Bicycle Mechanics - Go for free tune-up at Dick's Sporting Goods or not?

Ok, I need some advice. I hadn't owned or ridden a bike for about ten years, until I bought a Diamondback Outlook about a month ago from Dick's Sporting Goods. I've been riding about ten~twelve hours a week since I got it. They offer a free tune-up within a month of the purchase date, so my time is coming up.

However, right now everything works great on the bike. I played around with the brake adjusters to get the pads a good distance from the rims, and I also tweaked the rear derailler so that all the gears work very smoothly (all I did was turn the barrel screw back there on the derailler). The only problem is that neither wheel appears to be true; they're both a teeny bit off. AND I rode on an underinflated tire yesterday, and now the spokes on that wheel seem to be creaking ever so slightly when I ride.

Question is, with the bike working well like this, is there a danger that Dick's (not a bike specialty shop) will mess things up? I assume that, since this is a free check-up, they won't bother truing the wheels, and I think that I can tune up the other things on my own. (Especially with the Barnett manuals here on this site, those things are awesome!) Should I take the bike to Dick's or not?

Its ironic you ask this question. I grew in the town where the original Dicks was founded. The guy who was in charge of the bike section actually knew alot about bikes. I cant say this holds true for the store where you bought yours but it will not hurt to bring it in.

Bring it in so they re-torque the crank arms, check the bearings for play and just give it the once over. chances are they may touch the wheels as long as they're not 'bent'. Your probably didnt go out of true from riding on an under inflated tire. On a new bike things tend to 'settle in'.

Your not going to get LBS quality work but you'll get much better than what other discounters offer.

Since I stive live where the"Dick's Clothing and Sporting Goods" was founded and know several people who have worked there I would not expect too much.

My son decided he wanted a bike an bought one at Dick's (Vestal store). When a pedal broke we were give an replacement. For a tune up I performed the Post tune up adjustments.

Sadly Dick's seems to sell more clothing and shoes than sporting goods. Golf is high on the list, hunting and fishing dwindles every season.

Good luck!

Since you seem mechanically savvy, buy some more tools and do your own tuneups. You will probably get far more consistent results than if you trust it to a general-purpose sporting goods store. For any bike work you do not wish to do yourself, go to a REAL bike shop staffed by REAL mechanics who know what they are doing and who take pride in their craftsmanship.

If it's free, why not? You've got nothing to lose in my eyes.

Koffee

On a good note, my Brother has been riding his GT "Outpost" for 15 years w/o problems. Edit: (oops, I now see it was a diamong back).

I'd take it in, just in case future problems arise they can't tell you "this would not have happened if you had your bike maintained".

If it's free, why not? You've got nothing to lose in my eyes.

Koffee
koffee, that was my point. Its not like your going to have it tuned up or overhauled. Having them look it over to make sure everythings all tight and maybe tweak the wheels is all you'll want them to do anyways.

bluesref, whats you local shop of preference?

If it's free, why not? You've got nothing to lose in my eyes.

Koffee

Actually, there's plenty to lose.

A 30 day tune-up usually includes proper derailleur and brake adjustment to compensate for cable stretch. It's always possible (maybe even likely) that the "mechanic" gets the tuning wrong on the FD. Before you know it, the chain jumps off the inner ring and gets sucked in the chainstay leaving a nasty gouge. Even more exciting, the rear derailleur could be maladjusted and the chain gets tossed in the spokes.

I don't even like to let =good= mechanics touch my bikes because they don't ride them every day and they don't know exactly how they are running like I do. I certainly wouldn't want to go to a hack at Dick's.

If you're not going to do your own maintenance, take it to a good LBS.

Yeah but that's the chance you have to take anyway with bringing your bike in. I had to take my bike to plenty of LBS's but didn't feel fully satisfied until I found the guy I'm currently taking my bike to. And like I said, when you buy a bike, you (mostly) get the tune up within the first 30 days. If they mess it up, bring it back! But for the basic stuff they do for the tune up, you might as well go in. After all, I'm SURE it's rolled into the price of the bike.

How do we know anyway that every mechanic at Dick is a hack anyway? For all we know, they could be good mechanics or hacks, and taking it to an LBS is not an automatic guarantee you won't have just as bad a hack as going to Dick's.

Koffee

i agree with halfspeed. unfortunately, tuning the bike is not basic. getting the derailleur exactly on takes some time, including test riding and hard pedalling. i highly doubt that the LBS or the sporting goods store will give it that kind of time.

this is a task best done by oneself. it's a skill that can be mastered and that you can spend time on yourself. so i'd say, diggy, learn how to do it urself.

sd

Yeah I was kind of thinking like Halfspeed. I mean, if they were interested in tuning the bike, they would have had the shifting working smoothly when it left the shop, and they would have helped me pick the right size. As it was, the shifting was a little rough right from the start, and the sales guy never asked me about fitting the bike or checked to make sure it was the right size, so I guess they're not that interested and/or experienced. So the guy there might just muck things up.

