Got my bike - maintenance walkthrough?

[woodywoodford]

So I picked up a Rockcrawler and have probably 15-20 hours on it so far, but I don't know anything about what maintenance to do or what to watch for...anybody have links or advice about that? I know nothing currently so the more comprehensive the better, but I also don't want to waste time worrying about stuff that isn't exactly necesary...

And two specific questions,
- How often should I lube the chain, and does the lube generally wash off easily? (I've been hosing the bike down after each ride)
- My forks have been leaking a bit of fluid, just leaving little rings. Is this something to worry about? Guy at the tech shop said it's most likely just due to the heat and not an issue. The bike is brand new after all.... How often should I replace the seals on there? Any other fork maintenance I should learn about?

[lilmira]

Don't know about suspension but I oil my chain every ~4-500km, it varies with the conditions that you ride your bike in. If the chain looks or sounds stiff, time to oil. Keep in mind that it's the connections between links that need oil, not the entire links themselves. The more oil your chain has, the more dirt it will attract. I usually drip oil between links, give it several spins and wipe off the excess. For cleaning, you'll probably need some kind of degreaser to strip the oil which you can buy from any bike shop. Either take the chain off or get those chain cleaner contraption things. I clean mine whenever it looks dark with more dirt on in than I'd like

[superflychief]

Anything you may want to know about bike repair/service

http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/tag/maintenance

[D'z Nutz]

Screw getting the degreaser from LBS. Just to get a 4L jug of Simple Green from Canadian Tire and dilute what you need with water 1:2 (some like 1:5) in a spray bottle. I use a handled dish scrubber from the dollar store when cleaning the chain.

Nice, cheap, and effective.