TXChick

Do you ever take your bike in for a tune-up? If so, how often? And if you do and only have one bike, like me, what do you do for commuting in the meanwhile?

WrenchDevil6

Light tune-up= Living Room
Heavy/Overhaul= Basement

My tools, my time=no downtime

daredevil

Maybe you could talk to a bike shop and tell them your situation. I bet they could arrange a time where you could hang around until they're done.

Now about that only having one bike thing, we need to fix that.

TXChick

Ya think?

Lamplight

One thing I like about bikes over cars is that I can actually fix them. When I used to own a car, I would try to fix it, but nothing would ever go right or the cause of the problem would never be obvious. Fixing bikes is (mostly) pretty simple, and if push comes to shove, I have about a dozen or so others I can ride if need be.

TXChick

I'm just not that proficient with bike repair and I don't want to jack anything up.

Psydotek

A second bike will solve that problem instantly.

Seriously...

When i only had one bike i was scared to do any wrenching on it other than really simple stuff because i didn't want my only bike to be b0rk3d if i messed something up.

Now that i've got 3 (and soon to be 5... don't ask how it happened...) i'm more than willing to wrench to my hearts content with afew exceptions (i.e. headset installation).

Now if i could just do something about my single car problem...

RT

My LBS, through whom I purchased one of my bikes, gives free tune-ups from November through March on bikes purchased through them. They're so good, I even bring in my other bikes if I'm short on time and pay for it ($30).

Torrilin

If you can follow directions and know how to use a screwdriver, a lot of basic bike stuff is doable. There are points on a bike where you can break a part, but most of them take more tools than a screwdriver. And if you do mess up stuff where a screwdriver is the tool of choice, tell the shop mechanic and politely ask what you did wrong. Odds are the parts aren't damaged and the fix is easy.

Most mechanically inclined folks *like* teaching. Just be considerate and if the job is one where you'd pay at the shop, pay. And if it's horrifically busy, be patient and don't ask for a lesson or a fix Right Now. Also, some towns and cities have a program of bike mechanics classes. They start with easy repairs, and move on up to more complicated ones. If you're nervous about messing up your beloved bike, these sorts of classes can be very helpful.

sumguy

not yet,
ask the LBS about loaner bikes if they need yours overnight.

jgedwa

Second bike? Oh come now, I bet 90% of you have a whole stable of bikes.

jim

Tylox

Youtube helped me out a ton with learning out to adjust/fix a bike.

harleyfrog

I vote for knowing how to fix-it yourself, if, for no other reason, than roadside repairs. Get a good bike repair manual and some basic tools. Start with easier things and work your way up to harder repairs as your skills improve. Also, ask your LBS for help/advice if you're unsure about something. Also, Park Tools as some very good procedures on their website.

Having said that, getting a good annual check-up/tune-up on the bike isn't a bad thing to do. If possible, try an arrange one if/when you're out-of-town for any reason and don't need the bike.

frymaster

+1 for diy.

even if you're not "mechanically inclined", there are a couple of really simple things that, if done regularly, make a big difference.

1. tire inflation. i'm amazed at the number of people riding around on tires with the psi of an air mattress. pumping tires is the number one thing to making your ride more efficient and fun.

2. chain regrease. every second or third day i do a fast and simple clean and regrease. wipe down the chain with a cloth and some simple green or other degreaser (bio-cycle from mec ftw) then squirt on some lube and wipe the excess off with another rag. total time: 90 seconds. makes a big difference to the ride. i also make a point of doing a serious chain scrub and switching from a "dry" lube (ie road rage) to a wet lube (or vice versa) when the seasons change.

Mr. Underbridge

Don't be afraid you'll break something, with simple stuff like a tune up that would be somewhat unlikely. Start with working on the indexing if you shifting is sloppy. All that takes is turning a knob, shifting through the gears, repeat until shifting is nice. This knob is attached to the derailer cable, and is either near the shifter or the rear derailer or both.

Once you get the hang of that, you can work on your derailer limits if you're getting chain rub or dumping the chain. That just takes a screwdriver. You can't really screw up the front one; the only way to screw up the back one is if you've done each of 3 things: adjust the indexing knob to maximum tension, back off all the way on the rear derailer high (EDIT: low) limit, and remove the protective disc between your cassette and the spokes. If you do all of those things then the chain can end up wedged between your spokes and the cassette and bad things can happen. But if you're reasonably careful - for instance, not removing that plastic disc - you can't screw anything up.

