Momentum’s owner’s manual (hosted by Giant) and Kona’s 2025-2026 owner’s manual count upkeep mostly in riding time, not calendar months. They agree on the rhythm: look the bike over before every ride, lubricate the chain after long, hard, wet or gritty rides (and at the latest every 160 km, 100 miles), and run a hands-on owner check every 10 to 20 riding hours. The first shop visit is the exception, timed at about 30 days or by hours. Momentum alone adds a complete shop checkup every 25 to 50 hours.
The schedule at a glance
The lists are nearly identical down to the owner check: the owner looks, a shop fixes.
| When | What to do | In which manual |
|---|---|---|
| First checkup: about 30 days, or by riding time: three to five hours of hard off-road riding, or roughly 10 to 15 hours of casual off-road or road riding | Shop recheck of a new bike; cables and spokes can stretch or settle in and need readjusting. Both manuals also say that if you suspect a problem with the bike, a shop should see it before your next ride. | Both |
| Before every ride | The Mechanical Safety Check (see the 5-minute pre-ride checklist) | Both |
| After a long, hard, wet or gritty ride, or once 160 km (100 miles) have gone by since the last application | Wash the bike, put a light film of lube on the chain rollers, wipe away the surplus | Both |
| After a long or hard ride, or each 10 to 20 hours in the saddle | Owner check: headset, pedals, brake pads, cables, spokes, tires, rims, loose parts, frame | Both |
| As required | Brake lever fails the pre-ride check, or the chain will not shift smoothly (a sign the derailleur needs adjusting): see a shop | Both |
| From every 25 hours of hard off-road riding to every 50 hours on the road | Complete checkup at the dealer | Momentum only |
Why hours, not months
Chains, pads, cables and spokes wear or settle with use, so a bike ridden daily ages faster than one ridden monthly. Momentum’s manual notes that individual upkeep needs vary with factors ranging from riding style to the region where you ride.
At four hours a week, 10 to 20 hours comes around every two and a half to five weeks, and 25 to 50 hours about every 6 to 12 weeks. Kona gives no hour figure and sends interval questions to the retailer, so treat the 25-to-50-hour line as Momentum’s own figure, not a universal rule. Because the trigger is “or”, a single long or hard ride calls for the owner check on its own.
The owner check, item by item
Both manuals split the work: a short list of owner jobs that need no special tools, and everything else for a qualified mechanic in a properly equipped shop. The headset is the set of bearings that lets the fork and handlebars turn in the frame. Nearly every bad result below ends at the shop, because this is an inspection, not a repair list.
| Check | How the manuals say to test it | Bad result |
|---|---|---|
| Headset | Hold the front brake on and push the bike back and forth; then raise the front wheel and turn the bars slowly left and right. | A clunk with each push probably means a loose headset. Sticking or a rough feel when steering may mean it is too tight. Shop check either way. |
| Pedals | Hold each pedal in turn and push it in toward the frame and out again, feeling for play. | Anything loose goes to the shop. |
| Brake pads | Look at the pads. | Worn, or not meeting the rim squarely: the shop adjusts or replaces them. |
| Cables and housings | Look along each one (cable and housing care). | Rust, kinks or fraying: the shop replaces them. |
| Spokes | Pinch neighboring spokes together two at a time, all the way around both sides of each wheel. | The squeeze should feel similar everywhere. A loose spoke means the shop checks tension and trueness. |
| Tires | Look for more wear than is normal, plus cuts or bruises (pressure is a separate habit: tire pressure). | Replace them if necessary. |
| Rims | Look over each rim for heavy wear, dents, dings or scratches. Kona’s pre-ride check adds that no rim wear indicator marking should show. | Any rim damage: ask the shop. |
| Loose parts and accessories | Check that everything is secure. | Tighten what is not (see the torque note below). |
| Frame, handlebars, stem, seatpost | Inspect the frame (especially near the tube joints), handlebars, stem and seatpost for cracks, deep scratches or any change in color. | These marks point to stress fatigue, meaning the part has used up its service life. Stop riding and see a shop. |
The torque note. “Tighten any which are not” has a catch. Kona’s manual says correct fastener tightening requires a calibrated torque wrench, with the correct torque specifications, and asks you to have the retailer check any fastener you adjusted yourself, promptly. Use the owner check to find what is loose; tighten to a specification only with a torque wrench and the component maker’s figure, or let the shop do it.
Chain lube: the one task with a distance interval
The chain is the only item with a mileage trigger. Both manuals tie chain care to the same cues: a long or hard ride, riding through water or grit, or a 160 km (100 mile) gap since the last application. The job is to wash the dirt off, put a light film of bicycle chain lubricant on the chain’s rollers (the small cylinders between the chain’s side plates), then remove whatever did not soak in with a lint-free cloth. Momentum adds that lubrication depends on climate, so ask your dealer about the best product and frequency where you ride. For the full routine, see the chain maintenance guide and how to wash a bike.
Where the two manuals differ
- Full shop checkup. Momentum gives an hour figure, from 25 hours of hard off-road riding to 50 on the road. Kona gives none; its list ends by sending questions about service intervals to the authorized retailer.
- Disc brakes. Kona’s pre-ride brake check already asks rim-brake riders to confirm the pads touch the rim squarely and fully. With disc brakes, Kona adds a pad-material and rotor check before every ride: dragging or worn-out pads, sticking pistons, bent rotors, and hydraulic brakes that feel spongy or let the lever reach the grips. Kona also says pad material should be visible between each pad’s metal backing plate and the rotor; if none shows, the pads may be worn through.
When to stop riding and see a shop
- Brakes. If a brake lever fails the pre-ride check, Momentum says not to ride and to have the dealer check the brakes. Kona says not to ride until a professional mechanic has adjusted them. For what a brake service involves, see how to service your own brakes.
- Wheels. Kona says a wheel with any side-to-side wobble, however slight, or one that drags on the rim brake pads, needs a qualified shop to true it, and warns against truing one yourself without the right knowledge, experience and tools.
- Frame, handlebars, stem, seatpost. Cracks, deep scratches or discoloration on these parts call for replacement, not another ride.
- After a crash. Momentum says to take the bike to the dealer for a thorough check, and that a carbon part that has been hit should stay off the road until a qualified mechanic has taken it apart and inspected it closely.
These schedules cover a bike’s mechanical parts. An e-bike’s motor and battery follow their maker’s own instructions, and your own bike’s manual outranks this page.
Sources
Last reviewed: October 2026.