Following is the first set of responses from Eric Schofield, the manager at Bicycle Habitat on Lafayette Street in Manhattan, who is responding to readers’ questions about bicycle maintenance and repair.



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Winter time is flat time. I am reluctant to use rim liners to avoid flatting because it seems when I did flat I’d have that much more to clean and realign. I’m a roadie riding 700X23 Vittoria’s Open Corsa 290 TPI tires. What is the consensus with you guys of a good-feeling, puncture-resistant tire for rural riding in the winter? And happy New Year!

— Posted by wyman mccuil

A great choice for you would be the Continental 4 Season. Try going to a 700×25; the higher volume will help to give you a slightly more pleasant ride and will also give a larger footprint so, theoretically, better traction. These are exceptionally durable tires with great puncture resistance and are the tires of choice for many of our employees who spend a lot of time on their bikes year-round.

I’m planning a long ride this summer. I’m worried about popped spokes. I’ll be fully loaded. Would you suggest new and improved wheels? I’ve got regular 32 spokes now. If yes, how would you go about it? Have someone build me some new wheels or buy something already made?

— Posted by Peter French

For touring or fully loaded commuting we usually recommend a good 36-hole rim laced up to a reliable hub. You should look at something like a Mavic Open Pro and an Ultegra hub. If your local bike shop has a good wheelbuilder that you feel you can trust, I’d go this way. Ride them locally for a while then bring them in to be retensioned if necessary, and you should have a wheelset that you can trust for a long time.

I cannot easily park one of my many bikes near my office at 51st and Madison. I wish to use a bike to go a short distance from Roosevelt Island over the 59th Street Bridge to my office, which will take about 30 minutes maximum. Would you recommend a folding bike, and if so which and at what cost? I need something basic and have no other plans to use the folding bike other than to take it with me to my office.

— Posted by Rob

I’m seriously considering purchasing a folding bicycle for both commuting and recreation. What, in your estimation, is the best bike for my money? I’ve seen prices range from $200 to more than $2,000. I’m not a serious cyclist, and would ride mostly in the warmer months. I’m a petite woman, so size/weight is also a consideration.

— Posted by Carissa

Keep in mind that parking garages/lots in New York City are taking bicycles now. Talk to some of the ones in the neighborhood that you work in to see what the costs are. This way your bike will be in a secure and hopefully indoor spot. If you do decide to go the folding bike route don’t think that you will be saving money by getting an inexpensive one because you have a short commute. You don’t want to be late for work due to an unreliable bike. At Bicycle Habitat our most satisfied folding bike users are riding Brompton. It is a premium product so you will spend a bit initially, but it is a great investment.

Can you recommend a good chain lube for cold-weather biking? Many of the products I have tried seem to thicken up when it gets very cold (it gets cold in Milwaukee), and thus require relubrication frequently.

— Posted by enginerd

What’s a good cold-weather (zero to -10 degrees) lube for cables/housing, derailleurs and brakes?

— Posted by Kent

How often do you have to lubricate the chain? I almost never do it. What are the risks from not doing so?

— Posted by Drew

For cold weather I really like ProLink Chain Lube. This was developed for airplanes so it stays very slick in the cold without attracting too much grit and grime when applied properly. I would try to stay away from lubes with Teflon additives because as the liquid evaporates you are left with sticky flakes that gunk stuff up.

How often to lube is a tough one to answer not knowing how often you ride or the conditions you ride in. If it’s frequently wet when you ride you will need to do it more often. I think the most important aspect to lubing a chain is not to go overboard thinking that more is better, just the opposite is true, and make sure to wipe the excess off the outside of the chain as that will only attract dirt and dust. When you do the chain also put a drop on anything else that moves — derailleur pivots, cables where they enter and exit the housings, brake pivots and don’t forget the cable guides under the bottom bracket if your bike has them. The risk of not lubing frequently enough is that you wear out the drivetrain parts much more quickly. A good rule of thumb is, if it sounds like a flock of birds chasing you down the street, it’s too late.

After I ride in rain or slushy sludge, what’s most important to clean, and how? It’s 2F now. Anything I can do about the bike getting harder to pedal in this?

— Posted by Sue Jones

I try to bike to work every day, including in the winter. What steps should I take for keeping my bike in good condition during the winter? I have a hybrid (Trek) and don’t know much about the mechanics of the bike, so the simpler the better. Thanks!

— Posted by Rachel

What’s the best way to clean road salt out of a bike after a slushy winter commute?

— Posted by Jason

What are some tips for cleaning a bike indoors without staining surroundings with road grit, oily gunk and other splatters?

— Posted by Mark

This seems to be a recurring theme throughout, so I figured I should lump these together.

Most of your cleaning needs can be taken care of with a rag moistened with a cleaner like Pedros Bike Lust. I hesitate to recommend spraying the bike down when I don’t know how well sealed your moving parts are or how well lubricated you keep your bike. A thorough wipe down with attention payed to the area around the bottom bracket and lower headset bearing is a good place to start. For overly greasy, gunky buildups wiping with a rag moistened with a good citrus cleaner first is a good idea. After you are done cleaning make sure to lube your chain and cables. See the previous answer for some ideas on what to use and what to lube.

The other thing that happens in the cold is the freewheel or freehub can get kind of sluggish and the grease inside firms up and it doesn’t spin as smoothly as you’d like. Usually as you ride it heats up and gets better.