Felt Bicycle - General Notes on Care and Inspection

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General notes on care and inspection
Your FELT dealer will have assembled and adjusted your FELT bike ready for use
when you come to collect it. Nevertheless, you have to service it regularly and have
your local FELT dealer do the scheduled maintenance work This is the only way to
ensure that all its components function safely and reliably for many miles.
When working on your bike restrict yourself to jobs for which you are
equipped e.g. with a torque wrench (a) and have the necessary knowl-
edge.
It is advisable to only use original spare parts or parts approved by the
manufacturer. Parts from other manufacturers, i.e. brake pads or ,tires
which are not of identical dimension, may reduce the safety of your bike
– increasing the risk of an accident!
!!
Cleaning and caring for the bike
Dried sweat, dirt and salt from riding during the winter or in sea air can harm your
bike. You should therefore make a habit of regularly cleaning all its components to
protect them from corrosion.
Use of a pressurized water washer is quick, but it also has serious drawbacks. As
the water is ejected at high pressure in a narrowly focused jet, it may pass through
seals and penetrate bearings. This leads to the dilution of lubricants and conse-
quently to greater friction and the onset of corrosion. This destroys and impairs
the functioning of the bearing races in the long term. Steam jet treatment as well
as pressurised water also tends to abrade frame stickers. We therefore strongly
advise against this kind of cleaning.
A much more gentle way of cleaning your bike is with a low pressure water jet or
hose pipe, or with a bucket of water and a sponge or large brush. Cleaning your
bike by hand has another positive side-effect: you may discover defects in the
paint or worn or defective components at a stage where they may still be able to
be repaired.
Do not clean your bike with a high pressure water or steam jet.
While cleaning, watch out for cracks, scratches, dents, as well as bent or discol-
oured material. Have defective components replaced immediately and touch up
paint defects. Be alarmed when your rag gets caught on a tube surface. If in doubt
about anything you may discover whilst cleaning, see your FELT dealer.
Inspect the chain after you have finished cleaning and oil it (b), if necessary (see
chapter on “Chain maintenance”).
Keep cleaning agents and chain oil clear of the brake pads, sides of the
rim and disc (disc brake rotor)! This could impair the functioning of the
brakes and cause an accident! For more information see chapter “The
brake system“.
!!
a b