[saccycling]

How often should I take my bike for a tune up ? I got 9500 miles on my bike now. I change the cassette and change myself about every 4000 miles, I have a chain checker. I had my rear wheel trued at 5000 miles after hitting a big pot hole. I was thinking maybe I should have a mechanic look my bike over. How often do you get your bike tuned up or looked over ?

 

[Cory]

Nothing in a tune-up you can't learn to do.

I don't think I've ever had a bike tuned. I started riding in college, when I couldn't afford it, and learned to do nearly everything myself out of necessity. It's pretty easy, and now that I could afford it, I'd rather spend a summer morning doing it myself than put the bike in the shop for a day or two.
I'm not ANTI-shop--I'm on good terms with two LBSes here and take things there when I can't figure them out (I lack the gene for wheelbuilding). But you can do everything in a normal tuneup in an hour or two, save the bucks and know it's done right.
To answer your question about how often, though, I fix things when they don't work right, and I try to force myself to do bearings every year or two (my riding, only about 3000 miles a year these days, is spread over four bikes, so it's not like I was beating them to death).

 

[orange_julius]

How often should I take my bike for a tune up ? I got 9500 miles on my bike now. I change the cassette and change myself about every 4000 miles, I have a chain checker. I had my rear wheel trued at 5000 miles after hitting a big pot hole. I was thinking maybe I should have a mechanic look my bike over. How often do you get your bike tuned up or looked over ?

Is it Campagnolo or Shimano?

Just kidding .

If you know how to change the cassette yourself, you should also learn to check for cable stretch, and how to adjust derailleurs yourself. Cable stretch depends on many factors, including weather. For my own drivetrain (Campag Chorus) I have about 12k miles on it now and have not had to do any adjustments, and the cables are still just fine.

 

[Cruzer2424]

How often should I take my bike for a tune up ? I got 9500 miles on my bike now. I change the cassette and change myself about every 4000 miles, I have a chain checker. I had my rear wheel trued at 5000 miles after hitting a big pot hole. I was thinking maybe I should have a mechanic look my bike over. How often do you get your bike tuned up or looked over ?

Just take it in whenever it stops working properly. Like if your gears don't shift or start skipping when you hit the shift button.

While those problems are things you can easily fix yourself, a good (!) shop mechanic can diagnose much bigger problems before they happen. For example, a good one can tell you your bearings are dry and need to be overhauled... before opening up the hub. This could save you a new set of wheels next year!

If it stops shifting properly, chances are (if it was done right) that it has had enough time for bearings to dry out, bb cups/bolts to come loose... etc...

Beware though, good shops/mechanics (or sometimes I've seen ONE good mechanic in a shop full of idiots- just request that the good one does it) are hard to find. Look for experience. Check out the "family" oriented shops- ones that have people from college student commuters, to high end racers coming through. The mechanic that has been working in the "family" shop for a few years has seen bikes that have been through hell and back, over multiple tuneups, through numerous problems. If they can get a 10 year old, bottom of the line Trek working like an Ultegra10 bike, then imagine what they could do to a DA10 bike.

I'm not saying don't learn to fix things yourself, it really helps when you're out with your buddies and someone's der goes into their rear wheel, you'll get the free beer when you get his bike limping home.

 

[Kerry Irons]

It's due

How often should I take my bike for a tune up ? I got 9500 miles on my bike now. I change the cassette and change myself about every 4000 miles, I have a chain checker. I had my rear wheel trued at 5000 miles after hitting a big pot hole. I was thinking maybe I should have a mechanic look my bike over. How often do you get your bike tuned up or looked over ?

If you want the bike to last, it really is time for an overhaul. That means taking things apart, cleaning out the gunk, applying some lube, and putting it back together. If, on the other hand, you plan to sell the bike or just replace things when they stop working, then don't worry about it. When the hub seizes, the brakes don't work so well, or the shifting goes to heck, just buy new stuff