Vintage Bike Maintenance

The key to maintaining a vintage bike is to give it a bit more thought any care than you would a regular bike that you might buy from the store. A regular bike needs little more than some air in the tires and some general cleaning but a vintage bike is built quite differently and thus has different needs than a modern day bike does.

For example, a vintage bike is a lot more prone to getting rust on it - and in fact it may already even have some rust on it that will have to be taken care of. Because of this you probably don’t want to leave your bike sitting out in the rain or during a snowy winter. Instead it’s best to store your bike safely in a garage somewhere and to make sure that you’re giving it lots of anti-rust treatments during rainy or snowy weather.

A vintage bike is also going to need a lot more in the way of ongoing maintenance than a regular bike will simply because it’s an older bike and it’s been through a lot more. Don’t get frustrated if you find yourself doing work on your bike a little more often than you expected - that’s completely normal with a vintage bike and should be a part of the fun. If it becomes a bit too overwhelming or time consuming for you then you can always take it to a professional and have them do the work on it for you but be prepared to pay a little bit more if you go that route.

It’s also important that when you do any maintenance work on your bike that you make sure you are getting exactly the right parts that are specified for it as this can be a problem if you are using incorrect pieces. Doing so can damage your bike and it can also be a safety hazard for you in the long run. So be sure to get the right parts and if you aren’t 100% convinced then take it to a professional that has experience as either ask questions or have them fix it for you. It’s not worth ruining your bike simply because you didn’t know what you were doing.

When it comes to maintaining things like the paint on your bike this can be done quite easily with just a little extra thought and care. When you store your bike do so in a way that it won’t be put in places where it’s going to get scratched or chipped - make sure that it’s out of the way of other bikes and things that might damage it. When parking your bike use chains that are surrounded with a rubber coating to avoid scratching and scraping up your bike. Always use your kickstand - never just toss or lay your bike down on the ground as this is one of the most common ways they can get damaged.

With just a little extra attention and special care you can get your bike to last as long as any new one might and it will be well worth it!