Service Series: Why Tuneup?

We truly believe that a quality bike shop bike can last a lifetime — with proper maintenance! That’s why we recommend a tune-up every season.

To put it simply, a tune-up checks and adjusts every moving part of your bicycle. Here’s what we get into:

• Brakes: Do your brake levers need to be sqeezed more than halfway before the brakes apply? Do they feel “sluggish?” They need adjusting! We do that during a tune-up.

  If anything else is not right — like your brake cables &/or housing are frayed or gunked up — we would notice it at this point and let you know if additional service or parts are recommended.

• Gears/Drivetrain: Do your gears transition smoothly or do they feel sluggish? Does the chain come off when shifting? Can the bike shift into all the gears? Do you hear any clicks, rattles, or rubs? Yes to any of those questions means you need a gear adjustment! We’ll also tighten your crankarm and lube your chain.

  If your cables &/or housing are frayed or gunked up and/or your chain, chain ring &/or cassette are worn, we would notice it at this point and let you know if additional service or parts are recommended.

• Wheels: When spokes on a wheel loosen over time, your wheel can become “out of true” causing your brakes to rub and, over time, leading to a total wheel failure. As part of your tune-up, the mechanic will perform a “minor true” meaning they will loosen and tighten spokes while the wheel is still attached to the bicycle.

  If a wheel requires adjustment than a minor true, the wheel will need to be removed from the bicycle and placed into a special truing stand. If that additional service is necessary, we would let you know at this point.

• Cleaning: While the bike is up in the repair stand, we wipe the frame and wheels down, removing dust and gunk.

If you ride a lot, plan on starting out in Spring with a fresh tune and possibly a second one near the end of summer. The good news is that if you bring it in for that possibly-second-tune, we’ll for sure tell you if it just needs a couple of smaller adjustments and save you some dough. But better safe then sorry.

What say you? “But I haven’t ridden all year!” You, dear friend, need a tune-up for sure. Your poor bike has been accumulating rust and dust, the enemies of smooth shifting and safe braking. Let us get her back into dependable riding shape.

Standard tune-ups cost $75; we adjust brakes, gears + derailleur; perform a minor (on-bike) wheel true; lube and check chain; check and tighten crank & headset; and wipe down the frame and wheels. If your bike needs more or less love than that, we are very honest and transparent about what needs to be done.

Early and peak season, the turn-around on tune-ups can be a week or more. Late in the season, we can usualy turn one around by the next day.