Should I service myself?

[battered]

One thing you have to bear in mind is do you have the space to do said servicing uninterrupted - ? Also the space to layout tools, lubes, rags, components etc..
If you don't, then the question is debatable. I have limited space and time to do such things, I have to fit it round time, space; part of the kitchen, and opportunity to do these things. And we have eight bikes between us - !
Just saying - !

This is true, but in summer it's easier, most people have a garden or a yard. As others have said, servicing is easy on a newish bike. It's just adjusting, lube, check for wear on brakes and chain.

 

[byegad]

When I got back into cycling 20+ years ago, I bought an el cheapo cycle tool kit.
I started with basic stuff, but by the time we had 9 bikes I was able to do most stuff myself. Some of the tools got used a lot, wore out, and were replaced by better quality ones, others are still in my box and used occasionally.
The only job I'll not tackle is a full wheel build, although I can replace broken spokes and true wheels.
Doing it yourself certainly saves money, time and frustration.

 

[GuyBoden]

If you don't like doing cycle maintenance and don't mind spending the money, have it serviced at a reputable bike shop.

Personally, cycle maintenance has been a big part of the pleasure cycling since I was a young teenager.

 

[Sniper68]

This is what happens in a deluxe service. Seems fairly comprehensive!

£140
Do they service your car while they're at it?
It's a push-iron.Learn to DIY and spend the £140 on sommat worthwhile

 

[raggydoll]

£140!!

If you break down the comprehensive deluxe service you are paying someone £140 to clean your bike, check your bolts are tight, replace cables (if required), replace brake pads (if required) etc. I know there's more but the checks are easy to do yourself and cables and pads are easy and cheap go replace.

Any other parts are not included.
So if you need a new cassette and chain you'd be over £50 for cassette and potentially £30 for a chain. You will need to use their parts and they normally add a mark up to the price as you need to buy the parts to finish the job.

So your service ends up costing around £220 or more.
Doing yourself would be £80 (or below as you can buy parts when on sale)

Another way to look at it is....if something happened that made the bike unsafe to ride you'd be waiting till August/September for your bike shop to see you.

My rear gear cable snapped the other week while out on a ride. I cycled home in the hardest gear and within 5 minutes I fitted new gear cable and could ride again. If I didn't know how to replace the cable my bike would be off the road till August/September.

It's up to you of course.

 

[Lovacott]

My rear gear cable snapped the other week while out on a ride. I cycled home in the hardest gear and within 5 minutes I fitted new gear cable and could ride again. If I didn't know how to replace the cable my bike would be off the road till August/September.

You can buy cables in bulk packs really cheaply online and as you say, they are very easy to replace (once you know how).

I do my own servicing because I started commuting a year ago when bike shop demand was high so I had no choice.

At first, I was spending hours and hours trying to sort things out, making mistakes and making things worse. Now I've got the hang of it, I literally spend a few minutes per week giving the bike a once over and if anything seems amiss on the road, I'll stop and fix it there and then.

I had a binding disc caliper on the new hybrid two weeks ago which I could hear after having to brake suddenly and hard. I got off the bike, took the multi tool from the wedge bag under the seat and checked the caliper mounting bolts. One of them wasn't very tight so the caliper must have moved slightly when I braked hard? Less than a minute later, the multi tool was back in the saddle bag, the caliper was aligned and I was on my way.

It was a free repair and it took me less than a minute to complete.

Compared to taking it to a bike shop which would have been at least a couple of hours of my time, plus the cost of labour etc.

 

[swee'pea99]

Doing it yourself certainly saves money, time and frustration.

Plus, crucially, you know it's been done properly.

 

[Brandane]

Let's have a look at this "Standard" service in more detail then. For starters, does that £60 include VAT, or is the real price £72?

*Check and externally adjust hubs, headset and bottom bracket.
In reality - give wheels a check for sideways movement. If excessive, spend 2 minutes adjusting free play in hub bearings. If I found free play in my hubs, I would be spending an extra 15 minutes taking the ball bearings out to check for wear in them, the cones, and the hub itself. At least a clean up and regrease job. Headset, again 2 minutes to adjust out any free play, but why is it loose? Bike shop would no doubt tell you to replace at extra cost. Bottom bracket; any modern ones I have seen are non adjustable, so again check cranks for sideways movement and if excessive, or any roughness in operation - new BB at extra cost.

*Replace brake blocks/pads (if required).
In reality - a 10 second visual inspection, and if any sign of excessive wear spend 10 minutes max replacing them (at extra cost for the parts).

*Lubricate cables (replace if required).
In reality - operate brakes and gears to check for smooth and proper operation. If all good then run an oily cloth over the visible parts of the cable inners. If not, slacken off cables so the inners can be pulled out of the outers, and lubricate them. If still causing problems, replace cables (inners and outers, at full RRP).

*Lubricate chain and derailleurs.
In reality - spend 2 minutes back pedalling and applying oil to chain, then wiping off excess with a cloth. Point some oil in the direction of jockey wheel axles and derailleur pivot points.

*Check and tighten all nuts and bolts.
In reality - spend 2 minutes going round the bike with an allen key to make sure there are no loose fasteners.

*Test ride.
In reality - at best, take bike outside, ride 50 yards going through the gears and checking brakes; return to shop.

Total time spent - giving them the benefit of the doubt that they actually carry out all the above tasks, 15 minutes if they don't have to adjust hub cones and faff with cables; 30 or 40 max if they do (have to mess with cones and cables). Extra time (and cost?) if they have to replace anything.

 

[Sharky]

Whatever you do to your bike, remember to take ALL the tools you used for the work on your next ride. Leave something behind and it WILL come undone.

