By keeping your bike clean, you can also easily keep an eye on the wear of your tyres, chains, and cables.

Ride it with worn components
Speaking of which, if your brakes are worn or your cables have frayed, replace them sooner rather than later and give me a call!. Even if you’re planning to buy a new bike this season, you don’t want the shifter cable to finally snap when you’re two hours from home.

Do your own maintenance without the proper tools or training
Every cyclist has made a costly mistake while trying to fix something without having the proper tools for the job.  For instance, occasionally overlubing your chain, which can suck dirt and grit into your drivetrain, won’t cause major problems—but over-tightening bolts on carbon-fibre frames can be catastrophic, as it’s all too easy to crush the material.

Keep it outside overnight, or unlocked
With some bikes costing £k’s, this might seem an obvious thing to say, but you’d be amazed. You might need to run into the local store for just a moment, but that’s all it takes for someone to throw your bike into the back of a car or just pedal away. Taking an Uber home in cycling clothes is never fun!

Even if your bike is securely locked outside, don’t leave it in the elements overnight. Rain, snow, and morning condensation can cause your bike or its components to rust. If you don’t have a garage, splash the cash on a nice wall-mounted bike rack and store your bike inside your home like the work of art it is.

Lay it down on the drive side

If you’re stopping for a mid-ride break and can’t find anything to lean your bike against, never lay it on the ground drive-side down, you’re highly likely to cause your derailleurs to misalign. Make sure your mates don’t develop this bad habit either. Most of the problems with gear shifting are caused by bent rear hangers which are caused by doing this.

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Over- or under-inflate your tyres
Check your tyre pressure before every ride. Low air pressure can easily lead to a pinch flat and prematurely wear out your tyre rubber. But don’t pump to the maximum amount—often 120 psi for road tyres and 65 for mountain-bike tyres—as there’s rarely any need to go that high. For road tyres, most shop mechanics recommend running 70 to 90 percent of the maximum psi based on riding conditions and your weight. (Heavier riders should err on the side of a higher tyre pressure.) Mountain bike tyres are much more variable, with some tyre pressures dipping into the teens, based on the conditions we just mentioned. If the road or trail you’re riding is dry and in great shape, aim for the upper end of the scale, which will allow you to ride both faster and smoother. But if conditions are wet or muddy, drop your pressure a few psi, which will give you more of a contact patch with the ground and more stability.