On the other hand, like Koffee said, it IS free, what the heck. (Or rather, I already paid for it when I bought the bike.)

always tune your derailers yourself....it's an easy job.

Whells, let a shop do it, unless you have one of those truing stands at home....and those are costly.

As far as a chekup, might as well go for it if you dont have your own tools and the know how yet.

Oh, and the rims on the outlook are never exactly true...but are very close.

Shifting changes when you first break in a bike. Brake cables stretch too, and so does the chain. When a bike shop sells you a bike, they should tell you to bring the bike in. There's very little chance that a month later, assuming that you do ride regularly, that the bike won't need a tune up. It's not about making sure you're sized to fit the bike, it's about doing the little fine tuning to the bike once you've worn it in. And sure, you can do it yourself with some classes in bike maintenance and all, but not everyone does take a class or want to fix it themselves and prefer taking it to an LBS. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that either, and for years, that's what I did until I took classes from Park Tool. And even now, I still would need to take my bike in until I get familiar with bike maintenance.

On the other hand, if you didn't have them check to make sure the bike fit before you left the shop, that's an issue that's your fault. The month checkup isn't there to make sure you fit the bike, it's there to fine tune the bike and give it the tune up that's necessary from riding the bike. It's about adjustments to the machinary, that's all.

If you're really concerned about this stuff, then do what others suggest and take some classes and do it yourself. It's not difficult to do the stuff like adjust brake cables and stuff, though it does take some practice! I've destroyed a bike or two in the process of trying to figure out what's going on with my bike(s)!

Take it in. You've got nothing to lose, seriously. And if it rides worse than when you brought it in, don't leave the parking lot. Walk it right back in and tell them exactly what's wrong so they can rectify the problem.

Koffee

Yeah but that's the chance you have to take anyway with bringing your bike in. I had to take my bike to plenty of LBS's but didn't feel fully satisfied until I found the guy I'm currently taking my bike to. And like I said, when you buy a bike, you (mostly) get the tune up within the first 30 days. If they mess it up, bring it back! But for the basic stuff they do for the tune up, you might as well go in. After all, I'm SURE it's rolled into the price of the bike.

How do we know anyway that every mechanic at Dick is a hack anyway? For all we know, they could be good mechanics or hacks, and taking it to an LBS is not an automatic guarantee you won't have just as bad a hack as going to Dick's.

Koffee

Yes, there =might= be a good mechanic at Dick's and there =might= be a bad mechanic at a good LBS, but consider the odds of those scenarios and the choice is clear. Or put it this way, if you break down out of town and don't know anyone, to whom are you going to take your bike? Dick's or an LBS? As I said, even a good LBS can (and often does) miss a beat on a tune up b/c they don't ride your bike regularly. The odds of worse damage are much higher at a chain sporting goods store.

Regardless, he needs to take the bike in for the tune up. So your choice is clear- take it to an LBS or take it to Dick's. But either way, it's not something that needs to be done because they need to correct a problem they should have done from the beginning. It's a necessary tune up that needs to be done because you've broken in the bike. You can take your bike to Dick's and let them do what they're required to do, knowing it's part of what you've paid for the bike, or you can do as other suggested and take your bike to an LBS and pay to have them do what Dick's does for no charge. Either way, take your bike in someplace.... it's time for a tune up!

Koffee

koffee, that was my point. Its not like your going to have it tuned up or overhauled. Having them look it over to make sure everythings all tight and maybe tweak the wheels is all you'll want them to do anyways.

bluesref, whats you local shop of preference?

I bought at Ted's, like Babcoks and Chenango Point.

Just to wind this up, I did take the bike into Dick's for the free tune-up. They had it for an hour or so, but I was walking around in the shop and didn't see what the mechanic did. But the Grip Shifters and a little tighter, and the front brake is a little less "mushy", and it also looks like he realigned the handle bars (they were a wee bit crooked).

Conclusion: glad I went.

I'm glad you felt comfortable taking it back. And you will find that the tune up that you need makes your bike feel a bit "crisper" when you ride it.

Now you can focus on finding a good LBS so the next time you need an overhaul, you can bring it in to some folks who know a bit more about bikes.

Koffee

Koffee, must of the bike mechanics at places like Dicks are the same mechanics you would expect to find at Walmart! BUT if you know the guy there and you feel he is confident enough to handle the tuneup then go. Free won't be much of a free deal if you have to keep taking it back to Dicks because the "mechanic" really was stock person.