3 Month Service

[xybadog]

Anyone know what excatly the LBS is supposed to do to the bike on it's free 3 month service?

[ftasb]

Next to fook all, i'd imagine.

Probably just a visual check that you do indeed have a bike ;D

Don't they just check that nuts are tight, cables, seals, etc?

[Oggy]

Nothing, I used to work in a bike shop and we used to take the customers bikes wheel them in to the back, tell them to come back in an hour then just wheel it back out to themafter we have walked past it for the hour.

To be honest the 3 month service is just a con to make the customer think they are getting something, nothing really needs doing to a bike except maybe a bit of the stretched cable being taken up with a couple of turns of the barrel adjusters.

I wouldn't bother taking it as it will be a total waste of time unless something has gone dramatically wrong.

[xybadog]

What a pile of shite. Thought as much. I should charge them for wasting my time.

[sikora]

Its also a chance for you too point out any niggles you have with your bike. But as Nick says, its just to retorque bolts, tighten cables.

In my experiance though, its a way of making you spend more money.
When i got my Rockhopper serviced, they screwed up the gears, didn't bleed the brakes like i asked, nor did they check my leaking forks

[gw8izr]

Its also a chance for the shop to get out of any warranty claim..

Ah well.. you didn't have it serviced...

Personally I don't trust anyone but me to fix my bike.

[bikegod]

The idea behind the 3 month service is:

re-index the gears -
From new the cables for the gears will stretch, this means the gears wont work properly. The gears should be indexed in this service.

check all bolts for correct torque -
Just like a new car after the running in period, bolts will need to be re-torqued. Failure to do this can cause problems later. e.g. Truvative Powerspline cranks need to be torqued properly or the cranks will fall off.

Re-align brake calipers -
After some use it is normal for the pistons to settle into one position. This is not always the same position that they are set up for when first built.

Lubricate Chain -
Most people wont lube there chain properly, this is a chance for the shop to do it for you.

Thats about it, but all these things can cause problems later if not addressed at this time.

"we used to take the customers bikes wheel them in to the back, tell them to come back in an hour then just wheel it back out to themafter we have walked past it for the hour."

It is true that some shops wont do anything and they will use it as a time to sell you things you don't need. At least now you know what you should be getting out of it.

[xybadog]

Thanks for that ^^^. You actually mention one thing I expected, lube the chain etc. When I picked my bike up after the service I noticed that it hadn't been lubed and I'd expected this to have been done. That's what made me ask this question. Maybe they did feck all with it then.