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PedalSpokeCove

Tools

Build Your Service Schedule

The standard intervals on this site are written for a bike ridden a moderate amount in reasonable weather. Almost nobody rides exactly that bike. Answer four questions and the intervals move: hard miles and bad weather pull them in, a bike that sits in a dry hallway and goes out on weekends pushes them back.

Service planner

What your bike actually needs, and how often

Four questions. The intervals below move with the answers, because a bike ridden through a salted winter and a bike ridden on dry roads in summer are not on the same schedule.

What are you riding?

How far, in a normal week?

What are you riding through?

Where does it live?

Your schedule: hybrid or city bike, 20 to 60 miles a week, mostly dry, garage or shed

Coming around soonest

Wipe Down the Drivetrain

About once a week

Coming around soonest

Check Lights and Reflectors

About once a week

Coming around soonest

Check Brake Pads

About once a month

Every job that applies to this bike, soonest first
JobStandard intervalHow often for youWhy it moved
The ABC Check Before Every RideEvery rideBefore every rideDue often· every 1 daysNothing about how you ride moves this one off its standard interval.
Check Tire PressureEvery rideBefore every rideDue often· every 1 daysNothing about how you ride moves this one off its standard interval.
Wipe Down the DrivetrainWeeklyAbout once a weekDue often· every 7 daysNothing about how you ride moves this one off its standard interval.
Check Lights and ReflectorsWeeklyAbout once a weekDue often· every 7 daysNothing about how you ride moves this one off its standard interval.
Check Brake PadsMonthlyAbout once a monthComes around· every 29 daysAn unheated space goes through condensation cycles.
Clean and Lube the ChainMonthlyAbout once a monthComes around· every 29 daysAn unheated space goes through condensation cycles.
Check Wheel Trueness and SpokesMonthlyAbout once a monthComes around· every 29 daysAn unheated space goes through condensation cycles.
Inspect Tires for Wear and CutsMonthlyAbout once a monthComes around· every 29 daysAn unheated space goes through condensation cycles.
Check Bolt TorqueMonthlyAbout once a monthComes around· every 30 daysNothing about how you ride moves this one off its standard interval.
Check the Headset and BearingsSeasonalAbout every three monthsOn schedule· every 86 daysAn unheated space goes through condensation cycles.
Deep Clean and DegreaseSeasonalAbout every three monthsOn schedule· every 86 daysAn unheated space goes through condensation cycles.
Derailleur Indexing TuneSeasonalAbout every three monthsOn schedule· every 91 daysNothing about how you ride moves this one off its standard interval.
Helmet Inspection and ReplacementAnnualAbout once a yearOn schedule· every 365 daysNothing about how you ride moves this one off its standard interval.
Patch or Replace a TubeEvent-triggeredNot on a scheduleOn scheduleThis one waits for something to happen rather than for a date to arrive.

And because of where it lives

  • An unheated garage swings through the dew point twice a day in spring and fall, and every crossing leaves moisture on the metal. This is why the intervals above are slightly tighter than for a bike that lives in the house.

The season that matches those conditions: Summer Heat and Dust. And whatever else is true, Spring Wake-Up is where the riding year restarts.

Everything, unfiltered

The full interval table

Every job on the site with its standard interval, how long it takes once you have done it a few times, whether it is reasonable to do at home, and which bikes it applies to. The planner above is this table with the multipliers applied.

Standard intervals, before any adjustment for how you ride
JobIntervalTime on the jobYou or a shopApplies to
Check Tire PressureEvery ride2 minutesAnyoneRoad, MTB, Hybrid, E-bike, Kids
The ABC Check Before Every RideEvery ride45 secondsAnyoneRoad, MTB, Hybrid, E-bike, Kids
Check Lights and ReflectorsWeekly3 minutesAnyoneRoad, MTB, Hybrid, E-bike, Kids
Wipe Down the DrivetrainWeekly4 minutesAnyoneRoad, MTB, Hybrid, E-bike, Kids
Check Bolt TorqueMonthly15 minutesSome practiceRoad, MTB, Hybrid, E-bike, Kids
Check Brake PadsMonthly10 minutesSome practiceRoad, MTB, Hybrid, E-bike, Kids
Check Wheel Trueness and SpokesMonthly10 minutesShop work if unsureRoad, MTB, Hybrid, E-bike, Kids
Clean and Lube the ChainMonthly15 minutesAnyoneRoad, MTB, Hybrid, E-bike, Kids
E-Bike Connector and Motor CheckMonthly10 minutesAnyoneE-bike
Inspect Tires for Wear and CutsMonthly10 minutesAnyoneRoad, MTB, Hybrid, E-bike, Kids
Check the Headset and BearingsSeasonal15 minutesShop work if unsureRoad, MTB, Hybrid, E-bike, Kids
Deep Clean and DegreaseSeasonal1 hourAnyoneRoad, MTB, Hybrid, E-bike, Kids
Derailleur Indexing TuneSeasonal25 minutesSome practiceRoad, MTB, Hybrid, E-bike, Kids
Helmet Inspection and ReplacementAnnual10 minutesAnyoneRoad, MTB, Hybrid, E-bike, Kids
E-Bike Battery CareEvent-triggered5 minutes, plus how you chargeAnyoneE-bike
Patch or Replace a TubeEvent-triggered20 minutesAnyoneRoad, MTB, Hybrid, E-bike, Kids

Sorted by how often each job comes around, from before every ride down to the ones that wait for an event. On a narrow screen the table scrolls sideways inside its own frame.

Nothing hidden

The rules the planner runs on

This is the whole thing. Three multipliers on a base interval, applied only to the tasks each one genuinely affects, then rounded to whole days.

days = base interval for the task, in days
  Every ride 1, Weekly 7, Monthly 30, Seasonal 91, Annual 365
  Event-triggered tasks have no interval and are never adjusted
x mileage factor, on tasks that wear with distance
  under 20 mi/wk 1.5, 20-60 1.0, 60-150 0.7, over 150 0.5
x conditions factor, on tasks that wear with water and grit
  mostly dry 1.0, often wet 0.6, salted winter roads 0.4
x storage factor, on tasks that suffer from corrosion
  indoors 1.0, garage or shed 0.95, outdoors uncovered 0.8
then rounded to whole days and held between 1 and 365
status: due at 7 days or under, coming up at 45 or under, otherwise on schedule

Mileage is applied to the jobs that wear with distance, conditions to the jobs that wear with water and grit, and storage to the jobs that suffer from corrosion. A job affected by none of the three keeps its standard interval.

What the planner does not know about you

  • The date. This is an interval planner, not a calendar. It tells you how often, and you decide when to start.
  • The age and condition of the bike. A bike that has been neglected for two years needs a full service before any interval means anything.
  • Your terrain. Long descents wear brake pads far faster than flat commuting at the same mileage, and the planner has no way to know about them.
  • What the manufacturer of your specific bike says. Where their service schedule and this one disagree, theirs is the one attached to your warranty.
  • Load. A bike carrying a child seat, a trailer or a touring load wears brakes, tires and drivetrain faster than the same bike ridden empty.

The intervals, in order

  1. Every ride — 2 jobs on this site.
  2. Weekly — 2 jobs on this site.
  3. Monthly — 6 jobs on this site.
  4. Seasonal — 3 jobs on this site.
  5. Annual — one job on this site.
  6. Event-triggered — 2 jobs on this site.

From here