Should I get my bike "serviced"?

gk141054

Hi folks,

As a relative newbie to mountain biking, I am enthusiastic to learn about the mechanical side of things but think I lack the knowledge and tools to do too much at the moment.

So I am wondering now if its worth paying £50 for a service as follows:

We recommend regularly used bikes have this level of service every 6 to 8 months or as part of pre-race preparation. This service consists of:
• General visual inspection of cycle
• Brake check – inspection and adjustment
• Gear check – indexing and chain lubrication
• Skewer check – quick release tightened
• Wheel & Tyre check – correct pressure, signs of wear or damage
• Pedal check – tightened and greased
• Bolt check – including crank bolts
• Drivechain – full inspection, lubrication and adjustment
• Bottom Bracket – inspect for wear (including re-threading if necessary)
• Wheel Check – remove, check and lubricate bearings/hubs (if necessary), check spoke tension and true
• Frame – check for wear and damage
• Headset – check and tighten
• Cables – check for wear and damage, replace if necessary

I've had my bike about a year now and apart from keeping it clean, cleaning the chain and front and rear mechs, I know nothing... It doesn't get a huge amount of use, cycle to work about twice a month 6 miles round trip, been to do FTD twice and thats about it.

Should I stump up the cash or is all of that stuff so basic I could do it myself / buy a book and learn it myself with the same money?

pte1643

Do it yourself man.

*plug coming...*

Bike Radars very own, "Total Bike Repair & Maintenance", available from your nearest Sainburys (among others) for the princely sum of Ten English Pounds.

All you need to know.

gk141054

pte1643 wrote:

*plug coming...*

Does this mean you work for Bike Radar? If so, perhaps an evaluation copy could find its way from your desk to my house in return for a review from a real novice....

supersonic

Aye, 50 quid will by you a good toolkit and a book.

pte1643

No, Sorry.

Just thought it appropriate to say, seeing as we're on the BR forum.

Seriously though, it's a pretty comprehensive maintenance guide, certainly enough to guide you through most jobs.

pte1643

Just as SS has said.

The 50 quid (or there abouts) you would spend on a service can be put towards a book (there are others available, but I recommend the BR one) and a handful of tools. You won't really need any specialist stuff yet.

The "Up" side of that is you will always have them... So a One-Off 50 quid.

.blitz

• General visual inspection of cycle translation: we look at it
• Brake check – inspection and adjustment: trans: put brakes on and rock backwards and forwards
• Gear check – indexing and chain lubrication: change gear while turning the cranks and cover the chain in black cack
• Skewer check – quick release tightened lol
• Wheel & Tyre check – correct pressure, signs of wear or damage check that wheels and tyres are fitted
• Pedal check – tightened and greased tightened to 1,000,000 ft/lbs so you won't be able to get them off
• Bolt check – including crank bolts yup check for bolts
• Drivechain – full inspection, lubrication and adjustment lol
• Bottom Bracket – inspect for wear (including re-threading if necessary) you will deffo need a new one c/w new cranks, pedals, f+r mechs, chain, cassette, shifters...
• Wheel Check – remove, check and lubricate bearings/hubs (if necessary), check spoke tension and true as if
• Frame – check for wear and damage lol
• Headset – check and tighten may need tightening once every three years if you are unlucky
• Cables – check for wear and damage, replace if necessary obv they will all need replacing see bottom bracket

Well worth £50 IMO (apologies to all you pro bike mechanics).

ride_whenever

It depends if you have the time and inclination to do it yourself. The beauty of being your own mechanic is you're sure it's been done properly and you can fix things as they go wrong rather than twice a year.

