#bike-maintenance

#bike-maintenance

After launching several new products in 2025, Silca's first new product to hit the market in 2026 is Hold Fast Carbon Paste. The self-proclaimed " leader in marginal gains," Silca is already well-known for its high-quality bike pumps, multi-tools, immersion waxes, drip lubes, and much more. The brand continues to expand its ever-growing portfolio of products, typically with the goal of improving upon existing options on the market. That also seems to be the intention with its new Hold Fast Carbon Paste.

Cane Creek's new HCR stem, headsets, and spacers solve the hassle of fully integrated hidden cables by not quite fully integrating them. We got a glimpse of a not-quite-so-integrated setup with it last summer at MADE, but now you can actually buy it. Instead of hiding everything completely inside your stem and spacers, the HCR system gets open slots in the front of the spacers and under the stem.

Mountain bikers are notoriously hard to shop for. There are many different standards and preferences to consider when shopping for the mountain biker in your life. It can be a headache to decide precisely what to get someone who has such a particular taste or preference in riding, so I wanted to put together a quick list of some items that any mountain biker or cyclist, in general, would be stoked to receive. There is no need to consult Reddit, ask Siri, or Chat GPT.

We've all had it happen. You need to remove the fork from your bike, and as you loosen the top cap and stem bolts, everything falls apart. The fork drops, tugging hard on the front brake hydraulic line. Headset parts and stem spacers, once held by the steerer tube, are now scattered on the floor. And, now, the handlebars and stem are just dangling by the hoses and cables, mainly in the way.

After riding more than 150,000 miles, I've picked up a few lessons the hard way. Some came from near misses in traffic, others from my own mistakes. I can tell you this: these rules aren't written by a cycling committee. They're written on the road, in sweat and sometimes blood. Take them seriously, and you'll ride longer, safer, and with a little more joy.

I've been cycling for decades, and one of the smartest purchases I ever made wasn't a bike or a set of wheels - it was a simple repair stand. Mine folds up and lives in the corner of my garage. I use it all the time: to clean my bike, add Stan's to my tubeless tires, clean and lube my chain, and take care of the little tweaks that keep a bike quiet and safe. Every cyclist should have a repair stand.

Local bike shops often provide personalized services and quicker turnaround times for repairs, ensuring that riders receive care tailored to their specific needs.

This kit contains 41 of the most commonly used tools for most mountain bike maintenance, including a cassette tool, chain breaker, Allen wrenches, crank puller, bottom bracket remover, and most other tools needed for keeping your mountain bike out of the shop and on the trails.