Bike Servicing

TJ said:

Hi,

Just new to cycling and have bought a Merida T5 Flatbar. I find the gears
are jumping a bit but have only had it a couple of weeks. When should I put
it in for its first service?

Thanks

before you took it out of the shop...

some low end bikes jump a bit anyway...depends on settings & adjustments...

better you find out how to fix it yourself and save the anxiety as the LBS may not want to know you anymore ....

lots of tips on the web...go search have fun...get your hands dirty and enjoy your riding more 'cos you'll be in touch with what is happening on your bike and "to" your bike all the time...

PS: you should have been told to bring it back soon for a follow up anyway..I bought a basic commuter/hybrid at an LBS for shopping duty 2 years ago and they were very keen to make sure I was aware of the free first service and their wish that all be OK ...cos they knew I was a picky so and so anyway...

but then if you bought it off the web (say from Dean Woods for example) or privately you will have to be either guided by the seller's service and support terms offered or not offered, in which case track down a friendly LBS ...

^ +1

TJ said:

Hi,

Just new to cycling and have bought a Merida T5 Flatbar. I find the gears
are jumping a bit but have only had it a couple of weeks. When should I put
it in for its first service?

Most good LBS's will give you 12 months, or 2 free or similar,
services.
What happens is that your cables stretch, causing the gears to get
messy, brakes to loosen up etc. We (the LBS I work at) recommend that
riders with new bikes bring them in after 4-6 weeks, or as soon as they
notice the shifting getting sloppy. We pre-stretch the cables on the
bikes we sell, but they still stretch further with use.

You can learn to adjust them yuorself (well worth doing!) but your LBS
should look after you, and if you ask nicely, they may even show you
how to do it yourself.

rooman said:

TJ said:

Hi,

Just new to cycling and have bought a Merida T5 Flatbar. I find the
gears
are jumping a bit but have only had it a couple of weeks. When should I
put
it in for its first service?

Thanks

before you took it out of the shop...

some low end bikes jump a bit anyway...depends on settings &
adjustments...

better you find out how to fix it yourself and save the anxiety as the
LBS may not want to know you anymore ....

lots of tips on the web...go search have fun...get your hands dirty and
enjoy your riding more 'cos you'll be in touch with what is happening on
your bike and to your bike all the time...

Most LBS's give you several free services and often expect you back
within a few weeks to tighten cables etc. The gears are usually the
first to become slack and need adjusting after as few as 50k's (in my
personal experience). Head back to your LBS... I expect they've been
waiting for you!

--
Bean

Remove "yourfinger" before replying

Bleve said:

You can learn to adjust them yuorself (well worth doing!) but your LBS
should look after you, and if you ask nicely, they may even show you
how to do it yourself.

This is precisely why it is a good idea to find and frequent a LBS. They are
there to make MONEY, by providing GOOD SERVICE to you (and me) - the bicycle
repair nincompoops. Lets face it we are bicycle users not mechanics.

Every time they make money off us they also wonder WHY we cannot do simple things
by ourselves - and let them do more (and that means expensive) extensive skill
based things.......

Hence, they are (usually) more than willing to help us "fix" our problems with
simple tools that we (usually) have.

Heck, some can even SELL you a book with simple instructions for repairs that are
not that hard to do. Not one that I have met has directed me to the Park Tools
help site at: http://www.parktool.com/repair/

That site is GOOD for directions and basic information (just my opinion).

Ken
Winnipeg, Canada

Bike maintenance and most repairs are NOT rocket science and are within the ability of most cyclists.

Bicycle Victoria used to run courses but as I am no longer a member I don't know whether they still do do.

Local bugs and clubs will usually have members who are more than willing to share their expertise with new members.

I am not good at wheel truing and always delegate this to my lbs but always remove the tyre and tube and cassette/cluster before taking the wheel in.

I remember one bike shop bloke's amazement at being presented with a wheel with the cluster removed, he reckoned that 99.9% of his customers wouldn't have a clue about such a task!

The Shark