First time taking my 1961 Schwinn to get tuned up after purchasing years ago. ~130 later and it still looks all cruddy. They repaired a tire, fixed a brake line, lubed the chain, but I just assumed they'd remove the old dirty grease and add new. Thanks for your input for this noob 😄
by Capt_Murphy_
25 Comments
Here she is, if you’re curious. I love this bike, it’s so solidly made (in Chicago)
https://preview.redd.it/acol0sz1pmxg1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ad1c0d3e4a769be1cb83ac587a38a39bb3231fb6
We charge $125 for a basic tune up that includes a frame wipe down but no other cleaning – the next level up includes a full drivetrain removal and cleaning and full bike wash
A tune isn’t a clean at every shop. A tune is “make sure it works good”. A clean is a clean. Chances are that was a “check the chain wear, adjust the brakes and shifting, listen for crunchy bearings.” It’s not like they were pulling hubs apart to repack bearings and such.
Watching BikeFarmer on YouTube turned me onto Dawn spray cleaner for wiping down the frame and greasy parts of the wheels. https://www.target.com/p/dawn-fresh-scent-platinum-powerwash-dishwashing-liquid-dish-soap-spray-16oz/-/A-77789611
For 130, I expect:
Wheel truing,
Brake adjustment/lubrication,
shifter and derailleur adjustment and lubrication,
Adjust bearings at headset and bottom bracket,
Lube cables, housing, drivetrain,
Tighten all components to torque specs,
Bike wash and clean
But I would not expect a complete cleaning of the drivetrain. But maybe a light clean up (wipe down the chain, lube. . .)
$130 whoa I do tunes all the time on people bikes just to tweek on it and to test my skill ma but I’m about to start charging
For $130 I’ll have that bike flying like E. T
No cleaning a little over 100. Your better off to clean and inspect then pay for individual services like a brake adjustment or rear derailleur
Just clean your drivetrain homie. Its easy. This should be routine maintenance from the owner
Sounds like they did more than $130 worth of work.
Bike shop labor is very expensive, and you can easily clean your own bike for a few hours and make it look real nice.
Watch BikeFarmer on YouTube for inspiration and encouragement to ‘wipe as you go’
Bro! Remove your own grease before you bring your s*** in. A bike tech is there to fix your bike not clean it.
Looks like the axle is far back in the dropouts. How old is that chain?
Just buy a degreaser and use an old toothbrush and scrub it off. It takes 5-10 minutes to clean a greasy drivetrain.
And that’s why you learn to do maintenance yourself.
That’s a cool looking chain.
[clean your bike before getting it serviced](https://www-nrk-no.translate.goog/stor-oslo/mokklei-skitne-sykler_-_-jeg-er-en-glorifisert-vaskekjerring-1.17825773?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US&_x_tr_pto=wapp)
yeah… in my neck of the woods (Northern Europe) a tune up is just a tune up – make sure critical systems (brakes, drivetrain) are in good working order, replace worn parts as needed (parts sold seperately). depending on how busy the shop is, a tune up is usually a same-day service.
i usually take my bikes in for a complete overhaul a month or so before their season starts (i have a bike that i use for winter commuting in the snow, and two bikes for once the snow has melted – a commuter and an MTB for trail riding) and this service includes cleaning and re-lubing and is about twice as expensive as a tune up. turnaround time is also much longer – again, depending on how busy the shop is, but an overhaul can take anywhere from 3 days to a week.
Bikes don’t need tune-ups.
Having worked in a bike shop, and also having cleaned other things, cleaning a chain etc is not a very viable proposition for a bike shop:
– the more you clean, the more that remaining specks of remaining dirt will stand out. A shop could remove 95% of the dirt and a customer could still (completely legitimately) complain that there is still visible dirt.
– esp if they clean the chain, it will involve some kind of thin degreaser. Some customers will take the bike home, park it over light-colored carpet and then bring in a bill for carpet cleaning after the thing drips a few dark spots of solvent onto the carpet.
Do people also take their shoes to the shoemaker with gum/grease and dog poo attached? No, you clean them before you give them to anyone, same with a bike. Anyone can and should clean their bike; no matter what you pay or what the service claims to do. It’s just common sense and shows respect for the people servicing your bike.
LOL. My mechanic ‘complains’ whenever I bring him a dirty bike.
If you’re going to take your bike into a shop for service, at least have the courtesy to clean it first.
Tune up not restoration. You got what you paid for
Nope 👎
If you want a cleaning you need to ask for it and pay for it, it’s a different service.