Basic maintenance routine

[joolsybools]

My darling other half's chain snapped today and it got me thinkimg about whether maintencance may have prevented this and what sort of basic maintenance routine I/we should be doing. Bearing in mind we're in dirty dirty London, commuting 12 miles most days.

Any thoughts/pointers would be good.

They're both fairly decent hybrids with road tyres if that makes any difference.

Thanks in advance

 

[montage]

Buy a better chain. Id wash them at least once a week, but allways give a bike a wash down after a wet ride.

 

[Ademort]

There is much to be found about cycle maintainance on the net, youtube, sheldonbrown,parktools to name a few. Would do no harm to have a look. the more you know about cycle maintainance the better really.Nothing beats being able to repair and upkeep your bike(s) yourself.Save money DIY.As for the chain, it really is impossible to say if the break is caused by poor maintainance,more info is needed to make any judgement. The chain life is dependent on a number of factors, what type of chain was it, how often do you clean it, how often do you oil it, is the bike kept outside all day at work or at home. all of the aformentioned points have influence on the chain life and other bike parts for that matter.
Ademort

 

[Dayvo]

This'll help prolong the life and condition of your chains:

http://bicycletutor.com/chain-lubrication/

 

[joolsybools]

Thanks all

 

[Randochap]

Don't "wash" your chain. Use a citrus degreaser every so often (especially in wet, gritty conditions). Then use a good chain lube. Wipe off excess by running chain backwards through a rag.

Don't let a chain rust. Replace when needed ... before it wears to the point of reshaping cogs and chainrings. Get a chain-wear indicator.