How often do you bring your bike to the shop for a general maintenance checkup. How many miles should you wait to get your first maintenance checkup after getting a new bike?
-jon
-jon
How often do you bring your bike to the shop
- Thread starter YABADABADIZZLE
- Start date
YABADABADIZZLE said:
Perdsonally, I only go when I need something done I don't have a tool for (like a headset cup). That being said, if you don't do your own maintenance there is no hard and fast rule. It depends on your riding style, how often you ride and to what extent do you take care of your bike. The simpliest way is when something stops working. New bikes will have cable stretch after a few miles and the deraillers will need to be tweaked, but beyond that if you keep your bike clean and your chain lubed you should be good for quite some time. Now don't even open up that "how long should a chain last" can of worms.
never. well, almost never. last time was about 10 years ago when i built up my own wheels and found it too time consuming to get them trued to the degree i wanted. they were good enough, but i wanted better and had a pro finish them off for me.
when i was a newbie, i had a few things done on occasion, but found that, while the shop owners may have been pro's, many of their flunkies knew little if any more than me and some things were manhandled or just poorly done.
get a bike repair book. the first repairs are the simple ones, adjusting cables, cleaning and lubing, replacing brake pads, etc. then you'll eventually need to replace cassettes and chainrings. spend your money on the right tool for the job instead of paying someone else to do it. it's important to have the right tool though. otherwise you can end up chipping paint or stripping threads easily enough. for example, spokes can actually be replaced using a screwdriver, but you'll find the slots strip pretty easily. use a spoke wrench.
it can look intimidating when you can't see the insides of things, but you'll find out that it isn't rocket science. a good repair manual will get you through things painlessly enough. if in doubt, take notes and/or pics with a digital camera so you don't forget the correct order or position of small parts.
doing a major cleaning/lube/ maintainance job about once a year will serve most cyclists well.
when i was a newbie, i had a few things done on occasion, but found that, while the shop owners may have been pro's, many of their flunkies knew little if any more than me and some things were manhandled or just poorly done.
get a bike repair book. the first repairs are the simple ones, adjusting cables, cleaning and lubing, replacing brake pads, etc. then you'll eventually need to replace cassettes and chainrings. spend your money on the right tool for the job instead of paying someone else to do it. it's important to have the right tool though. otherwise you can end up chipping paint or stripping threads easily enough. for example, spokes can actually be replaced using a screwdriver, but you'll find the slots strip pretty easily. use a spoke wrench.
it can look intimidating when you can't see the insides of things, but you'll find out that it isn't rocket science. a good repair manual will get you through things painlessly enough. if in doubt, take notes and/or pics with a digital camera so you don't forget the correct order or position of small parts.
doing a major cleaning/lube/ maintainance job about once a year will serve most cyclists well.
Only when something is required that I don't have the tools for.YABADABADIZZLE said:
Most of what the shop does is adjust the barrel connectors for the shifter and brake cables. I'd rather do it myself and be out on the bike in 5 minutes than screw around with dropping it off at a shop so they can keep it overnight and do the same thing.
There's no real way to tell how many miles it takes to stretch the cables. It happens when it happens. If you use the brakes and shifters very frequently, they will need adjustment sooner than if you use them less frequently.
Same kind of thing as "how long will the brakes on my car last?" Depends on how much they get used. If I have a 40 mile easy commute to work with very few stop lights or signs, then the need to change brakes will be considerably longer than if I drive 40 miles in stop and go bumper to bumper traffic (like when I lived in Atlanta!!
). The miles are the same but the conditions are very different.
Ive had my bike in the shop 3 or 4 times in 7 years, usually for odd things with expensive tools. Suspension is another thing I usually leave to the pro's.
For the most part, a good manual and a helpful friend combined with a bit of experimenter's interest will get you a very rewarding time outside a shop. Not to mention the money saved will afford some new gizmos to play with.
For the most part, a good manual and a helpful friend combined with a bit of experimenter's interest will get you a very rewarding time outside a shop. Not to mention the money saved will afford some new gizmos to play with
.
I agree that doing you own maintenance is rewarding, and the commonly used tools are inexpensive. I only bring my bike to a shop when I know that I'm "getting over my head". And speaking of good manuals try this one! Just click on "repair help"
http://www.parktool.com/
http://www.parktool.com/
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