I wouldn't bother with a book, just use the park tools website and sheldon brown's website, you can always ask more questions here! Buy some decent tools and learn to do it yourself.

supersonic

.blitz wrote:

• General visual inspection of cycle translation: we look at it
• Brake check – inspection and adjustment: trans: put brakes on and rock backwards and forwards
• Gear check – indexing and chain lubrication: change gear while turning the cranks and cover the chain in black cack
• Skewer check – quick release tightened lol
• Wheel & Tyre check – correct pressure, signs of wear or damage check that wheels and tyres are fitted
• Pedal check – tightened and greased tightened to 1,000,000 ft/lbs so you won't be able to get them off
• Bolt check – including crank bolts yup check for bolts
• Drivechain – full inspection, lubrication and adjustment lol
• Bottom Bracket – inspect for wear (including re-threading if necessary) you will deffo need a new one c/w new cranks, pedals, f+r mechs, chain, cassette, shifters...
• Wheel Check – remove, check and lubricate bearings/hubs (if necessary), check spoke tension and true as if
• Frame – check for wear and damage lol
• Headset – check and tighten may need tightening once every three years if you are unlucky
• Cables – check for wear and damage, replace if necessary obv they will all need replacing see bottom bracket

Well worth £50 IMO (apologies to all you pro bike mechanics).

I used to charge just 30 quid for that ;-). For 50 I went over the frame with a damp cloth too.

pte1643

ride_whenever wrote:

It depends if you have the time and inclination to do it yourself. The beauty of being your own mechanic is you're sure it's been done properly and you can fix things as they go wrong rather than twice a year.

Being slightly "Anorak-y", I quite like the satisfaction you get stripping some old dirty greasy bit of kit down, cleaning it, re-greasing and re-fitting.

.blitz

supersonic wrote:

I used to charge just 30 quid for that ;-). For 50 I went over the frame with a damp cloth too.

ride_whenever

pte1643 wrote:

ride_whenever wrote:

It depends if you have the time and inclination to do it yourself. The beauty of being your own mechanic is you're sure it's been done properly and you can fix things as they go wrong rather than twice a year.

Being slightly "Anorak-y", I quite like the satisfaction you get stripping some old dirty greasy bit of kit down, cleaning it, re-greasing and re-fitting.

I'm pretty sure most of us feel that way...

Anonymous

definately deinately buy some tools, grease and oil and do it your self. as mentioned above, you dont even need a book, use parktools.

this will make you a bike expert in no time and you will save a fortune in future. plus, i find bike mechanicing very good for the soul.

DiscoStu73

So with £30-£50 in mind, what tools do you suggest us amateurs buy ourselves?
I've got a Topeak Hummer multitool for when out and about, and I've done a couple of tweaks already to mine and my girlfriend's bikes, but I haven't went near anything like a hub or bracket.
I'd happily spend the price of a service on some DIY kit!

Northwind

This is always my recommendation...

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/LifeL ... 360031531/

It's not as good as it was- used to be £35- but it's ace, the tools are good quality and well chosen. It lacks a torq for brake discs, and has no tool for an internal BB but that's really all it lacks. You can go cheaper but everything in here is made to last, even the cable cutter (usually the worst part of most toolkits). Cheap tools are often a false economy, a cheap screwdriver or allen key can damage the bike if it slips.

Oh, and don't bother with a book, this place, Sheldon and Park Tools website are really all you need. It's not a bad idea to get your bike checked out from time to time though, just to make sure it's all in decent nick- not so much a service as a safety check. Many LBSs will do this, though obviously be prepared for them to declare it needs some expensive work done An experienced mate would be just as good.

llamafarmer

.blitz wrote:

• Wheel & Tyre check – correct pressure, signs of wear or damage check that wheels and tyres are fitted

This is my favourite. In the case of my first (free) service they told me: "Your tyre pressures were a bit low, so we pumped them up for you" - They felt like bloody road tyres and as soon as I got it out on the trails the pressures went straight back to where I'd had them when I took it in. It's winter mate, it's wet and slippery out there, I'm running them soft for a reason!

