or squeeze them all the way in to slow down — they need to reach further for the brake pads to connect with the rim.

There are a couple of ways to keep your brakes tight. The first is using a barrel adjuster.

The barrel adjuster is located on your handlebars and looks like a silver fitting next to the brake lines — you can wind it out to tighten things up.

If the barrel adjuster has already been wound out as much as it can go, you can get to work with your allen key.

You can use the allen key just to loosen off the bolt that holds the brake cable.

"That opens the caliper right up to pull the cable through a little bit more," Mr Stark explains.

"Bring the pads all the way so that they're touching the rim and then just let a little bit out — because if you tighten them too much, then the wheel's not going to move."

While holding the calipers, he says to then re-tighten everything with the allen key.

But what do you do if you're halfway between A to B and caught out with a flat? Learn to change it yourself.

Generally, there are two things to keep in mind: can it be patched, or do I need to replace it?

Mr Stark says first take the tension off the chain by back-pedalling into a low gear and then pop off the tyre.

"And then we'll need to either use just one tyre lever or, if the tyres are a little bit tricky to get off, you might need to use two levers," Mr Stark says.

Pull the tube out and pump in a little extra air to see if you can hear or feel the puncture site.

If the tube needs to be replaced, first give the tyre's inner lining a good check for any pieces of glass, metal or thorns that could damage the tube, before popping in its replacement.

Then half-inflate the replacement, checking the side of the tyre for all the specifications, and get ready to reassemble everything.

First pop half of the tyre back onto the rim, then fold the tube under the tyre before sliding it all the way over.

Mr Stark says you'll need to be a little cautious here to make sure you don't accidentally pinch the tube and re-puncture it.

Mr Stark says if you can splash some extra cash, it's best to opt for a pump with a pressure gauge, so you can more accurately fill up the tyre.

When the tyre is fully inflated, it's then a matter of reattaching the back wheel.

"Once that's done, you just want to make sure that the brakes are all connected back up again, and that's you."

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