Originally Posted by
cyccommute
Honestly the shops didn’t routinely check wheels back “they used to”. I’ve often had to true, tension, and dish wheels that are OEM on 30 to 40 year old bikes at my local co-op. Going out of true is just part of riding but dish isn’t something that can really change due to riding.
To be honest, I haven't bought that many new bikes in my life, and the last time I did it was a 1983 Trek 720, and then another one (an '84) for my girlfriend at the time. Truing and tensioning the wheels was definitely part of what they did for me, on those bikes. I toured a lot of miles on those wheels and never needed a thing.
I've heard other shop owners say they did that too, but for only higher-end bikes or by customer request. Most shops offer some sort of tune-up after a period of riding, don't they? Would they check then? We all agree that wheel truing and spoke tension is important. I'm wondering how that happens for the average Joe, or maybe a first-timer.