Bike Service

mjmf1

Hi, I was wondering if people pay to have their bikes serviced or if you think it's a waste of money?

I commute about 2 miles each way on a Brompton, so about 20 miles a week and occassionally (1-2 per week in summer) cycle the whole way (about 14 miles).

I really enjoy riding, but know nothing about bike maintenance. Therefore after having had the bike about a year I had it serviced (œ20) and they fitted new brake cables (an additional œ20). I am wondering if this is something I should do regularly (I think every 6 months is recommended) or is this a waste of money and I should just take it to the shop if I have a problem?

zimzum42

Ge3tting it serviced at that cost is reasonable, but you could do worse than investing in a copy of the Haynes bike maintenance manual. You'll save loads over the years, and every time you need to do a job, the tool costs less than the shop would charge for the job (normally), you learn how to do it, and never need to pay again.....

and you become a little bit more of a bike geek.......



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Gavin Gilbert

I do most of my own work, but will send each bike to my LBS for a once a year check-up if only to get a 2nd pair of eyes cast across it. I wouldn't wait until something goes wrong before getting a service - broken parts can be dangerous.

<hr noshade size="1">I'll have an organic decaff skinny goats milk cappuccino with fairtrade chocolate in a recycled cup to go please

mjmf1

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"> broken parts can be dangerous <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

This was my feeling. Someone who does the same journey as me told me I cycle too fast over the speed bumps on a down hill stretch of the journey: he said the frame on his old Brompton cracked as he was cycling down this hill. Although this can't happen very often, the guy who sold me the bike told me I could do anything with it and I wouldn't break it!

Buggi

i'm not a techy so i get my LBS to do it a couple of times a year, especially before my bike goes in for hibernation (once i got it out in the spring and the brakes were seized becuase of the dirt/salt in them). usually only costs me about œ20 - 30 even with parts that need replacing.

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d_c

You're really asking two questions:

- Preventative maintenance and the regular service - are they good things? Absolutely, you can pick up problems when they only need adjustment, to prevent later wear & failure, and can keep things like brakes and transmission working at their best. You will always enjoy your ride more if your bike is in top working order, and you will also be safer. A 5 minute look over every couple of weeks, will spot things before they get too bad, and you should never never ignore an unknown rattle or squeak.

- Is it worth paying somebody to do this maintenance for you? For the more difficult things like bottom brackets... perhaps, at least initially until you have enough confidence to do it yourself. You should definitely start however to try and do the simpler stuff yourself. Brake cables only cost a few pounds so when you change these you could afford to buy a bike spanner or some other tool for your bike, and still be paying less than the shop service costs. That way you learn more about your bike, and you can get the tools you need to do different jobs at a later date.

-> flow with the go ->

rdaviesb

The only thing I don't do are wheel builds and headset fitting. The former I will be learning later this year (so that I can tweak the minor kinks out of the rims), though I doubt Mr Hewitt will ever be without my custom for complete wheels.