stumpyjon

• General visual inspection of cycle - if you clean you're bike properly you'll be doing this anyway.
• Brake check – inspection and adjustment - you need to learn how to do this yourself regardless of what type of brakes you have, I seriously doubt they'll do more than adjust caliper positions, certainly won't be bleeding them.
• Gear check – indexing and chain lubrication - gears need regular tweaking anyway as cables stretch, you need to be able to adjust yourself and it's not difficult
• Skewer check – quick release tightened - as above lol, I end up taking my wheels off everytime I clean the bike and therefore retighten the skewers.
• Wheel & Tyre check – correct pressure, signs of wear or damage - how do they know what the correct pressure is for your riding, as for damage same as point one.
• Pedal check – tightened and greased - not a bad idea to take your pedals off and grease the threads from time to time but not exactly a difficult job with a pedal spanner.
• Bolt check – including crank bolts - really, again something you should keep and eye on anyway
• Drivechain – full inspection, lubrication and adjustment - what exactly are they going to adjust? You should be appropriately lubing after every clean anyway
• Bottom Bracket – inspect for wear (including re-threading if necessary) - why would a BB need rethreading? unless they damage the threads :roll:
• Wheel Check – remove, check and lubricate bearings/hubs (if necessary), check spoke tension and true- Ok some proper servicing in there if they actual do it properly, unlikely though I would guess
• Frame – check for wear and damage - as per point one.
• Headset – check and tighten - again as soon as you notice it's loose tighten it up.
• Cables – check for wear and damage, replace if necessary - as per point one

To my mind the majority of those things are really post ride cheks and the sort of thing that gets fixed mid ride, gears not indexing properly, otweak the barrel adjusters on the fly. When I service one of my bikes I strip the frame and clean , rlube and reassemble everything including bearings.
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llamafarmer

To be fair though Jon, not everybody who rides is mechanically minded, I know decent riders who struggle to do the most basic mechanical stuff. If they didn't have mates who are willing to help them out, they'd have to get their LBS to do everything for them. It would be good (but maybe unfeasible) if shops could spend an hour running over the most basic checks and fixes with customers. But I guess it's in their interest to keep their workshop busy with services.

Yukon Lad

it is satisfying to fix your own stuff but some stuff can be difficult.

One of the best tips i ever got was to check that the threads were lining up when i put a bolt back in and that i wasn't stripping threads using a tool is to do as much as you can with you're fingers so that if it is off line you will feel the resistance before it is too late.

Yukon Lad

antfly

The most satisfying thing about fixing/replacing parts yourself is that you know you are not being ripped off, nothing gets replaced until it really needs it and you decide what parts you want and where you buy them.

hairy_boy

I'd agree that most of what they appear to be offering in the service you can do yourself without touching a tool !

Also agree that they tend to find stuff that 'needs' changing while they have your bike - eg: 'both front and rear brake pads 'needed' changing - another £35 please'.

Buy a toolkit and have a go yourself if your inclined - makes you much better equipped to sort stuff out if things go wrong on a ride. You also have a bike which runs better iall the time f you can adjust/tweak things when they need it.

Stoo61

Got mine done professionally, the guy should give you a good run down of whats going on with your bike. Things to look out for etc.

However, they will probably find stuff wrong with it, cheaper to catch to now that before it goes completely belly up.

Shaggy_Dog

Ask around with local riders, they will know which bike shops to use and which to avoid. Always go by reputation. It's great to invest in a few tools but I'd rather have a few really good quality vital tools than one of those wiggle life-line cheapo kits. My mate bought one and the quality just isn't very good, we broke half the tools and stripped more bolts than we got undone. I bought myself a Pedro's workshop in a box for £550 and a bikestand and now I don't need to visit a workshop again. I'd recommend either Pedro's, Park Tools or the Shimano Pro> Tools.

First thing you're going to want is a 9 piece set of knuckle ended Allen keys, from 1.5mm - 10mm. circa £20. A really good set of T-handled Allen keys would cost about £50. This enable you to adjust and fix quite a lot on a bike and is really vital. Quality is key here, you don't want to be rounding off vital allen bolts.

A quality pair of cable cutters will cost between 25 and 40 quid. The expensive ones last longer but they all do the job fine. These are worth every penny, you can replace gear and brake cables quickly, cheaply and regularly with these.

A chainwhip and cassette lockring remover will cost £20, a chain checker will cost a tenner and is invaluble. These tolls allow you to keep on top of chain length so you don't have to buy a complete new drivetrain because you've let it go too far. You'll also need a chain tool, these cost about £15.

