bike in for service

[justAl]

this is the second service, the last one was 4 years ago! I want it to come back feeling like a new bike. Will I be disappointed?

 

[spandex]

I don't know but time will tell. Is it a good LBS?

 

[4F]

Depends who you have taken it to If Halfords then yes you will be dissapointed, sorry

 

[justAl]

It's gone to my LBS. The shop floor staff are always helpful and knowledgeable. I'm keeping my fingers crossed the workshop staff are the same.

 

[mr_cellophane]

Mine did - good old Harris Cowell. Got me an extra 2 MPH

 

[jimboalee]

Tha last service was FOUR years ago???

In those FOUR years, I'd have thought you would have learned to service it yourself.

 

[jimboalee]

Sorry for being so abrupt.
If its your commuting bike, servicing is a weekly affair. A good clean and polish. Brakes adjust, gear adjust if neccessary, chain clean and lube. Gear mechanisms lube. Tyre condition (cuts). Rim runout, etc etc.

If it IS your commute bike, its your transport to and from work.

 

[swee'pea99]

I service my commuting bike every year, whether it needs it or not.

 

[goo_mason]

My commuter now gets ongoing servicing. It's washed once a week, the chain is wiped clean every few days (or post-ride if it's been wet) and lubed, the lubrication points are regularly lubed, the brakes and gears are adjusted as and when, brake pads are checked (last night I replaced the Koolstops I put on in June, and now the seatpost is removed and the shim cleaned and regreased when it starts creaking again after a few wet rides.

I left the MTB for a year after getting it before I decided to service it, and there was a lot to put right by then. Now it works out easier, quicker and less costly to do it frequently so that small problems are sorted before they become big, expensive ones.

 

[J4CKO]

I just reckon that primarily its my safety, secondly my transport, if it goes wrong then I am stranded a few miles from home or work, at the very least it isn't performing right.

I find it therapeutic, takes an hour a week and I enjoy it, every centimetre gets checked, lubricated and adjusted, I make a mental list of things that need doing.

Drives me mad when I see some pillock riding a bike with a gunked up or dry chain.

 

[gratts]

Not meaning to hijack or anything, but does anyone know a decent online guide to show me what I should be checking/adjusting, and how?

 

[Sittingduck]

Not meaning to hijack or anything, but does anyone know a decent online guide to show me what I should be checking/adjusting, and how?

http://bicycletutor.com/

 

[Dirtyhanz]

dont take it to evans there servicing is rubish and cost a fortune

 

[jimboalee]

goo_mason.
You say your seatpost creaks. It might not be the clamp joint if it only creaks after a damp session. It might be the 'spare' seatpost below the clamp.
Next time the seatpost is out, widen the frame lug a little. Wrap a couple of turns of PTFE tape around the length of post that will be below the clamp. Ease in gently ( funerf ). Don't grease. Tighten the clamp around a clean, dry post. Spray with funiture polish.

See if that does the trick.

 

[gavintc]

But not recommended on carbon frames.

I find with my carbon seatpost in a carbon tube, that I have to clean both every so often to reduce seatpost creak.