 

[Sniper68]

Let's have a look at this "Standard" service in more detail then. For starters, does that £60 include VAT, or is the real price £72?

*Check and externally adjust hubs, headset and bottom bracket.
In reality - give wheels a check for sideways movement. If excessive, spend 2 minutes adjusting free play in hub bearings. If I found free play in my hubs, I would be spending an extra 15 minutes taking the ball bearings out to check for wear in them, the cones, and the hub itself. At least a clean up and regrease job. Headset, again 2 minutes to adjust out any free play, but why is it loose? Bike shop would no doubt tell you to replace at extra cost. Bottom bracket; any modern ones I have seen are non adjustable, so again check cranks for sideways movement and if excessive, or any roughness in operation - new BB at extra cost.

*Replace brake blocks/pads (if required).
In reality - a 10 second visual inspection, and if any sign of excessive wear spend 10 minutes max replacing them (at extra cost for the parts).

*Lubricate cables (replace if required).
In reality - operate brakes and gears to check for smooth and proper operation. If all good then run an oily cloth over the visible parts of the cable inners. If not, slacken off cables so the inners can be pulled out of the outers, and lubricate them. If still causing problems, replace cables (inners and outers, at full RRP).

*Lubricate chain and derailleurs.
In reality - spend 2 minutes back pedalling and applying oil to chain, then wiping off excess with a cloth. Point some oil in the direction of jockey wheel axles and derailleur pivot points.

*Check and tighten all nuts and bolts.
In reality - spend 2 minutes going round the bike with an allen key to make sure there are no loose fasteners.

*Test ride.
In reality - at best, take bike outside, ride 50 yards going through the gears and checking brakes; return to shop.

Total time spent - giving them the benefit of the doubt that they actually carry out all the above tasks, 15 minutes if they don't have to adjust hub cones and faff with cables; 30 or 40 max if they do (have to mess with cones and cables). Extra time (and cost?) if they have to replace anything.

Did you ever work at H*****ds
Absolutely bang on

 

[Brandane]

Did you ever work at H*****ds
Absolutely bang on

Nah; that mob would have let the Saturday boy loose on your pride and joy, and given it back to the customer in a far worse state than it came in. And he would have managed to trash your bike in the 5 minute time scale allowed for the service.

 

[swee'pea99]

Let's have a look at this "Standard" service in more detail then. For starters, does that £60 include VAT, or is the real price £72?

*Check and externally adjust hubs, headset and bottom bracket.
In reality - give wheels a check for sideways movement. If excessive, spend 2 minutes adjusting free play in hub bearings. If I found free play in my hubs, I would be spending an extra 15 minutes taking the ball bearings out to check for wear in them, the cones, and the hub itself. At least a clean up and regrease job. Headset, again 2 minutes to adjust out any free play, but why is it loose? Bike shop would no doubt tell you to replace at extra cost. Bottom bracket; any modern ones I have seen are non adjustable, so again check cranks for sideways movement and if excessive, or any roughness in operation - new BB at extra cost.

*Replace brake blocks/pads (if required).
In reality - a 10 second visual inspection, and if any sign of excessive wear spend 10 minutes max replacing them (at extra cost for the parts).

*Lubricate cables (replace if required).
In reality - operate brakes and gears to check for smooth and proper operation. If all good then run an oily cloth over the visible parts of the cable inners. If not, slacken off cables so the inners can be pulled out of the outers, and lubricate them. If still causing problems, replace cables (inners and outers, at full RRP).

*Lubricate chain and derailleurs.
In reality - spend 2 minutes back pedalling and applying oil to chain, then wiping off excess with a cloth. Point some oil in the direction of jockey wheel axles and derailleur pivot points.

*Check and tighten all nuts and bolts.
In reality - spend 2 minutes going round the bike with an allen key to make sure there are no loose fasteners.

*Test ride.
In reality - at best, take bike outside, ride 50 yards going through the gears and checking brakes; return to shop.

Total time spent - giving them the benefit of the doubt that they actually carry out all the above tasks, 15 minutes if they don't have to adjust hub cones and faff with cables; 30 or 40 max if they do (have to mess with cones and cables). Extra time (and cost?) if they have to replace anything.

Sister's boyfriend used to work at a Ford main dealer, where the mechanics would routinely log 130 hr weeks. One of their specialties was the 'spit service': raise the bonnet, everything look ok? Spit on engine and release bonnet. Then put three & a half hours on the timesheet. Put the kettle on.

Whatever you do to your bike, remember to take ALL the tools you used for the work on your next ride. Leave something behind and it WILL come undone.

Bike stand's going to be a bugger.

 

[Punkawallah]

Speak for yourself

The opposite is true in my case.

Or, at least you know who to blame if it’s not done right :-)

 

[Low Gear Guy]

Last time I thought about a bike shop service I looked at the list of tasks and decided that they wouldn't be doing much for £50 and I couldn't justify spending more.

At least they published a list of what they intended to do. I once asked a car repair workshop what their basic service included but they had 'lost' the leaflet.

 

[Teamfixed]

Echoing what has already been said here I know. I've never quite got the whole 'service' thing and I know that's easy for lots of us on here to say because we do things as and when needed. Bikes don't have service intervals like a car. I would suggest that you keep a check on brake pads, clean and lube the chain once a week (say), regularly check for loose alen bolts/nuts and if everything else works leave it alone until it doesn't.

Modern bikes have sealed maintenance free bottom brackets and hubs so nothing to be done there. The only other thing I can think of is the headset bearing which is adjustable but very easy nowadays.
If/When you think something isn't right come back on here and you'll get lots of help.