going rate for a tune-up?
 

i was quoted $40 over the phone at a couple places, and $50-60 at another. obviously, i'm going with the $40 quote, but i have no idea if that's high or low or what.

do you?

I'm in New England about the same. $50 to $45.

$40 sounds like it's gonna be one of the cheaper ones. But I guess it depends on the shop. I'd rather pay more to take it to a shop/mechanic I trust. I've gotten a $40 tune up that turned out to be more than twice that, and none of the things that I specifically addressed as needing fixed were taken care of.

$40?

This is why I work on my own bike...

well, the plan is to get to that point, but in the meantime i pay $40 to have someone else undo the problems i've caused.

the quotes i got were at kenwood and bikemasters (the latter is very near to where i work, so it's convenient). freewheel wanted sixty. did you know they aren't a co-op anymore but refuse to change the sign because it's historic?

from my understanding, a tune up usually comprises of adjusting the derailers and brakes and stuff like that, tightening bolts.... why would you need a tune up on a fixie?? or even a single speed? I regularly tighten all the bolts, adjust chain tension and whatnot.... what are you actually looking to do on this bike?

A coworker of mine was calling around the LBSes for quotes on tune ups and was getting $40-50 just to look at the bike. Glad I know my way around my bike. And thank God I converted to SS and fixed. Much more simple to maintain.

Yeah, I just found out Freewheel wasn't a co-op anymore, too (though I guess the changeover was several years ago).

Bikemasters I haven't heard of, but I would have only had good experiences at Kenwood.

A local LBS quoted me sixty something plus tax right before I completely took apart my bicycle, which forced me to learn all about it! I don't begrudge them their profits, but be reasonable. I know I'll get flamed by all the LBS guys who will explain why this is a fair price, but all the LBS's charge an arm and a leg for a tune-up, except for one. This old man runs a bike store in town and charges 20-25 dollars, and I bet he makes a heck of a lot more money, since he's always busy.

the bike is running rough, which i mentioned when i was calling around, like it's got salt and crap all in everywhere. also, i'm having some issues with my chain line that i can't seem to right on my own (despite my tipsiest efforts), and they said they'd take care of that, too, for $40 providing nothing too crazy was going on down there. (euphemism unintended).

It's really not that hard to take your bike apart, provided you have all the tools. If you get that generic all-in-one tool kit that everyone rebrands as their own, which costs about $40-$50 bucks (price of one tune-up), you'll have everything in it you'll need to strip your bike down to the headset and bottom bracket. That way you can clean all the parts you want on your own and learn more about your bike.

If you mess up, you can take it in, but there's really not much to it.

This'll tell you all you need to know:
http://www.parktool.com/repair_help/FAQindex.shtml

Here's that toolkit -
http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?c...eid=&pagename=

Along with my Zinn book, the Park tool site is a sight for sore eyes. and they have nice, easy to follow pics too! I was thinking fo buying one of those tool kits from Nashbar/Performance/Supergo but ended up just buying Park tools as needed. For a noob, those tool kits should be good enough for easy wrenching jobs, and you can always upgrade tools as you go along.

With the first multi-geared roadbike, I was nervous about screwing around with all the little parts, and went around pricing as well, and around here its $30-$40 to have them look at it...work costs extra $ $ $...

But thanks to all of these forums I've found just about every bit of info I need, and if not here, a link to help elsewhere.

No Schitt. I'll save anyone in here $40. Just bring your bike to me, I'll tune it up, and then I get to face punch you.
And you keep $40. I'll even teach you how to tune up your bike.

***note - If you bring me a geared bike, I get to throw it in a lake. Forever.***

face punches for everyone!

You know, I have had home repairs cost a lot more when I broke something... But that's half the fun of learning!

Get your hands dirty. The simplicity of a SS/Fix is that there aren't many parts which means less work. You can overhaul the whole bike in a day. Here's another good/cheap tool set:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...124282279&rd=1

It has the added bonus of a full set of cone wrenches and a cable cutter.
But I guess if you're worried about chainline and a true wheel, pay the extra.

tune ups are $60 - $70 here..

I'm not up to speed on all the crazy ex-military lingo. Does a "face punch" involve your fist contacting somebody else's face, or your face contacting whatever. I guess what I mean is....are we talking upper-cut to the jaw or head-butt. This will greatly affect my decision to take you up on the free tune-up and bike toss.

Thank you for your time.

you choose

yesterday while doing dishes (an activity that i find lends itself to many epiphanies), after dropping the bike off at the shop, i remembered HereNT's comment, "that's why i work on my own bike," and kicked myself. if i had thought of it, i might've offered $40 to be talked through the work so that next time i could do it myself. that park tools website looks good, though, thanks for the tip.

Find a co-op in your area, they have tools you can use and people to ask

What's included in a $40 or so tune up?

It ain't gonna be $40 in the bay area. Cheapest I've ever heard of is $60. There is one place in Hayward mentioned on Craigslist that might be around $40 or $50, can't recall.

Jeprox? You must be from Daly City/Serramonte...

Why do you think so? Actually, I am in Newark and I bike commute to Sunnyvale.

So far, I haven't had the need for a so-called tune-up. I do maintenance/repairs myself, although, I do wish I can build wheels. Haven't taken the plunge yet in that arena.