What components should you replace on a bike, and why?
Buying bicycle components online can be an overwhelming task. Over 100 years the modern bicycle as we know it has had far too many standards for what components go on it! There are bikes with no gears, many gears, internally geared hubs, dynamo powered hubs & electric powered hubs. Then wheel sizes go from tiny 12″ to 27 1/4″ & even unicycle size 32″ wheels. There are hundreds of different handlebar types for bicycles, dozens of different clamp sizes, and then more differences in stems, bottom brackets & cranks. The list goes on!
Abbotsford Cycles recommendations
Here at Bicycle Parts Warehouse we have tried to cover all the bases for bicycle components. And hopefully we will have just what you need to replace, repair or restore your bike. Our components work for a lot – if not all – bicycles. And they are commonly used in bike workshops including our own bicycle repair shop Abbotsford Cycles in Richmond. But also in plenty of other bike shops around the country as well. If you need advice on what components your bike needs, we can definitely help. Our huge range of components might not be in our physical store in Melbourne, but we work on bikes everyday and have a good idea of the commonly needed bike components. Especially the one’s needed to get your average commuter bike or road bike going again.
BEARINGS
If you are looking for high quality bearings for bottom brackets or headsets we can absolutely recommend our stainless steel bearings. We have these available in a number of sizes, as well as ball retainers for bearings too. If you need crown races & headsets or quill stems & expander bolts, we have those in our warehouse too. Bearings can easily become worn down or simply disintegrate over time & use. So replacing your bearings when your headset or bottom bracket is feeling a gravelly is important. You will also find it’s a great way to improve your bikes performance & ride feel.
TOOLS
Replacing bearings in headset & bottom brackets will lead you down the path of needing the tools to fit & press them! We have you covered on this too, with stock in our warehouse of the quality tools you need to get the work done properly. And done just as good as your local bike shop! We stock workshop quality tools from the quality & reliable bicycle tool maker Unior. Unior tools are built for everyday use in a workshop so you will find them hardy & reliable in your garage. Especially when you need to make adjustments & upgrades to your bike.
We highly recommend any Unior tool for working on your bike as we use these ourselves in our bicycle repair shop. And we trust them for the highest quality servicing we offer. Unior tools are hard wearing, fit for purpose tools. And we recommend keeping a chain checker, a chain breaker tool, an allen key or hex set in your garage. These are useful for emergency repairs & general maintenance of your bike.
CABLES
Quite often the simple solutions are the best when it comes to upgrading or repairing your bike. And we stock a wide range of brake cables, gear cables & bolts for getting all the squeaks & creaks out of your bike. And having it shift gears & brake like new again. When replacing your brake cables its also a good idea to change your brake pads. And we stock both rim brake pads and disc brake pads for all the different brake types out on the market.
BRAKE PADS
We use Kool Stop for brake pads in our workshop & we sell them in our warehouse because of their compatibility with such a broad range of brake calipers on the market. As well as their high quality & durability. Kool Stop are exclusively brake pad manufacturers so this is their speciality. And you should feel confident in replacing your Shimano or SRAM brake pads with Kool Stop equivalent pads. Kool Stop pads are quiet & come in rubber, organic & standard pad materials so you will never experience howling disc brakes again!
If you are at the stage of replacing your gear cables on your bike & your brake cables it’s also time to think about other aspects. We recommend stocking your garage workshop with the appropriate greases & lubricants before changing cables. Cleaning & lubricating your pivot points like your derailleurs & brake levers & cable guides is an important part of the process of replacing cables. Lubricating these points ensures that you have not wasted your time replacing components only to have squeaks reappear on your bike! You should always lubricate & pre-lubricate your cables & derailleurs when replacing parts. And lubricate any pivot points after a thorough cleaning of your bike to ensure no corrosion occurs. If you are needing advice on which components need to be lubricated & which don’t you can always give us a call for advice.
CHAINS & CASSETTES
When it comes to replacing components & bicycle parts, we simply cannot go past chains & cassettes. Your bike chain & cassette make up a fundamental part of your bike’s drivetrain. And as such these parts undergo an incredible amount of wear when you are cycling. Because of this you should expect to need to replace your chain & cassette after anywhere from 2000km’s to 5000km’s, depending on how you ride & what you ride. It is important to use top quality drivetrain components when you can, as a higher quality chain & cassette will be more hard-wearing & reliable in the long term. And this will save you money over the life of your bike.
A high quality chain & cassette will wear down together at the same rate. Meaning you should always check your cassette for signs of wear when you are considering replacing your chain. If you are experiencing skipping gears or jumping gears when riding your bike it is very likely a sign of your chain being worn & ‘stretched’. Meaning it is no longer meeting the teeth of your bikes cassette neatly and thus slipping off the teeth of the cassette. You will notice this most when the bike is under load like when you are pedalling from a standing start. Or when putting in a lot of power as you go up an incline.
CHAINS
Become a bicycle maintenance expert & shop our range of chains & cassettes to do your repairs at home! We stock just about every bike chain you could need. From hard wearing, extra strong single speed chains, to 12 speed oil slick chains for your MTB.
Speaking of fixies & mountain bikes, expect to need to update your bicycle parts on these bikes more than you would on the bike you just commute to work in. As the mud & dirt from trails can wear down your bike’s components quite quickly. And for the style of riding where every millimetre of pedal stroke matters to get you over the trail. Fixies go through an equal amount of strain when they are under such load from the absence of a friendly gear. We recommend using a good quality chain at the very least to preserve the life of your cassette. Especially if you are not commonly using the complete range of your cassette. But speaking of, do try to use all your gears when you ride your bike!
TYRES & TUBES
And now we come to the most commonly replaced bike parts & components – the perishable parts of your bike. Your bike’s tyres & inner tubes. Nothing in life is forever and this is absolutely true of your bike tyres & tubes. You will be needing to change these pretty often. And if you are pulling a bike out of the shed to get it back on the road chances are this is the most critical component you need to replace to get it running again. Rubber perishes at different rates depending on how & where it is stored. And the temperatures it is exposed to. Even high quality bicycle tyres will not hold up against the relentless Australian sun for long. So keep your bike’s fresh rubber out of the elements if you can, but if you can’t we have a vast range of bicycle tyres for you to choose from.
High quality tyres can change your entire riding experience. A quality tyre with an appropriate tread pattern for the cycling that you do is an absolute game changer. If you ride on the road & want to get to work in good time then big knobbly mountain bike tyres will be slowing you down. And they won’t be doing much to hold up against all the broken glass and pieces of metal you find in the average urban street.
Upgrading your bike tyres to the right tread for your riding style & environment is super important for a good riding experience. And so is finding tyres that are light & robust. Replacing your tyres with fresh rubber will almost always feel great. The grip & the suppleness will have you thinking you are riding a new bike! And you will find yourself having less punctures just from the benefit of more rubber on your tyres. Old, worn & perished tyres have less tread & are therefore less able to resist the obstacles & detritus in the road & trails. Sometimes the solution when you are experiencing a lot of punctures & flat tyres is to simply fit new tyres on your bike.
When it comes to replacing components on your bike to improve performance, we look to your wheels.
