How to take care of my Exercise Bike?

The exercise bike and indoor cycling is a concept increasingly evolving around the world due to big calorie payoff with minimal impact on your hips, knees and ankles, as well as allowing the athlete to use it when they prefer and with the intensity that best meets your needs. For this reason, the exercise bike has always been established as an essential equipment if you are a lover of cardio and constantly challenge yourself, because without leaving home you can obtain high performance and even be the most challenging workout of the week.

On the other hand, we know that "long life for your bike" must be done very seriously, because once the investment is made, what we want the most is to take care of our equipment so that it works correctly for many years. Here are some tips that you may not know (but that will make it easier for you to take care of your indoor bike).

FIRST STEPS

Cleaning your Indoor Exercise Bike

Your best friend is mild soap and water. Although it may not seem true at first, the accumulation of sweat on your Exercise Bike is a big problem in the medium and long term of your bike due to its corrosive characteristics. So no abrasive cleaner is recommended, for that after each use you just need to clean the sweat that fell on it and it will be enough to preserve the shine of your cycle.

With this simple summary you will better understand what your bike requires from you to function properly:

Preventative Maintenance Checklist

After each ride:

• Wipe down with a soft cloth using water and a mild cleaner.
  Do not use products containing ammonium chloride.

Weekly:

• Clean and lubricate sliding adjustment bars.
• Clean underneath brake hoods.
• Visually inspect all hardware components of your bike.

Monthly:

• Check tightness of pedals and cleat bolts.
• Inspect pedals and cleats for wear (broken bindings on pedals and wear in cleats). Replace or repair worn parts.
• Check crank bolt torque (see table below).
• Check power meter battery levels and change batteries as needed.
• Check for firmware updates.

• Consider the model of exercise bike you are using and learn to identify the components it has.

Yearly:

• Replace the pedals every year, for maximum performance & safety. 
• Inspect the bottom bracket.

Download your preventative maintenance schedule here

You can read more about this on our support page and you can always call us to schedule a visit for us to do a annual maintenance visit for you and service your bike.

If you're a Stages customer using SC3 bikes with power meters or using live data in class or on the gym floor with Stages flight or Stages Solo, checking for firmware updates on the power meter / s and console / s is a good next step. Be certain you have updated your firmware to take advantage of the auto reset on the power meter. In one hit that will save you so many man hours, give you more accuracy and save you maintenance time - everybody has a better experience at that point.

Pedals Check

Make sure they’re tight. Pedals can get so easily overlooked. We recommend they get replaced every year. We appreciate that doesn’t happen always on time so we encourage to do a thorough check as a minimum making sure everything is functional and tight. Pay particular attention to the key touch points on the pedal, i.e. where your riders clip in and the toe cages. Remember one of the first things your riders will encounter on the bike is the pedal, so that must work well during their first experience — if that doesn’t go very well it doesn’t set them up for the best experience going forward.

·Add the annual maintenance activities for your bike to your calendar

You have done your part day by day, now you must not forget to schedule your appointment for the annual review of your bicycle, to avoid damage to its physical components. This ensures that you have a bike for many years and that it keeps your ride smooth!

ENJOY YOUR BIKE! 

 

• Find the program that best suits your needs to create a habit: We suggest a 4-6 week program as you start.

• Set a goal: Download the Stages Flight app or any other app that allows you to train with purpose either using power zones or heart rate or both. Here some of our favourite ones: Zwift, Les Mills, Psycle and Sufferfest. There is something in there for every rider style

We know that this information is just a starting point but it will help you better understand what you should not forget to always take your workouts to the next level. Remember that if you are a beginner and there are still doubts, you can get in touch and we will give you personalized advice, we are here to help you enjoy this great cardio equipment that you plan to buy or that you already have at home and want to make the most of it.