Tune Ups



DancingLady

Member
Mar 9, 2015
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When I bought my bike, I was told to get a tune up once a year, which I have done. How often do you think one should get a tune up? Sometimes I wonder if it's often enough considering that I ride between 16-20 miles a week year round. But then I know people who ride around town all the time who practically never get one.
 
Tune-ups are like stretching, or flossing your teeth, or giving your bathroom a really good scrubbing - while everyone agrees that bad things happen if you never do these things, it's really hard to agree on how often it "should" be done.

And what you mean by a tune-up too, of course.

I repack wheel and pulley bearings yearly whether they seem to need it or not. And after a scare with a fraying brake wire I replace these too yearly whether they need it or not.
The rest is more on an as needed basis.
The commuter bike - which run dirt-cheap 7-speed stuff is left to its own until the need is self-indicating. And the commuter gets used 150 miles/week.
The "nice" bike - which has a more expensive drive train - receives more precautionary upkeep.
 
Depending on the shop, a tune up could mean a variety of things. At the bare minimum, they may just check that the mechanicals are in order.

For my bikes, I clean lube the chain every 150 to 300 miles of riding or after particularly dirty rides. All other maintenace is on an as-needed basis. Small adjustments to shifting an braking can be made during a ride.
 
I'm with maydog on maintenance. Other than lubing the chain, nothing else gets routine lube or replacement until it needs it. This means checking the tires, chain, cassette, chainrings, cables, BB, etc for wear periodically, but only replacing them when they need to be replaced.

A bike ridden 15-20 miles a week shouldn't need an annual tuneup IMO. After just 1000 miles, there really shouldn't be anything much to do on a quality bike. Of course, if you want to pay a bike mechanic to do some simple checks, replace cables and give your bike a thorough cleaning, nothing wrong with that....your LBS mechanic is a good guy to support!
 
I usually tune up every six months. It works quite well for me that way. I do believe one should be careful while using a bike and really use up their time in the right manner.
 
Tune ups are usually basic things. Check that things work as intended and that "consumables" like brake blocks, cables and bar tape are all tip-top.

Bikes aren't rocket science. Find a list of what constitutes a tune up and tackle one item per weekend. Before you know it you'll only need a shop for major things that require very expensive tools.

Once you start getting a few bike specific tools that opens up a whole world of possibilities. Replacing parts quickly - like cassettes, means you can specifically tailor the gearing to a special ride or a race. If you have something happen to the bike and you're getting handy with fixing things then a Late Saturday afternoon mishap doesn't have to mean no ride on Sunday because your bike is out of commission.
 
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I would definitely want to get tune ups as often as need be. The last thing I want is to have issues when I don't expect them or am not prepared to handle them.
 
I would definitely want to get tune ups as often as need be. The last thing I want is to have issues when I don't expect them or am not prepared to handle them.
 
I would definitely want to get tune ups as often as need be. The last thing I want is to have issues when I don't expect them or am not prepared to handle them.
 
I would definitely want to get tune ups as often as need be. The last thing I want is to have issues when I don't expect them or am not prepared to handle them.
 
I would definitely want to get tune ups as often as need be. The last thing I want is to have issues when I don't expect them or am not prepared to handle them.
 
I would definitely want to get tune ups as often as need be. The last thing I want is to have issues when I don't expect them or am not prepared to handle them.
 
I would definitely want to get tune ups as often as need be. The last thing I want is to have issues when I don't expect them or am not prepared to handle them.
 
For a road bike: about 1500 miles or when you are having an issue with shifting or braking.

For a hybrid: depends. Lower quality (8 speed) you could probably go 2 years, unless you are having a problem with shifting/braking. High quality ones (10 speed) should be the same as a road bike.

Mountain BIkes, like ones that go off road a lot: All the effing time. So much so that you should probably learn some basic wrenching skills so you can fix these things on your own.

When you buy a new bike, the ferrules compress, races wear in... things like that (cables don't really "stretch"). While even really good mechanics do their best to wear these things in at the shop, it's impossible to simulate a month worth of riding while in the repair stand getting built. So normally the shifting needs a small adjustment after a few rides. Once adjusted, it should last and you are good for a while. But after about 1500 miles on the road bike, your chain will start to be worn and it's good to have that checked before it mucks up the rest of your drive train. Hence the tune-up.
 
It would be nice to be handy at maintaining and fixing my own bike, but at this point, that's not very practical for me. I have no garage or tools to do the work, so I would have to do it in the living room, might be a bad idea...carpet...

I don't have a problem paying $50 a year to have a professional do it.
 
Unless you're having shifting problems, once a year seems fine. Chains are usually good for a couple thousand miles, depending on how you ride, and whether you clean and lube them regularly. You don't need tools to adjust a derailleur, but you do need space and something to keep the back wheel off the ground while you do it. I've adjusted mine on a car rack.
 
$50 will by you all the tools you need for basic maintenance. The only item possibly requiring "tuning" is too free - just turning a few adjuster barrells.
 
DancingLady said:
When I bought my bike, I was told to get a tune up once a year, which I have done. How often do you think one should get a tune up? Sometimes I wonder if it's often enough considering that I ride between 16-20 miles a week year round. But then I know people who ride around town all the time who practically never get one.
If you're only riding 16 to 20 miles a week I wouldn't think you need a tune up for probably 2 years, but you can tell when it's time for a tune up, when the shifters start to not shift right, or the brakes don't seem to be stopping quite as well, you hear a noise that isn't familiar like clicks or squeaks, then it's time for a tune up.

HOWEVER, spending $50 or $60 a year isn't all that bad like you said, people spend more than that changing their oil in their car every year! So if you feel better taking the bike to the shop once a year then by all means do so, it isn't a big deal, and they'll go over the bike to make sure something serious isn't cropping up. Hopefully your shop is honest and they don't just replace parts that are still good just to run up the bill like some LBS's do, how do you know if they're doing this? you probably won't! But generally if you're riding only 15 to 20 miles a week it's highly doubtful that the cables need to be replaced every year, nor should the chain be replaced every year unless you're not cleaning and lubing the chain yourself between tuneups, the cassette gears shouldn't have to be replaced either except may once every 3 times the chain is replaced. You should be able at your mileage levels go for at least 3 years between chain and cable replacement, and at least 9 years on the rear gears. So a tune up where nothing has to be replaced and just minor adjustments being done shouldn't cost more than $30 because it takes the mechanic maybe 10 minutes to do that.
 
I perform my own maintenance on my bikes, although I'm no expert, so there are certain things I can't do myself. I mostly just make sure that the moving parts are in working order and aren't showing signs of wear and tear. I'll replace tires whenever necessary, too. I'm not big on getting tune-ups at a set interval, but I'd like to think that my personal maintenance on a regular basis keeps the bike running like it should. I haven't had issues with a DIY approach in the past few years.