When it comes to the subject of mountain bike maintenance, there are quite a few things that you need to take into consideration. Although the specific mountain bike maintenance that you will have to conduct will vary, depending on the particular type of bike that you have, there are a few basics which you will have to remember regardless.

There are a few things that you should always remember to do in order to keep your mountain bike running smoothly, for instance maintaining your bike chain. Because your bike chain is constantly exposed to dirt and stress, it is one of the parts of your bike that gets the most wear. You want to give it a checkup at the start of every season so that you can ensure it is clean and working smoothly. The tools you will need are a pair of needle nose pliers, shallow pan, small stiff brush and chalk. You will also need kerosene, motor oil, rags, and replacement master link bicycle chain.

All you need to do is remove the chain from the bicycle, and to open the master link you need to pull out the retaining clip with your needle nose pliers, and then remove the side plate. You want to pull the link out of the chain in order to release the ends, and align a chain rivet extractor with its screw pin over a rivet, then tighten the screw of the extractor just enough to be able to push the rivet through the center of the chain, but make sure to leave it hanging from the far side, and the chain will separate as the rivet is loosened.

As well for mountain bike maintenance you want to make sure that you know how to fix a flat tire. It is really a simple task, and all you need is a patch kit or spare tire, tire levers, a bicycle pump, and some effort. First you want to remove the old tire, and then take a look to see what actually caused the flat, because you may be able to save that tire. Then you just use the same screws that you took off with the first tire and use them to connect the new tire.

By making yourself informed and knowledgeable on general mountain bike maintenance, you will not only be ensuring your own safety and making mountain biking more convenient on yourself overall, but as well will be saving yourself a great deal of money.

You definitely do not want to go mountain biking far in the wilderness and not know how to fix your bike if something happens to it, and so making sure that you know at least the basics before heading out is truly crucial.