Whether you use your bike to cycle to work every day or you just use it for weekend rides at some point you will need to tune it up. The riding experience of a bike that’s been recently tuned up is immediately noticeable, and it’s so much better.
A basic bike tune-up costs $80 and should be done every 2000 miles or annually. A bike tune-up consists of checking for signs of wear, fixing and replacing worn parts, and greasing and lubing the moving parts.
The following parts of the bicycle are inspected in a professional tune-up:
- groupsets: shifters, derailleurs, brakes, cables, drivetrain
- headset
- bottom bracket
- hubs, wheels and tires.
A professional tune-up consists of the following jobs:
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- Headset adjustment
- Bottom Bracket adjustment
- Checking and adjusting the parts of groupset
- Front and Rear Derailleurs + Shifters and Shift Cables
- Adjust Brake pads + brake levers and cables
- Inspect Chain Wear Status + lube Chain
- change chain and check cassette and chainring
- Adjust Hubs + true Wheels
- Minor Frame Clean
Headset adjustment
The headset is the part of the bike in charge of moving it in the right direction. Smooth and precise steering is essential for cycling. If you use your bike on a daily basis it is important for your personal safety too.
Water, grit, or dirt from the road can penetrate the headset and cause damage to the bearings in it. Grit and dirt in the bearings can ruin them and even the frame if not cleaned regularly, and can affect your ride noticeably.
There are two bearings in the headset: an upper bearing and a lower bearing. These two enable the fork to turn smoothly which ultimately is key to precise steering.
Cleaning the headset entails removing the stem and the handlebar and pulling out the fork from the frame. All the bearings’ gunk and dirty grease and the frame’s inner part should be thoroughly wiped off and greased again.
It is recommended to clean the headset and the bearings at least once or twice a year, depending on how much the bike is used.
To know whether it’s time to clean your headset, stand next to your bike and pull the front brake while rocking it back and forth. If you feel knocking or that the headset is loose, it is time to clean it. Rough grinding when turning the handlebar can be another sign that it’s time to clean it.
Bottom bracket adjustment
The bottom bracket is the pedal’s point of contact with the bike frame, through which all the force is transmitted to the wheels. The bottom bracket should be in perfect condition so you don’t waste energy.
Whenever the bike is in motion, the bottom bracket is in use, therefore, it needs regular maintenance so that it doesn’t wear out completely.
The bottom bracket will be checked and adjusted if needed in a regular bike tune-up. There are certain types of bottom brackets (treaded ones) that can be tightened or loosened, while others are fixed. The bottom bracket is usually not replaced, only greased and checked when your bike gets a tune-up.
How do I know it’s time to check the bottom bracket?
To know if it’s time to service your bottom bracket, listen to a clicking or grinding noise coming from the pedal, which is an indicator that it needs repair.
Another way to tell if the bottom bracket is in good condition is by spinning the crankset (pedals) with the chain off. They should be spinning smoothly without any resistance. If you feel rumbling or grinding on the frame, it’s time to service the bottom bracket.
Front and Rear Derailleurs
Front and rear derailleurs are both looked at during a bike tune-up. They enable smooth and efficient shifting so you can always ride in the appropriate gear. Since derailleurs are exposed, it’s quite common for them to move out of position and for cables to come loose.
Misaligned derailleurs make switching gears difficult, and they can cause a lot of headaches, especially on a hilly ride. Depending on how bad the situation is, you may not be able to change gears, or hear cracking noises, or your chain may fall off constantly.
A basic bike tune-up includes checking and adjusting the shifters, cables, and the front and rear derailleurs. Adjusting these parts will result in precise shifting, quiet and noiseless derailleurs.
There are a few telling signs that your derailleurs need attention.
If your chain constantly falls off, it can be a sign that it is not set correctly. There are two limit screws that adjust how far the derailleur can go outward and inward, preventing the chain from falling off the sprockets.
If you cannot shift into the highest gears on the smallest sprockets. There is a spring in the rear derailleur that pushes it inwards while the cable pulls it outward. If the cables are too old, they cannot exert enough force and pull the derailleur completely outwards. In this case the cables should be replaced.
If you hear excessive clicking noise from the derailleurs, it is worth adjusting them and indexing the gears. Indexing is essentially fine-tuning the gears, setting them up precisely so that the chain in each gear is perfectly in line with the sprockets.
After changing wheels, the sprockets on the rear cassette may end up in a slightly different position than the derailleur. The derailleur should be indexed.
Looking at the derailleur the mech hanger is bent. If you know that the rear derailleur recently took a big hit or it was pressed and it makes noise the mech hanger might be bent and should be realigned. The mech hanger connects the derailleur and the frame, and it is made of a somewhat softer material to avoid damaging the derailleur and the frame when taking a hit.
Brakes
Brakes are checked and adjusted in the tune-up process, so you have sufficient stopping power available. Brake pads, cables and levers are checked individually.
Brake pads must be checked and in good condition.
The cables should not be slack, and should be tight all the way, from the lever to the brakes.
If you have hydraulic brakes, there needs to be sufficient oil in the system, and it occasionally needs bleeding, which is the technical term for emptying and topping up the system.
If you feel that the brake looses its efficiency and is not able to stop the bike as it used to, you know it’s time to service them.
Worn brake pads and pads on both sides not touching the rim or the disc simultaneously are signs that a tune-up is due.
Chain, cassette, chainring
A tune-up also includes the inspection, and if necessary, the replacement of the chain, and often the cassette and the chainring as well. The chain is the cheapest among these three, and it wears out the fastest. It is good to keep an eye on it as it can ruin the cassette and the chain ring which are more costly.
It’s best practice to change at least the cassette when changing the chain, although you can get away with changing it every other time, especially if you take care of your drivetrain.
If you are a year-round commuter riding more than 2000 miles a year, your chain should be replaced at least once a year.
If the chain doesn’t need to be changed, lubing is also included in a basic tune-up.
You can check the health of your bike chain with a chain wear indicator. It’s inexpensive, but useful, even if you don’t do your own maintenance (link to the product on Amazon).
If you don’t have one, pull the chain away from the chain ring toward the front wheel. If you can see the cog underneath the chain, your chain is worn out.
Hubs and wheels
Another wheel-related job taken care of during a tune-up is truing the wheels and checking the hubs.
The spoke tension is checked and adjusted, which keeps the bike wheel in true. When set at the right tension, they keep the wheel perfectly straight. Some spokes may come loose or the wheel can come out of true when you hit potholes, curbs, or force is applied to the wheel from an angle.
The hubs are opened, and the bearings are greased, so your wheels spin freely with as little friction as possible.
Knocking and clicking noises coming from your wheel mean that they need some attention. Out-of-true wheels also mean that your bike needs some adjustment.
Bike tune-up cost
Depending on where you live, a bike tune-up can range from 30 to 100 dollars if no parts need replacing.
If you ride your bike regularly and put 2000+ miles in it per year, you will need a new chainset, cassette, and brake pads, which can cost several hundred dollars.
Conclusion
If you are only starting out, you will learn a lot about your bike and its maintenance within the first few months. You may even learn how to do some of the above jobs at home on your own bike.
However, there are certain adjustments and fixes that require some skill and some special tools without which a full tune-up can become very difficult. Check your local bike shops nearby and pick the one where you can make friends with the owner. This way, you know your bike is in trusted hands.
Happy riding!
