Bicycle Maintenance Schedule: Kilometres, Seasons and Cost
A schedule is only useful if it is tied to distance, because wear follows kilometres rather than the calendar. Two riders with the same bike in the same month can be 3,000 km apart in wear.
The interval table
| interval_km | Task | time_min |
|---|---|---|
| Every ride | Tyres, brakes, quick-releases, lights | 2 |
| 200 | Chain wipe and lube, pressure check | 10 |
| 500 | Chain wear measurement, pad inspection | 15 |
| 1,000 | Drivetrain clean, cable check, bolt torque | 45 |
| 2,000 | Chain replacement if ≥0.5%, cassette check | 30 |
| 3,000–5,000 | Brake pads, cables, bearing service | Shop |
| Yearly | Full service: headset, BB, hubs | Shop |
Twelve recurring tasks cover the whole bike. Anything not on this list is either a repair or a preference.
Task count and what each covers
| # | Task | Covers |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tyre inspection | Cuts, wear indicators |
| 2 | Pressure check | Pinch flats, grip |
| 3 | Brake pad check | Stopping, rim wear |
| 4 | Chain wipe and lube | Drivetrain life |
| 5 | Chain wear measurement | Cassette protection |
| 6 | Bolt torque check | Safety |
| 7 | Cable inspection | Shifting, braking |
| 8 | Wheel true check | Spoke tension |
| 9 | Drivetrain clean | Efficiency |
| 10 | Brake bleeding (hydraulic) | Modulation |
| 11 | Bearing service | Headset, BB, hubs |
| 12 | Frame inspection | Cracks after impacts |
Time per task
| Level | Time | Tasks |
|---|---|---|
| 2 min | Every ride | Tyres, brakes, lights |
| 10 min | Every 200 km | Chain, pressure |
| 15 min | Every 500 km | Wear measurement |
| 45 min | Every 1,000 km | Clean and check |
| 60–90 min | Yearly | Full service (shop) |
The whole schedule is about 4 hours a year of your own time plus one shop visit. Riders who skip it spend 8–10 hours a year dealing with failures instead.
What the service actually takes
The 200 km check takes 10 minutes: wipe the chain, lube it, check pressure. The 500 km check takes 15 minutes and adds a wear measurement. The 1,000 km service takes 45 minutes and is the one that finds problems before they become replacements.
A yearly shop service takes 60–90 minutes of a mechanic’s time and covers bearings, cables, and the parts of the bike you cannot inspect without tools. Budget for it once a year rather than treating it as optional.
Season split
| Season | Adjustment |
|---|---|
| Winter (wet, salt) | Halve all intervals; lube every 100 km |
| Spring | Full service after winter; check bearings |
| Summer (dry) | Standard intervals; watch tyre wear |
| Autumn | Clean drivetrain; check lights before dark commutes |
Winter roughly doubles wear rates: salt and grit turn lube into grinding paste, and brake pads wear faster in wet conditions. A winter bike with mudguards is maintenance equipment, not comfort.
Cost per year
| Riding | Parts | Labour | cost_year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000–2,000 km | $80–120 | $90–150 | $170–270 |
| 3,000–5,000 km | $150–250 | $150–250 | $300–500 |
| 8,000 km+ | $300–450 | $300–400 | $600–850 |
| Ignored until failure | — | — | $700–1,200 |
Wear items and their intervals
| wear_items | Interval | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Chain | 2,000–4,000 km | $25–40 |
| Brake pads | 1,000–2,000 km | $15–30 |
| Cables | 5,000–8,000 km | $10–20 |
| Tyres | 3,000–5,000 km | $30–60 each |
| Bar tape | Yearly | $15–25 |
| Cassette | 10,000–15,000 km | $60–150 |
Replacing a chain at 0.5% is what protects the cassette; the cassette costs four times the chain. The whole schedule exists to move replacements earlier and cheaper.
Building the habit
Pick one day a month — the first weekend, say — and do the 1,000 km service whether or not the bike has reached the distance. A calendar anchor is easier to keep than a kilometre counter, and the tasks are the same.
Keep a log: date, distance, what was changed. It answers the questions that otherwise become guesses, and it is the difference between a maintained bike and a maintained-looking one.
What happens when the schedule slips
Skipping two chain replacements turns a $30 part into a $120 cassette plus $60 of labour. Skipping pad checks turns a $20 pad set into a scored rotor at $60–90, and eventually into a wheel rebuild.
The failures are rarely sudden. They arrive as a noise, then a skip under load, then a broken chain 40 km from home. The schedule is what keeps each of those steps from happening, and it costs four hours a year.
Where to go next
- Maintenance guide — how to do each task
- Tool kit — what you need at home
- Chain maintenance — the highest-frequency job