Personally I love working on my own bike. The only time I take it to the LBS is when stuff is REALLY screwed or it's something that I don't feel comfortable doing myself.. like rebuilding hubs or forks, installing headsets, etc. I bought a cheap tool kit from Pricepoint for 40 bucks that included the crank extractor, bottom bracket tool, and basically tools for almost any repair on a bike... best thing I ever did. Removing cranks is very simple, but take your time and make sure not to cross thread anything!!