In this blog, we explore ten common bike issues we often see, all of which could have been easily avoided. Bikes are meant to be enjoyed, but small, preventable problems can wreak havoc on your bike, making them bad to ride or cost you thousands to put right. And before you ask, Yes that is a hole in the frame and no, it wasn’t noticed for quite some time…

Disc contamination

Kicking off with disc brake contamination. In my eyes there is simply no excuse for this.. Disc contamination is quite simply when the disc rotor, pad or both, comes into contact with lubricant, oil or grease. The result is massively impaired braking performance and excess noise. A healthy disc brake will make some light high pitch noise but shouldn’t be screaming or howling like a banshee or juddering when stopping. If you suspect your pads to be contaminated, it can be very difficult to resurrect them. Bin them, thoroughly clean the disc and caliper and fit some new pads!

Avoid contaminating your brakes by:

1: Cover the braking surface when applying lubricant to the bike.

2: Avoid spraying post-wash bike polish near the brakes-spray onto a clean cloth instead.

2: Periodically use disc good quality brake cleaner. From experience, this one from Juice Lubes works best.

Frame rub

Before you ride your bike, check out any exposed brake or gear outers. For where they make contact with parts of your fame. Pay special attention to the head tube area. You can buy protective frame wrap-just stick in where the cables rub and save your paint. Same goes for frame packs, bar bags and mud guards. You’re only a bit of grit and vibration from scratching up your paint. Simple.

Dirty drivetrain

E-Bikers, listen up, judging by the hordes of E-bikers who have sailed past me on the ascents, it’s clear to see (and hear) that drivetrain maintenance gets neglected. Some of the issue stems from the fact that you can’t backpedal an E-bike, which makes cleaning a little more difficult, but there is an easy solution in the form of a back pedal tool. This allows you to ‘lock’ the chain ring to the crank and back pedal, allowing you to give the cassette and chain the much needed love it deserves…

Pressure washing bearings

Pressure washing is a great way of blasting mud off the bike but if aimed directly at your bikes bearings, are capable of removing grease designed to inhibit water ingress. Yes, pro team mechanics use pressure washers on the daily, but they are also replacing bearings far more often than we are, so its best to avoid altogether.

Wrong cleaning products

Using proper bike-specific cleaners, which are formulated to clean effectively without damaging components is best practice here as the alternative option of using kitchen washing up liquid is not ideal. There are usually very harsh to paint and lubricated surfaces.

However, I’m going to put my head on the line here and say that you’re better off washing your bike with kitchen detergent than not at all…

Provided you have blasted the mud off your bike first and use only a small amount of washing solution in hot water, you’ll get your bike nice and clean. It’s just super important to make sure that you thoroughly rinse off afterwards, dry and lubricate everything.

Wrong size tyres

With the current trend to use wider tyres, we are seeing more and more bikes with serious tyre rub damage to the inner chain stay, as riders are eeking out every last millimetre of tolerance in their frame. When choosing new tyres, always refer to manufacturer guidelines and account for wheel flex, mud and wheels which have gone out of true. The below photo demonstrates a culmination of what happens when you ride a tyre which is too wide and experience wheel flex. Viewer descension advised!

Crank rub

This isn’t really applicable to mountain bikers as crank rub from welding your shoes deep into the pedal in an attempt to survive the downhills, causes inevitable crank rub. But for road or gravel riders, if your shoes are rubbing your cranks, it’s probably time for a bike fit. During your bike set up, you also want to make sure that the back of your shoes are not rubbing against the chain stays…although repairable, the damage below would have been costly to fix.

Using a sponge…

What’s wrong with a sponge I hear you ask? Well, simply put they aren’t as soft as you’d think and are the main contributor to marring and paint swirl marks on car paint, putting tens of thousands of micro scratches in your paint. Bikes are no different, so if you want your lacquered paint surface to look flat, dull and tired, carry on using a sponge. If you want to give it a fighting chance, switch to a wool or microfiber wash mitt…

Avoid the ring of death

The ring of what? On a serious note, the ring of death in most cases can be avoided by regular checks and basic maintenance. The ring of death is caused by loose or worn headset bearings which eat away at the carbon as the bearing is free to move around. If left undiagnosed or ignored, the ring of death can seriously weaken the fork steerer, causing catastrophic failure of the steerer tube and your handlebars detaching from the bike. As an aside, it’s worth me mentioning that Pedal cover do not cover this type of damage as it’s avoidable and happens over time, so if you do suspect your headset bearings have seen better days, please get them replaced before it’s too late.

Over tightening bolts

Over tightening component bolts can lead to serious damage, including stripping threads, deforming components, or causing stress fractures, especially in carbon fibre. Using a torque wrench ensures bolts are properly tightened to the manufacturer’s specifications, preserving both safety and the longevity of your bike.