Bicycle Mechanics - LBS adjust, or me?

I have a few months old Specialized Sirrus, and the cables have finally stretched out a bit to make shifting not quite as nice as it could be. The shop I bought the bike from, will do free adjustments for the life of the bike, as long as I own it.

The question is: Is it worth having them do it, or should I take the time to do it myself? Do most shops like this take the time to do it as good as it can be, or do they usually just do it good enough?

do you want to learn yourself? do you have trust issues? if you mess it up you can bring it into the shop. as far as shops doing good work it varys by shop or even within the shop. some know what they are doing and do it with pride others not so much

Unscrew the adjuster where the cable meets the rear der by 1/4 turn. Go for a ride to check the shifting. Maybe you will have to do another 1/4 turn. http://www.sheldonbrown.com/derailer-adjustment.htmlhttp://www.sheldonbrown.com/derailer-adjustment.html The satisfaction from fixing it yourself is priceless.

New bike. The LBS should take care of the adjustments for a year. You can do the adjustment yourself and if you screw it up take it to the shop. Look at it as a learning experience.

+1 on the above. Try it yourself. If it works, you know how to do it. If you really mess it up, take it for the free adjustment.

Don't worry about the shop "getting it wrong" -- they'll almost certainly do a fine job.

But you should definitely take the time to learn to do this yourself. Adjusting your shifting and braking is one of those super-basic repairs that every rider should know (like changing a flat). For brakes, I would say to have the shop double-check any adjustments you make the first few times; but for shifting, I wouldn't worry about it -- just keep messing with it until you're happy.

Good luck!

Take it to the shop, as it is possible thast something else needs fine tuning. In my case, difficulty of getting it "right", ended up being a derailleur hanger that needed fine tuning.

Ask them to show you how to make minor adjustments, so you don't always have to "bother" them .

p.s. a box of donuts goes a long way toward establishing a good relatiionship with your favorite shop, and usually returns it's value 1000 fold, which should start with getting your bike right up on the work stand, and a friendly attitude .

Just remember that if you do the adjustments yourself, that it's on the barrels of the cables, not on the screws on the derailuers.

what!?