First bike service - what to expect?

rumbataz

I've got my initial bike service soon (the store calls it the 6-week service). It's all free anyway so I'm happy about that. When I bought the bike I was told it was mainly to check cable tensions as cables can stretch within the first few weeks of riding a new bike.

What should happen during this initial bike service? What ought to be checked and adjusted as necessary?

sungod

re cable 'stretch', it's more the case that the ferrules/outer take a while to fully seat, as they do this the tension drops, minor tweak of adjusters is all that's needed

unless you are planning on always having lbs do maintenance due to lack of inclination or severe laziness, it's a lot faster/cheaper to learn to diy

with a brand new bike, if you're not confident about giving it the once over for anything loose/iffy, then no harm getting a free check, but you should still check it after they have, people make mistakes, even bike mechanics

it doesn't take much to learn to adjust (aka index) shifting, the ability to a recognise when brakes need adjusting and then to adjust them correctly is an invaluable survival skill

loads on the subject here...

http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help

...btw in general, you do not need all the tools they say!

kajjal

Also any problems or questions about the bike let them know.

penguin_of_death

As said, anything cable related may need tweaking
Anything hydraulic give a chance for any air bubbles present to work to the top
Anything that is a manufacturing defect is likely to show itself
And a chance to ask about anything you are not sure about, or correct anything you think could be set up better for you having had some time to learn the bike

rumbataz

Thanks all. I'll feed back what happened during the service as soon as it's done. I've got a couple of things I'm unsure about so will ask the mechanic to explain them.

rumbataz

Got the bike service today. Didn't take long at all, perhaps 20-30 minutes - they called it a 'tune-up' - tightening of various things, checking gears, chain clean and lube. On the ride back home the bike was noticeably smoother and quieter.

seanorawe

Lucky you getting the chain cleaned and greased. I used a free 6 week service and Halfords plastered the chain in thick ugly black sticky gloop, over the top of my already dirty chain.