Bike maintenance schedule: what to check or replace, when, and who says so

The schedule, part by part

This table is the short answer. The last column says where each figure comes from and which parts it applies to. We read these pages on 2026-11-03 unless another date is given. Anything marked practical judgement is ours and does not come from a manufacturer.

Each group has its own guide with more detail: chain, cleaning and lube, cassette and chainrings, brakes, tires and sealant.

The parts with no published figure

For these parts we found no manufacturer interval in the source review we did on 2026-10-02. Cannondale's owner's manual, read that day, talks about a finite service life without putting a number on it. Not having read a figure does not prove nobody publishes one: if your part's manual gives one, use that.

The same schedule, by rhythm

If you would rather plan by date than by part, here is the same list. Not every cell has a source behind it, and the right-hand column says which ones do.

A made-up example: 150 km a week

To see what the figures mean in practice, picture someone riding 150 km a week, about 6 hours at an average of 25 km/h, with a suspension fork and sealant. That comes to 7,800 km a year (150 × 52). To turn a distance into weeks, divide by 150; for hours, divide by 6.

Three things come out of those sums. Sealant reaches 2,000 km in about 13 weeks, roughly 3 months, which matches the Stan's routine. The chain, on the 4,000 km reference, comes up almost twice a year (7,800 ÷ 4,000 = 1.95), and measuring it every 4 weeks, or every 600 km, gives you six readings before you get there. And at 50 km a week the same 2,000 km of sealant would take 40 weeks, longer than Schwalbe's 7 months, which is about 30: if you ride little, the date arrives before the distance.

Anything set by date does not move with distance: the yearly bleed on SRAM DOT brakes and the DT Swiss hub service fall every 52 weeks, whether you ride 150 km or 15.

Where the sources disagree

Some figures do not fit together. We leave them in plain view instead of picking one for you.

• Chain limit. Park Tool, as general guidance, gives 0.5% on 11-speed or more; SRAM gives 0.8% for its Eagle and AXS chains. Park Tool adds that the manufacturer's spec comes first, so on a SRAM chain the SRAM figure stands. Their warnings pull in opposite directions: Park Tool says running past the limit wears cogs and chainrings sooner, and SRAM says replacing too early can wear the rest of the drivetrain sooner.
• Factory grease. Zero Friction Cycling recommends removing it before you ride the chain. SRAM explains that its own is applied with heat and that harsh cleaners can strip it. There is more in the cleaning and lube guide.
• Chain distance. No manufacturer we read gives one. TOUR claims that in real use the longest-lasting chains reach 10,000 km or more with ideal care, Zero Friction Cycling says wax usually gets you 3 to 5 times the chain life, and Pedalytics uses 4,000 km as a reminder. Those are three different things: a magazine's claim, a lab's conclusion and a design decision.
• Tire distance. Schwalbe gives 2,000 to 5,000 km for its standard tires. Bicycle Rolling Resistance projects about 20,000 km up front and about 10,000 km at the rear for a pair of Continental Grand Prix 5000 after 6,000 km, if the casing holds. That projection comes from one pair, one bike and one rider on long flat routes, using visual estimates: it is not a measured end of life.
• Sealant. Stan's gives 2 to 6 months on average on its support page and 2 to 7 months in its tubeless guide. Schwalbe gives about 2,000 km or 2 to 7 months for Doc Blue. As a practical judgement, checking every three months covers both windows.

Road, gravel and MTB: what changes

The tables work for all three. These are the differences the cited sources draw.

• On the road, as a practical judgement, the basics are measuring the chain, looking at pads and rotors, checking pressure monthly and watching the tire. SRAM's road AXS brakes ship with organic pads, and its 3 mm and 1.55 mm figures are for them. The tire pressure calculator gives you a starting point.
• On gravel and in dust, Zero Friction Cycling advises against wet lubes off the tarmac, because dust sticks and stays. SRAM suggests sintered pads for grit and water, where organic pads may not last as long, and says grit and dirt speed up wear.
• On MTB, Schwalbe gives no tire distance because riding style decides it; the 3,000 km for XC and 2,000 km for trail or enduro that Pedalytics uses are estimates with no manufacturer figure behind them. Suspension runs on hours, and FOX asks for more service the harder it works. On Eagle chains, SRAM says the chainring and chain are the first to show wear.

When the chain does need replacing, the chain length calculator helps you get the size right.

In Pedalytics

Pedalytics is not out yet: it is listed as «Coming soon». Each ride stores how the bike was set up that day and adds the wear to the parts it carried, so this schedule can be followed part by part.

• The app's references: chain 4,000 km, cassette 12,000 km and chainring 18,000 km (those two for inspection only), pads 1,500 km, tire 5,000 km, sealant 2,000 km or 7 months, brake fluid 12 months and cleats 6,000 km.
• It warns between 80% and 90% of each reference and treats the part as due once it gets there.
• For the chain, it suggests cleaning and lube after a ride in rain, mud or salt, or 150 km after the last logged care (a rough guideline from Muc-Off).
• Each part starts as new, used with its distance, or unknown; if unknown, the percentage is a minimum.