Bike Shop Tune Up

[JOx2]

What does the LBS do if you bring your bike for a full tune up?

[Red Hot Sloth]

It depends on the shop really. But most should at least tune the drivetrain, front and rear, adjust brakes. The good shops will also include hub, headset, bottom bracket and suspension adjustments as well as giving it a good onceover inspecting all nuts, screws bolts, chainrings, cassette, chain for wear, components to give you an idea if you need to replace or repair components, bearins, seals, check for pivot slop. If you pick up a good book...Zinn for example, you can learn to do all this yourself, and save a bit-a-cash, all the whilst knowing your ride's particularities.
Is it time for a tune up on your ride? Are you having difficulties shifting, or braking?
Have you asked around for quotes yet?

[Rob]

Here's what Revo does.

For 60.00

True wheels, Clean rim braking surface, Adjust Der's, Brakes, Adjust Headset, Bottom bracket and Hubs. Lube drivetrain, basic wipedown of bike. Sand down brake pads(rim brakes)

For another 20.00 they take out the bottom bracket, clean the threads and re grease threads, if older type open race BB they regrease the bearings.

For 135.00 total they do all of the above, replace the der cables, Take the cranks, der's, and chain and put it through an Ultrasonic cleaning machine. Then clean the frame while the bike is apart.

I'd rec. having the der cable housings changed too if they are old.

[JOx2]

RSH, my bike still in top shape, but not as nice and smooth when first bought. though its not needing tune-up now, i start wondering what if I take it for a tune-up?

i have this squeaking sound somewhere or one of the pivot points, its on and off, so might take it to check all pivot points.

[Red Hot Sloth]

It doesn't hurt to lube the pivots every now and then. If you want to find specifically where the noise is coming from, lube one spot at a time, and ride it around a bit to get it to make the noise. Once the noise goes away thats the spot that was squeeking.If you lube everything at the same time you won't know for sure which part it was that was squeeking. On my pivots I like to use Tri-Flow. Make sure any area is totally clean before you lube it. Then it only takes a couple drops in each spot. After lubed and worked in, make sure to wipe away any excess lube so as not to attract extra debris.

[JOx2]

will try it, one pivot at a time and lube it.

[Rob]

What kind of bike do you have?

[un-kola]

Originally Posted by JOx2

RSH, my bike still in top shape, but not as nice and smooth when first bought. though its not needing tune-up now, i start wondering what if I take it for a tune-up?

i have this squeaking sound somewhere or one of the pivot points, its on and off, so might take it to check all pivot points.

JOx2,isn't your bike fairly new?If it is you might want to take it back to your lbs.It may just need a slight adjustment.Squeaks and creaks can sometimes be hard to pinpoint.A lot of the times it may come from the seatpost,or seat rails needing a slight coat of grease or even a minor headset adjustment.Like one of the previous posters said,check out Zinn's bike maintenance book or one of the bike maintenance websites.- Lloyd

[Cowgirl]

Originally Posted by Red Hot Sloth

It depends on the shop really. But most should at least tune the drivetrain, front and rear, adjust brakes. The good shops will also include hub, headset, bottom bracket and suspension adjustments as well as giving it a good onceover inspecting all nuts, screws bolts, chainrings, cassette, chain for wear, components to give you an idea if you need to replace or repair components, bearins, seals, check for pivot slop.

I can tell you that Switchback Cyclery does all the above in it's basic tune-up but we also true up both wheels. We charge $40 and turn around time is usually just 2 days...

[JOx2]

Originally Posted by Rob

What kind of bike do you have?

Specialized FSR XC pro

Originally Posted by un-kola

JOx2,isn't your bike fairly new?If it is you might want to take it back to your lbs.It may just need a slight adjustment.Squeaks and creaks can sometimes be hard to pinpoint.A lot of the times it may come from the seatpost,or seat rails needing a slight coat of grease or even a minor headset adjustment.Like one of the previous posters said,check out Zinn's bike maintenance book or one of the bike maintenance websites.- Lloyd

Yes its only a few months old.

Originally Posted by Cowgirl

I can tell you that Switchback Cyclery does all the above in it's basic tune-up but we also true up both wheels. We charge $40 and turn around time is usually just 2 days...

Might consider attending the clinic and at the same time bring the bike along and leave it in for a tune up.

