Your new Mountain Bike

Congratulations on your new bike! We can’t wait to hear about the adventures it takes you on. We’ve prepared a quick guide to get you started

Setup

First off, your bike has been assembled and checked over by our qualified mechanics, and we have also done a basic setup based off your height and weight. We’re confident that we’ve gotten your saddle height and suspension set in the right ballpark, but this might be something that needs to be changed. If you have a shock pump at home, we have a basic guide on suspension setup here. 

It’s tough to set saddle position without being able to see you on the bike and pedalling, but as a rule of thumb, your knee should have a slight bend in it when you reach the bottom of the pedal stroke. If you think your saddle is too high or too low, an easy test is to put your pedal at the lowest position (6 o’clock) and place the pedal under your heel. In this position, your leg should be fully extended, and should have a slight kink by the time you return your foot to your usual pedalling position with the pedal under the ball of your foot. If you heel can’t reach the pedal, your saddle is too high. If your leg is bent with your heel on the pedal, your saddle is too low. Use the adjuster bolt, or quick release adjuster to make any changes, just make note of the torque setting if your seat clamp uses a bolt and be sure not to over tighten your saddle.

Your First Ride

Spend some time pedalling around your driveway before embarking on your first ride. Get yourself familiar with the bike’s controls. Your bike’s front brake will be on the left, rear brake on the right, and if it features a dropper post, remote lock out, or both you will find controls for these, too. Get a feel for how hard you can pull the brake levers before the tyres skid or the rear wheel lifts, get used to how far your seat lowers when you use the dropper post, and feel out the lock out modes if your bike features remote lockout or Scott’s TwinLoc technology.

We suggest carrying a range of spares with you on the trail to ensure you don’t get stuck. Even with tubeless it’s possible to get punctures, so we recommend carrying a spare tube, a pump or CO2 inflator, a spare chain link, a multi tool, and tyre levers. You can find our range of tubes here, pumps and inflators here, tools here, and tyre levers here. Alternatively, get in touch with our team and we can put together a package for you.

Maintenance

As far as home maintenance goes, components are so reliable nowadays that so long as you keep everything clean and your chain lubed, there’s not a whole lot that you should need to do between services. We’ve got a guide on chain lube here. Our guide also features instructions on how to clean your drivetrain. For the rest of your bike, we suggest using Muc Off Nano Wash. Simply spray over your bike, scrub it with a gentle brush, then rinse and dry with a microfibre towel. We also suggest checking over your bolts once every two to three rides to ensure nothing is loose.

If you’re mountain biking regularly, say three to four times a month, we suggest a service every three months. This allows us to catch things like component wear before it can do damage to other parts of your bike – a worn chain speeding up cassette wear for example. It also means we can keep bearings greased, prolonging their life, and saving you money in the long run.

The world of mountain biking is massive, and the above really only scratches the surface, but it should be enough to get you heading in the right direction. It goes without saying, but if you have any questions we would love to help so contact us with the details below or reach out via social media.

Pitcrew North Shore
albany@pitcrew.nz
09 600 3095

Pitcrew Pukekohe 
pukekohe@pitcrew.nz
09 239 2453