So I'll admit it, I've been neglecting maintenance (even cleaning) on my bike.
Took it into the shop today because my rear shifter cable snapped inside of the handle. After much consternation, they were fortunately able to fish out the other end, so I don't find myself buying a brand new lever. I can't believe Shimano designed it so that you can't retrieve the bit, because if the cable breaks, that's the obvious place for it to go.
I was surprised to hear that my chain's stretched, though. They don't have an appointment for a few weeks anyway, so when I pick up the bike today I'll take it home and measure it myself, but I doubt they're just trying to upsell me -- since it's not like they were trying to get me to replace it today.
How long should a 200# guy be expecting his chain to last, anyway? I imagine it's just some kind of standard Shimano, whatever would be used on an Ultegra setup. Is there anything more beefy I can replace it with?