A crank extractor and BB remover will be about £20, if you're running extrenal bottom brackets then you'll need a hollowtech II tool instead. It's unlikely you'll need these bits until you notice play in the BB, but it is a lot easier to give the bike a deep clean with the cranks off.

Depending on your hubs you may need some cone spanners, these will cost a tenner for nearly all sizes. Without these you can ruin a pair of wheels if you have shimano hubs.

Pedro's do a spoke key set for £25, but without a truing stand and a lot of mechanical know-how, this is a job best left to the experts.

Of course, buying these parts won't make you into a great mechanic, you could do more damage than good, I learned the hard way. Always follow instructions to a T, ask for help if you get stuck, make sure you're methodical and put parts you have taken off the bike down in a logical order.

Northwind

Shaggy_Dog wrote:

I'd rather have a few really good quality vital tools than one of those wiggle life-line cheapo kits. My mate bought one and the quality just isn't very good, we broke half the tools and stripped more bolts than we got undone.

If you mean the same one I linked, you must be pretty hamfisted, the quality is fine, not up to Pedro's or Park's standards but then it doesn't have to be. Though you're spot on, it's worth expanding it with a really good set of T-handle allen keys.

Lester Cat

buy tools
chat to the folks in decent shops, they'll offer all the advice you need
Do it yourself, it' s good for you
Wear stuff out first and replace it

supersonic

Northwind wrote:

Shaggy_Dog wrote:

I'd rather have a few really good quality vital tools than one of those wiggle life-line cheapo kits. My mate bought one and the quality just isn't very good, we broke half the tools and stripped more bolts than we got undone.

If you mean the same one I linked, you must be pretty hamfisted, the quality is fine, not up to Pedro's or Park's standards but then it doesn't have to be. Though you're spot on, it's worth expanding it with a really good set of T-handle allen keys.

I agree the quality is fine. And £50 for a set of allen keys is beyond a joke.

I run a lifeline kit at home, and have worked as a pro mechanic with the best tools. This kit is good (though I will say the cone spanners and chain tool can be better). For a home mechanic, it does the job well.

Shaggy_Dog

I can't remember the exact contents but he's broken the pedal spanner, the chain tool is made of cheese and the smaller allen keys rounded off very easily. The Cable cutters started off great but are no longer sharp enough for a clean cut on gear cable outers.

I think it's a nice touch that they've puit a hollowtech II BB tool in there. Most Toolkits are a bit out of date in that context. For fifty quid, even if a few of those tools are a bit poo, it's worth it for the BB tool, chainwhip and cassette remover which would cost £40-odd quid on their own from park, and they're never really going to break. I wouldn't rely entirely on all of it's parts.

Oh, I forgot, a workstand would also be nice if you plan to be a home mechanic. My mate also bought the lifeline one of those (£70), it's a bit wobbly, but can it hold my enduro (34lb, embarrassingly) up so it must be pretty bloody strong! A dry shed or garage helps too, preferably with a light in. Don't forget lubes, degreaser, disc brake cleaners, muc-off or sh1t shifter and assembly grease, fibre grip if you have any carbon parts like bars or seatposts.

Shaggy_Dog

Lester Cat wrote:

buy tools
chat to the folks in decent shops, they'll offer all the advice you need
Do it yourself, it' s good for you
Wear stuff out first and replace it

Good advice, but do check your chain, if it gets too long, it will eat you cassette for breakfast, chainrings for lunch and jockey wheels for supper, so sometimes it's best to replace stuff before it breaks.

I've lost count of the number of people with expensive bikes who come in because their chain has snapped due to old age, then you deliver the bad news that they're probably going to need a whole new drivetrain. They don't believe you so they just buy the chain, then they come back in an hour later because the chain is jumping and buy a cassette, then they come back in later to buy a middle ring because it's jumping..........

you recommend a chain checker, they don't buy it, rinse and repeat in a year's time.......

Northwind

Yes! Chain checker, mandatory and they cost bugger all too. Always strikes me as odd that the cheap-ish kits don't contain one since they're so simple to make, too.