Thanks for the information.--

Sometimes the very basic stuff frustrates me the most - I was told "Clean your bike often" (but what's often - ?). We were just discussing some of the basics with our teenage son, in fact.

One question - Does the chain need to be lubed only on the inside of the links? LBS showed me how to lean the bike away to keep oil off of frame parts, etc., but they didn't explain anything about excessive lube. My chain always seems to look "gunky" compared to a lot of the others on group rides so I'm probably putting on too much. Will holding a paper towel on the chain and turning the pedals until the entire chain has been wiped take off the excess without taking off too much? I know it sounds really simple, but the little things are what I seem to mess up on the most.

I bought a chain-cleaning gizmo but found that I like the spray on degreaser better. It really seems to cut through and leave a nice shine. LBS recommended a bike wash, but they said try not to get it on the tires because they have kevlar in them and the cleaner can weaken the kevlar.

Tires - we've exploded a few inner tubes, but we're getting the hang of watching the position of the tire bead as you air up a newly replaced tube, and in light of that we're not as fearful of putting in the correct amount of air instead of chickening out too soon - Plus we got a better floor pump that I can use and don't have to call in my husband for more muscle.--

Deb