Road bike service... What exactly?

[E38Ross]

What is done in a service if I take my road bike to a shop? I'm torn as to whether to bother or not because it runs fine, had a new cassette recently so gear changes are smooth, brakes are fine etc but it's been quite a while since it was serviced.

Not sure whether to bother or not...?

[okgo]

Wouldn't bother.

When something stops working, get it fixed. Its just as likely that you'll have it serviced, and pay £ for that, then it will stop working anyway, so you'll pay twice.

Really though bicycles are so simple you shouldn't really need a shop to do the basics, do it yourself.

[anonymous-user]

they will check bolts are at the right torque setting which is probably the most important bit if there are carbon components on the bike, then they faff about with things and adjust the mechs if the need doing. you may get wheel bearings changed or regreased if the are cup and cone but other than that, they do precious little in my experience.

[itsnotarace]

pablo said:

they do precious little in my experience

Depends on the quality of the mechanic and how much you are paying for the service really, if you are expecting full strip down and regrease for your £25 then it's not going to happen!

[anonymous-user]

sure, most places have a menu type pricing plan, I know its not a great example but this is what Evans charge...

http://www.evanscycles.com/uploads/File/servicing/...

bronze is a bit of a joke but the rest isnt actually too bad...

[okgo]

itsnotarace said:

Depends on the quality of the mechanic and how much you are paying for the service really, if you are expecting full strip down and regrease for your £25 then it's not going to happen!

In the past I've paid the best bikeshop in London (in their eyes) a lot of money to do things, they haven't even bothered to use a torque wrench on a 5 grand bike before.

Bike shops by and large are useless and don't give a st. Want something done proper, do it yourself.

[AMG01]

What should you do by way of normal maintenance to ensure your bike is running well. Is there a good online guide to use?

[itsnotarace]

okgo said:

they haven't even bothered to use a torque wrench on a 5 grand bike before.

An experienced mechanic would be able to judge torque by feel

[okgo]

itsnotarace said:

An experienced mechanic would be able to judge torque by feel

I don't give a st, if the thing is lose when I get it back from the work, then its not been done properly. And when it comes to very expensive stuff I would prefer it done right, not some clown thinking he knows better.

[S26VE P]

itsnotarace said:

An experienced mechanic would be able to judge torque by feel

Sorry but. seriously? yes i can tell when my wheel nuts are FT, but would i do that when i driving the radical round snetterton @ full tilt? erm no i will torque then to the correct setting. If i was paying someone to do work on the bikes i would expect the same. i have even just purchased a small torque wrench for the very reason for very little money so why bother NOT doing it correctly?

[itsnotarace]

I'm sorry but bicycle components need to be just tight enough and no more. It's not rocket science that when attaching stuff like brakes/shifters to carbon bars you don't overtighten. When you spend all day long working on bikes it's not hard

[okgo]

itsnotarace said:

I'm sorry but bicycle components need to be just tight enough and no more. It's not rocket science that when attaching stuff like brakes/shifters to carbon bars you don't overtighten. When you spend all day long working on bikes it's not hard

Ok, so on my powermeter it says tighten every chainring bolt to 12nm, if one is out then the figures you get are garbage. That requires a torque wrench.

On my crank arm non drive side, one bolt needs to be tightened to over 40nm, you can tell that by hand can you?

"just tight enough and no more" what a wk statement that is, it means nothing, think about what you are saying. The reason my bike is covered in bolts that have a the NM rating stamped on them is because its important to get them right. And I expect a shop to do that. If you can tell the difference by hand between all of these very different NM then great, but if a company has gone to the lengths of telling me that this bolt needs to be 5nm and another needs to be 10 max, I want a proper wrench to be used.

I know you like to come over as the elder statesmen, but you actually seem really rather argumentative and will say any old st just to try and get a reaction.

[JuniorD]

The only routine service activity on a bike that might be tricky to get right is setting the gears to work perfectly. Safety wise, the only job that might need a modicum of expertise or confidence would be the headset. Everything else is a piece of piss to inspect or even 'service' should it be required. Fair enough if something packs up and needs a specific repair or replacement and they are not ale to do it, but I know guys who with great pride pay for regular bike services on perfectly good bikes more frequently than they do for their cars. Perhaps they see it as a necessary or value added activity but whatever keeps them happy I suppose.

[HurryUpAndWait]

itsnotarace said:

I'm sorry but bicycle components need to be just tight enough and no more. It's not rocket science that when attaching stuff like brakes/shifters to carbon bars you don't overtighten. When you spend all day long working on bikes it's not hard

I think you used to be able to get away with it, but the advent of multiple carbon components means that is no longer true. I saw someone over-tighten the their seatpost clamp on a Cervelo or Spesh. The result was a crack, which is kind of a problem.

[itsnotarace]

okgo said:

Ok, so on my powermeter it says tighten every chainring bolt to 12nm, if one is out then the figures you get are garbage. That requires a torque wrench.

That's a rather specialist bit of equipment and given that it relies on correct torque settings is the exception rather than the rule

okgo said:

I know you like to come over as the elder statesmen, but you actually seem really rather argumentative and will say any old st just to try and get a reaction.

Well I've been maintaining bicycles for nearly 30 years now. I've never needed to use a torque wrench to date despite recently owning one and I've not snapped any carbon bits so go figure...if you're that ham fisted and can't do it without a torque wrench or worse yet don't have the skills to do the job yourself then that speaks more volumes about you my friend

[itsnotarace]

Ohhh look a pro mechanic not using a torque wrench to build a carbon bike

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

Tis the work of the devil BURN HIM BURN HIM

[AyBee]

okgo said:

In the past I've paid the best bikeshop in London (in their eyes) a lot of money to do things, they haven't even bothered to use a torque wrench on a 5 grand bike before.

Bike shops by and large are useless and don't give a st. Want something done proper, do it yourself.

That one beginning with S in Kingston? Was thinking about using them for a new part + fitting but may not bother if it is them...

[AyBee]

pablo said:

sure, most places have a menu type pricing plan, I know its not a great example but this is what Evans charge...

http://www.evanscycles.com/uploads/File/servicing/...

bronze is a bit of a joke but the rest isnt actually too bad...

Really? You can do the majority of that with about £5 spent on tools and a few youtube videos...it's not rocket science and you could save yourself a lot of money doing it yourself!

[AMG01]

AyBee said:

Really? You can do the majority of that with about £5 spent on tools and a few youtube videos...it's not rocket science and you could save yourself a lot of money doing it yourself!

AyBee, what would you suggest getting and any videos you would recommend?

[okgo]

itsnotarace said:

Well I've been maintaining bicycles for nearly 30 years now. I've never needed to use a torque wrench to date despite recently owning one and I've not snapped any carbon bits so go figure...if you're that ham fisted and can't do it without a torque wrench or worse yet don't have the skills to do the job yourself then that speaks more volumes about you my friend

There is no way on this earth you can tell the difference between 5,10,12,16 nm all by hand, and make sure that you can do 4 bolts to the same torque without a wrench. You can't, so don't pretend you can. Its not about snapping things as such, its about me needing the bolts at the right torque to produce the right readings on the powermeter. But that said if Trek have gone to the hassle of pointing out that all the bolts around my time trial bars need to be different torques then I am going to use a wrench. To not do so would be idiocy, the result of not doing it properly like the shop I mentioned above is that when I am hammering down a dual carriage way at over 40mph one of the extensions slips, that is potentially life threatening. I know you prefer to look at your bike rather than ride it, so maybe not such an issue, but for me, its imperative that its safe and done right.