How to keep your indoor bike in good working order

Cycle or spinning bikes need to be maintained from time to time, as with any other exercise bike and outdoor bikes of any kind. This will make the machine run more smoothly, but also extend its life and allow you to use it for many years. In addition, you will avoid having to make frequent repairs. In this article we explain how to maintain an indoor exercise bike, read on to find out more!

Indoor bike maintenance after each session

It is important to make a distinction between maintenance at the end of each session and periodic maintenance. As you know, indoor cycling is an aerobic exercise that contributes to improving the cardiovascular system as well as strengthening the heart. This helps to have a better general physical condition and to improve performance and personal bests in cycling. For this reason, it is normal that the bike ends up soaked with sweat at the end of each session, so it is important that you carry out proper maintenance of the exercise bike:

• Indoor bike cleaning: Keep in mind that sweat is very corrosive to some parts of the bike, especially when it falls on the frame of the bike as it can seep or lodge on the surface of the tubes. It is important to clean it at the end of each session to prevent the metal parts from rusting. It is best to use a cleaner and degreaser for fitness equipment.
• Check the tension of the handlebar and saddle locks of the indoor bike: The next thing you should do is check the tension of the handlebar and saddle locks, making sure that the levers to fix them are fulfilling their function.
• Raise the seats and handlebars: Raising them to the highest position will allow air to dry out any moisture that may have accumulated inside the mechanism, thus preventing it from rusting.

These three tasks are very simple and will only take a few minutes. This will keep your indoor cycling bike in perfect condition and increase its lifespan.

Exercise bike: periodic maintenance

Now that you know how to do the daily maintenance of an indoor bike, let’s focus on how to do the maintenance of an exercise bike of the same type, but periodically. We recommend that you take into account the following:

Weekly indoor exercise bike maintenance

If you love cycling and you train at home every week, then it is important that you maintain your indoor bike taking into account the following aspects:

• Protective lubricating oil: It is important that you use protective lubricating oil for metal parts to protect them against rust and corrosion. This oil causes moisture to be displaced. The way to apply it depends on the product, if it is a spray you can spray it directly on the bike or apply it on a clean cloth and rub with it.
• Clean the handlebar and saddle tubes: This will prevent sweat from solidifying the frame, saddle tubes and handlebar tubes. To do this, remove them and clean the inside.
• Check the resistance: Another thing to do is to check the state of the resistance. In this case you should take into account whether it is friction or magnetic. In the first example, the important thing is to check if the shoe is worn. In the second case, check that it is still working normally and do the same with the emergency braking system.

Monthly indoor exercise bike maintenance

Apart from what has been explained so far, you should also take into account the monthly maintenance of the bike, especially if you use it a lot. In this case it is important that you check other parts and aspects of the machine:

• Check the brake pads: The brake pad is the one that serves to brake the bicycle by friction when it is a resistance of this type. What you should do is check that it is not worn. If the felt is slightly worn and protruding, but retains its structure, simply trim off the excess parts.
• Lubricate the flywheel or wheel: This part corresponds to the disk-shaped part of the bicycle that is responsible for receiving all the energy generated when pedaling. It must be lubricated with a protector for it to work properly and to prevent it from rusting -this way you will protect it against corrosion from sweat-.
• Check for looseness in the cranks and pedals: If so, tighten them with a wrench. It is also important to check the tightening torque of your indoor bike’s hardware in general, such as crossbar and pedal hardware. Refer to the manufacturer’s manual to find out how much you should tighten each part.
• Lubricate the chain: The chain is another part that must be lubricated if your indoor bike has this motion transmission system.