I bought my road bike about a year ago, and I haven't had any real problems with it. I clean the chain every couple of weeks, and I think it is in generally good shape.
The shop I got the bike from offers "free tune-ups for life," as I'm sure many shops do. My question is two-fold:
1) Should I just take it in to get a tune-up every year or so, even if I don't have any problems w/ the bike?
2) What are some signs that my bike might be in need of a tune-up?
2. Any acquired sounds, clicks, feelings of slack or roughness in bearings, degrade of shifting precision and braking, is a definite sign that you need a tune up. In fact it is the preventive maintenance of a tune up that avoids having these problems. The mechanic will clean an re-grease your hub bearings and headset bearings and then correctly adjust them, adjust spoke tension to true your wheels, adjust your brakes, check your bottom bracket to be sure it is tightly torqued into the frame, and in general go over the bike. They will advise you about chain and cassette wear, check that everything shifts ok, and give you a heads up about things that may need to be replaced. Take the opportunity to ask them what they check and how they check it, as this is something that you should be doing before you ride, all of the time. I always push my wheels from side to side looking for bearing wear and adjustment problems and apply my brakes hard before I mount the bike. I occasionaly grab a crank arm and push and pull in and out looking for any slop. You should too, as this is a matter of safety, not just maintenance.
2. Any acquired sounds, clicks, feelings of slack or roughness in bearings, degrade of shifting precision and braking, is a definite sign that you need a tune up. In fact it is the preventive maintenance of a tune up that avoids having these problems. The mechanic will clean an re-grease your hub bearings and headset bearings and then correctly adjust them, adjust spoke tension to true your wheels, adjust your brakes, check your bottom bracket to be sure it is tightly torqued into the frame, and in general go over the bike. They will advise you about chain and cassette wear, check that everything shifts ok, and give you a heads up about things that may need to be replaced. Take the opportunity to ask them what they check and how they check it, as this is something that you should be doing before you ride, all of the time. I always push my wheels from side to side looking for bearing wear and adjustment problems and apply my brakes hard before I mount the bike. I occasionaly grab a crank arm and push and pull in and out looking for any slop. You should too, as this is a matter of safety, not just maintenance.
2. Any acquired sounds, clicks, feelings of slack or roughness in bearings, degrade of shifting precision and braking, is a definite sign that you need a tune up. In fact it is the preventive maintenance of a tune up that avoids having these problems. The mechanic will clean an re-grease your hub bearings and headset bearings and then correctly adjust them, adjust spoke tension to true your wheels, adjust your brakes, check your bottom bracket to be sure it is tightly torqued into the frame, and in general go over the bike. They will advise you about chain and cassette wear, check that everything shifts ok, and give you a heads up about things that may need to be replaced. Take the opportunity to ask them what they check and how they check it, as this is something that you should be doing before you ride, all of the time. I always push my wheels from side to side looking for bearing wear and adjustment problems and apply my brakes hard before I mount the bike. I occasionaly grab a crank arm and push and pull in and out looking for any slop. You should too, as this is a matter of safety, not just maintenance.
Great, thanks for the help! I'll definitely make a point to do those things before my next ride.