[Red Hot Sloth]

My wife has an FSR that we (me) maintain. It's easy to do. Save yourself the cash (unless that is..you don't mind spending it on something you can do yourself) and do the routine maintenance yourself. We've got, at the moment 7 bikes in our stables, and it doesn't really take that much time. After you do this a few times you'll realize how easy and simple it is, then your knowledge of your bike becomes intimate knowledge of your bike, so when it comes time troubleshoot or trace sounds you will have a much firmer grasp on it's issue.
Trueing wheels on the other hand does take some time to get down, and can be mundane, but if you can get past doing a couple correctly, then it's just a matter of turning on a mt bike movie or listening to some good music while you do it. If you do it wrong though, things can get a little ugly, you don't want to taco a wheel when your at speed or riding something treacherous...well, you just don't want to taco a wheel

[ryandood]

I thought I had a creaky rear hub but I took it into adrenaline and dave looked at it for maybe a minute and told me it was the clear plastic thing inbetween the cassette and the spokes(don't know the name of it). It was just rubbing against my chain when I was in my lowest gear. Bike shop guys are smart.

[un-kola]

Originally Posted by JOx2

Yes its only a few months old.

JOx2,take it back to your lbs for them to go over.Good bike shops will tell new buyers to bring their bikes in after a break-in period to address any complaints or problems and make adjustments if needed.If they can't find or won't address the problem,find a new shop.- Lloyd

[Solo]

Originally Posted by JOx2

What does the LBS do if you bring your bike for a full tune up?

I took my Stumpy into Black Mountain bikes for a 60 day "gears and brakes" tune up and came out worse than when I dropped it off. The rear hub was so tight that the wheel would actually turn back on itself slightly just before stopping. The rear brakes still didn't work correctly (maybe glazed) and the tires were overinflated and felt like rocks. They did tighten up my bottom bracket though.

[onegymrat]

Hey JOx2, I had the same bike as my first mt. bike so I know your situation well. Tune-ups at the shop are great because you simply drop it off, tell them what's wrong and then pick it up when you're ready...like a car.

The bad thing is that, unlike a car, the possibility of the adjustments that were just done, to go off again soon, is very high. It is definitely in your best interest to understand what gets out of whack and adjust it yourself. You appreciate your bike so much more. Money is an issue too, of course, but for me, the act of driving to the lbs, dropping it off, waiting till it's done, not knowing if it was hard or easy to adjust...you get the picture.

Get the Zinn book and/or the Big Blue Book by Park Tools (I have both), and tackle one item at a time. My pet peeve was my mechanical disc brakes which were always rubbing. Now they are always perfect. At this point, your main culprits should be that and a little ghost shifting as well. It may take a while to master but you'll get there. Don't be afraid to play with the adjustments and really understand what they do. If I can do it, anyone can.

BTW, your shop should give you at least a couple of freebie tune-ups since your bike is new. Just ask them what they do. One guy at my shop even showed me how to clean and lube my derailleur cables and how I can do it at home with a little Tri-flow. You'll need to pick up some basic tools and items, like allen wrenches, lubes and grease. I highly recommend a torque wrench too. Good luck.

[mechmann]

JoJo...

whatever the bike shop is going to charge you, subtract 10 bucks and bring it over to my house. i will go through it all and fix it up.

if your shifting is kind of hard, new cables and houseing.

re-adjust cables and derailers.

i will completely clean the chain (better than what the bike shop does) and re lube it

check the wheels for you, make sure they are true

tighten all pivots

check suspension

adjust fit if necessary

check bottom bracket

clean entire bike (and no i won't use a spray washer, that is baaaaad.)


oh and while i am doing all of this i will show you how to do it yourself so that you don't have to pay someone else!!!

[art23rockpile]

This "Zinn" book i've heard mentioned a number of times in this thread sounds really useful.
Could one of you who owns a copy post the info (author's full name, title of book, etc.) for those of us interested in getting it?

[dstepper]

Originally Posted by art23rockpile

This "Zinn" book i've heard mentioned a number of times in this thread sounds really useful.
Could one of you who owns a copy post the info (author's full name, title of book, etc.) for those of us interested in getting it?

Art I have it at my house, come by and borrow it. I don't use it; I find better info on the manufactures web sites.

Dean

[BFloFoxRider.]

on parktool.com, they have a maintenance thing, and you click whatever part of the bike you want to fix/repair/etc. and it gives you pictures and step by step instructions..

Link: http://parktool.com/repair/bikemap.asp

It really helps, check it out. and its free