I've been commuting daily for about three months. My commute is 20 miles round-trip. I'm in southern California, so the weather doesn't get that bad, but most of my commute is on a path along the beach, so my bike gets pretty sandy. I clean the bike and chain every week to remove as much sand/dirt as possible.

I'm wondering how often I should get a tune-up. Some people have said it's only necessary once/year, and others say every few months.

Is the bike new? Most bike shops offer tune ups after purchase, anywhere from 90 days - 1 year, so take advantage of that. They'll check everything out, adjust the cables for brakes and shifting, clean the drivetrain, etc. Other than that, just clean it regularly, including cleaning the drivetrain (chain, chainrings and cassette); buy a Park chain cleaner and you can do the chain cleaning without taking it off; I do mine 1/month. Cables are fairly easy to change, I do them 1/year (I ride about 6000 miles between 3 bikes). If there's an REI near you, look on their website for their free intro-bicycle maintenance class. Might not be any during the winter (they're in ski-season mode right now), but itw worth it to get some basics.

With the maintenance you're already doing, once a year is fine. I'd do a first tune-up within the first couple months of being in service if things start getting out of whack like brakes rubbing, or shifting off; once that first tune is done on a new bike, should be good for a year or two depending on use and environment.

Opinions vary but I believe we're better off doing maintenance as needed and dispensing with bike shop tuneups altogether. I'm sure it depends on riding conditions and how you ride. It's pretty wet here and having a bad habit of riding in rain and through water I really need to grease bearings every few months. I can't see paying for regular tuneups when most of it is a repeat of your pre-ride checklist.

Hey there NC1234!

I say, join your local bicycle co-op. Make new friends with a common interest. After volunteering and becoming a bonafide member, start hanging out there. Take a class or two either at the co-op or at some LBS on bicycle mechanics. After taking a class, attach yourself to a bicycle guru. Find someone who just loves to talk about bike mechanics and is good at it! Pick their brain! You'll find that your bicycle lingo will expand, as well as you bicycle knowledge. After about six months or so, you'll be tuning up your own bicycle, whenever it needs it!

All you need is a Co-op, a Class, and a Guru!

- Slim

Whenever your bike needs a tune up.

What does a tune up entail? Seriously...what does a typical shop do for a tuneup?

Tune something up when it doesnt' seem to be working right. Otherwise just ride.

Just my perspective;

So I just started commuting last spring and the bike I purchased has a 5 year "unlimited tune-up" plan from the LBS. I've got to say, it was totally worth it (**more on that later)! I am a fairly mechanically inclined person (I've rebuilt car engines), but bike mechanics just eludes me. My neighbor in the apartment below me used to be a bike mechanic, has shown me many things, I've read up on many things, but I just can't seem to get my mind around it for some reason. So, any time I feel an issue, rough shifting or similar, I just take it in to the LBS and about an hour later, problem solved! And it's free!

For me, it has been a very valuable resource to help keep my 15 mile a day commuter in tip-top shape. So far, in the past 8 months, I've taken it in 3 times. Just because. Hopefully some day soon, I will get that eureka moment and it will all make sense, but until then, I'm happy that I have the plan and don't have to ride around frustrated. Most people I've known that don't stick with it usually stop due to frustration. I know from personal experience that said frustration often stems from easily solved mechanical issues.

So, here is my short answer to "how often should I get a tune up".....anytime you think you might need one.

**I actually bought my bike (2010 Globe Vienna 03 Disc) from Craigslist. The original buyer had purchased the service plan. I bought the bike from him only a month after he purchased it new (for 1/3 of retail). He gave me the original receipt and there is a service plan sticker on the frame. So far, the LBS has honored the plan without any questions. Honestly, if I were the original buyer, I probably would have turned down the plan, but I'm sure glad he didn't!

+1.

Last tuneup I got was halfway across the country a couple years ago. It was nice that they had a checklist to check lots of things. It really sucked that they didn't have a couple things on the checklist that my bike needed, so I had to do it myself after paying $$.

Never (not in fifteen years on my current bike riding 3500-4000 miles a year now with 1500 miles of commuting putting a lower bound on my annual total. That includes ten years in Boulder, CO with snow and a handful of car free years).

More specifically you want a continuous maintenance program where you adjust (cup and cone bearings are pretty much the only thing which need adjustment unless something is wrong), lubricate, and repair or replace as necessary.

There are too many variables there to put time or mileage bounds on most things (ex: some people get 1500 miles out of chains, some people get 5000), nearly everything gives some indication of wear (for example, shift cables get broken strands where they join the shifter) when it's time to deal with them (much better than waiting until you're riding home in one cog), and that happens over radically different time periods for various components.

Greasing cup-and-cone hubs every 3000 miles is the only thing I put on a fixed schedule. Other things happen at convenient times - for instance when my chain ceases being silent I need to lubricate it and take the opportunity to measure it at the same time. I preemptively replace my right shift and front brake cables at the same time as worn Campagnolo shifter G-springs because the cables need to come out anyways.

I try to get mine tuned in the spring and fall when I can. Otherwise, it gets a tune up when it gets a tune up.

I take mine to the shop once a year, or if it starts to feel like something's wrong. I can do stuff myself, but i'd rather just get it done by someone with more experience. It always feels like a brand new bike when someone at the shop does it compared to when I do stuff.

In 4.5 years of year-round commuting I haven't take a bike to the LBS for a tune-up. In the first year, I took my bike in a couple of times to have the brakes and shifting adjusted and they let me watch and ask questions about how it was done. Since then, I've been doing my own work for most things. I adjust my brakes and shifting as needed (usually just a turn of a barrel adjuster) and replace cables when a simple adjustment isn't doing it (maybe once every 6 months). I use a chain checker and replace my chain when the checker says it's 1% worn (usually around 2500 miles for me).

I think it's worth the effort to learn to do this yourself (for several reasons), but if you want to leave everything but the minor adjustment to the LBS, I'd guess that once every 2000 miles would be a good starting point unless you're having problems.

Nashvillwill...You're funny!

- Slim

The drive train cleaning is really the only piece of regular maintenance that a modern bike with sealed bearings should need. Sealed bearings do need occasional service, but it's rare enough that if you just bring your bike in for a full tuneup when you notice something is off - trouble shifting, brake pads squealing or worn out, stuff like that - you should be covered.