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Bike parts are loosely divide into two groups: the ones you can change at home and the ones you can't. For both kinds of part, it's always best to get the parts that are made by the same manufacturer as your bike. There are third party manufacturers for some bike parts, and some of them are as good or better than the bicycle parts produced by bicycle manufacturers – inner tubes and tyres are two kind of bike parts that you need not worry too much about the manufacturer of, but most bike parts are less generally available.
Bike Parts You Can Change At Home
There are many parts of your bike that you can change yourself. The most obvious (and for most cyclists, the most common) of these is your bike's inner tubes. But you can also quite easily change the tyres and wheels too.
Although for the most part you should leave the brake system alone, your brake pads are one kind of bike part that can easily change for yourself.
You can generally install lamps and odometers and such on your handlebars without too much trouble – most of these are designed to fit over the top of your handlebars and have no moving parts.
Likewise, there are various items you attach to your frame. The most common of these are holders for water bottles and air pumps, but there are other attachments you can also consider – all of them are easy enough to add to your bike.
Moving back along the bike, changing your saddle and seat pole is only a little more difficult than adjusting the positioning of the seat and pole is – if you can do the latter, then you can do the former.
Finally, you can install fenders or mudguards on either tyre.
While it is possible to service many parts of your bike at home, and basic maintenance is certainly something you should know how to perform for yourself, the bike parts listed above are the only ones you should worry about being able to change yourself.
Tools For Home Bike Maintenance
If you are going to do your own bike maintenance and bike part changes, especially if you want to be able to perform these takes while out and about, there are a few tools you might want to consider having in your toolbox:
· Chain Cleaner, a small device that fits onto your chain and bathes it in degreaser
· Lubricant, for applying to the chain after degreasing
· The Multi-Tool, which has a variety of different Allen keys and screwdrivers on it.
· Tyre Levers, which are used to separate a tyre from the rim so that you can patch or replace the inner tube
· Tube Patching Kit, for repairing punctures in your tyre tubes
· Inner Tube, for when patching would take too long
· Air Pump, which are available in a variety of sizes
Bike Parts You Can't Change At Home
Pretty much everything else is something you shouldn't mess with at home, at least not unskilled. If you don't want to spend money going to a professional each time, there are a number of worthwhile books on repairing and maintaining your own bicycle. You'll learn more than you ever wanted to know about bike parts from them, but you will be able to mend your own bike. Another option, one that can be used independently or in concert with books, are courses in bicycle maintenance, which will teach you how to repair your own bike and swap bike parts on and off of it.