Really, just tuning the bike you would be very hard pressed to screw anything up. Tuning up your bike is absolutely something you *can* do. And it will save you a whole lot of time and money.

mr jones

I usually take care of those types of things, but I like to bring the bike in once or twice a year for a tune up. Doesn't hurt to have a professional work/look at your bike, plus it's an excuse to head over to the bike shop



I'm sure you can get your bike worked on and returned on the same day (or within an hour or two) if you schedule an appointment.

andrelam

Tune-up... isn't that why we have living rooms. I grew up with a fleet of bikes (we din't have a car till I was 7, but that was not unusual in the 1970's in Holland). The family room was the bike repair place. A large tarp would go down, the bike would get turned upside down and off to work my dad would go. He always encourage both my Sister and I to assist. According to my Mom I was able to fix a flat on a rear tire on her bike when I was 6 and my Dad was out of town for business. You can never be too young to know how to fix the essentials. Once thing we NEVER had to do was clean the chain. With fully enclosed chain gards, I don't recall ever re applying lube to the chain nor do I remember ever cleaning the chain even though the bikes were used year round. I do remember one time helping to take appart the 3 speed unit. It was quite complicated looking.

Today I use my driveway for any realy dirty work like cleaning the chain and washing the bike. Light adjustments I may do in the garage. If I am going to spend some time working on the bike I am most likely to take it into the house and work on it in the family room. I do LOVE laminate flooring, you can clean up just about anything from those floors by simply whiping it up.

Get some tools as you need them. I have plenty of tools to work on cars and fix things around the house, but you need remarkably few specialty tools to maintain a bike. A good multi tool with the various alan wrenches on them will do for about 80% of the adjustments. You may need a phillips head screw drivers to adjust the brake centering/tension or attach a light or some other gadget. I did just order up a basic tool kit from Performance bike so that I get a bottom bracket and pedal removal tools and a few other specialy tools as my bottem bracket is making a racket. I guess 2500 miles and about 1000 of those during a Buffalo winter did a job on the bearings. I am curious to see what they look like and what grade the orginial bottom bracket was. I'll have to be sure to get a higher quality replacement.

Don't be affraid to wrench on your bike. Bikes are remarkably simple devices (unless you intend to take a multi-speed rear-end appart). There is losts of good info on the Park Tools web site.

As far as frequency of work, I let the weather determine that. When it is dry the bike runs good for a long time. When it rains the chain gets crudded up pretty quickly. During a recent raining week, the chain was in desperate need of a good cleaning after just one week. during dryer weather I may go for a better part of 2 months without any major work. During the Winter the chain could have used weekly cleaning, but some weeks were so cold that it took 6 weeks before the weather was above freezing and therefore would allow me to clean the chain and wash the bike. During the Winter I started to use Synlube. That is some seriously sticky lubricant. It protected the chain much better than Icewax, but the chain looked pretty messy. During the Summer Icewax is a nice happy medium between good protection, but leaving the chain cleaner and not as likely to pickup dust.

As far as what to do about having one bike. Till recently I had only one bike so I would not start any major work unless I knew I had the parts to replace what was wrong. I also would do the work on the weekend so I could always hit the LBS in case there was some other part that was needed. My alternate bike is a road bike and I will only use it during fair weather. It does have a Planet Bike SuperFlash in the rear for low light visability, but the front LED light is barely good enough to be seen. The commuter bike is setup with fenders, rack, and generator hub front light and PB SuperFlash at the rear. That is the all weather all time of day bike. When I replace the bottom bracket this weekend I'll do my best to have that bike back together the same day as that is my main ride.

Happy riding,
André

ToworkNback

Try scheduling the service. If I just walk in for a repair I end up in line with everyone else, which means a wait of a few days. By scheduling the service I have the bike back the next day.

ItsJustMe

You learn by doing. There's not very much on a bike that you can screw up. I've only ever taken a bike in to a shop once when I didn't know how to approach a problem, and they couldn't fix it either, so I took it home and dealt with it myself.

jgedwa

Part of the beauty of a bike, as far as I am concerned is that they are simple and robust enough for a bozo like me to bumble my way to solving most of their problems. I am not all that mechanically talented by nature, and I have found that most everything about a bike can be figured out. And those that intimidate you at first can be dealt with through books, Bike Forums, and questions at the LBS.

Its not a car. There is no computer. No automatic transmission. No fuel injectors. No vacuum advance. No catalytic converter. Just a handful of of gears attached to two levers.

jim

TXChick

Cars I actually do pretty good with, repair-wise.

Okay, YouTube is a good idea and I'll check out Park Tools. I will also check to see about an appointment with my LBS and I remembered last night that my old nasty MTB is in storage. I will pull that out and try to fix it up and then I'll have that to use as a back up. Woohoo!

mparker326

Have a look at this website for how to videos including tune ups.

https://bicycletutor.com

TXChick

That is an awesome website--thank you!

charly17201

A good book/manual that I use is "Zinn and the Art of Road Bike Maintenance"

TXChick

I have the crappy bike and the websites and what do I do about tools? Cone wrenches and the like...by the time I buy all the tools I could afford another bike!

Suggestions?