Petanca

I heard that when you buy a brand new bike you should bring it after 4 hours of riding? How often should I bring it after that?

Drunken Chicken

I thought it was 20 hours. As for the second part of the question, no idea, sorry.

PM7771

Petanca -

Hopefully you're as fortunate as I to have a great dealer (Martha's in No. Plymouth) ; I got my Trek 820 in early May & have had it in 2-3 times, for quick (2-4min) adjustments, and a chain upgrade.

My dealer has been great, educating me along the way; of course I've spent again as much as when I bought the bike (and then bought a second 820 a month later for my 17-year old son)

I'm going to guess that some quick adjustment is due after maybe 10 hrs, and again at 100-200, but that just my hunch. I'm at 800mi or so on mine

Peter in Plymouth, MA

the wonginator

i just tune it myself. takes no time at all.

Raiyn

Four hours?
You'll know when it's time to bring it in. "When the shifters don't work quite right and the brakes seem a bit soft" is what I tell my customers when they're coming for the "new bike" tuneup. This usually gets them in within the first 90 days or so. Beyond that it's on a case by case basis. Personally I try to keep mine tuned to the precision of a fine watch so I'm always fiddling with something. On the other hand, some of my customers (mostly comfort bike types) get away with bringing their's in once a year or so. It depends on the thrashing you give it more than anything else

dirtyamerican

Many shops say that after 30 days you should get the new bike tuned up. The shifter and brake cables stretch, spokes loosen and some parts may rattle loose. Basically, when your braking power fades and/or your bike won't shift smoothly anymore, it's time. If you really want to save a lot of time and money, learn how to service your own bike correctly. You'll be a lot happier!

snakehunter

most shops will offer a tune-up service with new bikes, we do two years free tune ups....others do it for the life of the bike....but yeah it is usually case by case, I ride hard and do a short monthly tuneup, on my road bike I ride to work I almost never tune because I dont ride as hard on it as I do my DH/FR rg

Drunken Chicken

One thing though: Tuneups as in little adjustments or as in a bunch of stuff like adjust brake, tune shifters, etc? Because my LBS charges 40 euros per tuneup (assuming of course tuneup means adjusting the brakes, tuning the shifters, etc).

FatBomber

Never.

Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish and eats for a lifetime.

For the cost of one tuneup, which will probably be about $50, you could buy all the tools you will need to tuneup your bike. To learn how to fix your bike, check out Park Tool's website (www.parktool.com). They have very good directions on how to do everything and if you get stuck or can't figgure something out call them and they are amazingly helpful. You will save yourself a load of money over the long run and gain a sense of accomplishment.

If you want, you can buy a workstand. Workstands are very nice, but also very expensive. You can do most of the tings you need to do by flipping your bike over and resting it on the handlebard and seat. This allows you to adjust things whilst rotating the pedals.

Basic tools you would use for a tuneup which is mostly adjusting drivetrain and brakes:
- A set of metric allen wrenches. Get the ones with the ball on the long end, it can come in handy in a tight spot.
- A couple of screwdrivers. A meduim-sized phillips and flat should do the trick.
- Wirecutters. Come in handy if you are running new cables. Wirecutters can also be used to crimp on the end-caps of the cables so they will not fray. Most shops will just give you those if you ask nicely.
- Lubricants. White Lightning is nice for chains. Get some white grease for bolts and your seatpost so your bike isn't creaky. Tri-flow is good for cables and derailleur hinge points.

That should be about it for a basic tuneup. To do other things like truing wheels and overhauling your bottom bracket, there are some specific tools that are required, but if you check out PArk, it will tell you exactly what you need.

Happy Trails!

Raiyn

Did you actually READ the first post? It's a NEW bike meaning that 99.9999999999999999999999% of the time he gets at least one FREE tune up

FatBomber

I was thinking forward and hoping to help a brother (or sister) out. I come to the table with much more than the minimum of information because I believe in being helpful.

The "free" tuneups are designed to condition you to going to the shop for tuneups. They are like drug dealers in that respect. Give it to you for free and then start charging you once you are hooked or in this case convinced that you are mechanically inept and need them for their specailized knowledge.

Now with that said, there are times when you need something more than a simple tuneup or there is something that is beyond your mechanical scope. At that point there is nothing wrong with utilizing your LBS.

Raiyn

While I don't disagree with the idea of being self sufficient, I do believe that if a shop is willing to perform a service for free you should take them up on it.

rocky_rider

I really agree with FatBomber. I think its really important to give more information than not enuff. Good work Fatbomber!!!