TAKE CARE OF YOUR PRECIOUS, PRECIOUS RIDE

Keeping your bike in good working order can help maintain valuable parts. “We’ve seen a huge influx of people buying tools online,” says John Fornasier of Sweet Pete’s Bike Shop. “Generally most of the mainstream stuff that home mechanics need is available.”

Jenn Jackson, national XC champ and wrench at Spoke Bike and Ski, Kamloops, B.C., recommends checking over your bike regularly and doing a light cleaning to keep tabs on any small problems to take care of before they unexpectedly become big ones. “For example, checking your spokes, by hand, to make sure you don’t have one randomly loosening off while riding, which could lead to a much bigger problem,” she says.

Since the chain and cassette wear together, Jessica Brousseau, a team mechanic for Liv Factory Racing, recommends a trick to help your cassette last longer than the chain: “Replace the chain before it’s 100 per cent used,” she says. Brousseau recommends ditching the old chain when it’s 65 to 75 per cent worn. (A chain checker tool can help you make the call.) “I usually change my chain three times on the same cassette.”

“The best thing you can do to make your drivetrain last longer, is to shift more often,” she adds. “Shifting more often can reduce chain wear because your chain is not under an incredible amount of tension. This can triple the life of a chain and cassette.”

Both Brousseau and Jackson emphasize the importance of chain lube.