How often should you get a Major tune up or a full overhall of your bike

Peter Carroll

I've had my bike for 5 years or so, and I've had some basic tune ups, done a bunch of races.  The one thing I haven't done is ever get a major tune up or a full overhall of my bike.  How often should one of those be done? 

Steven Ford

My 2 cents is if you are doing your regular maintenance work you would know or your LBS would know if you needed something more. Are you noticing any issues? My LBS give my bike a good look at once a year and always before a big race so if they see anything they bring it up.

Scott Alexander

At the beginning of each year/season, each of my bikes gets a new chain, new cables (brakes and/or shifting), new handlebar tape, new tires, everything lubed/greased and tuned up, by the LBS.

I really should start to learn how to do this myself and save some money!

Paul Hough

I'm with Stephen.  Bikes just aren't that complicated where a complete "overhaul" is needed.  Whenever I take any of my bikes to the LBS for a specific service, my standing order is always to fix anything else they see wrong while it's in the shop.  In my mind, an overhaul is only needed when a bike hasn't been serviced at home and hasn't been to the shop in over a year (assuming it is being used regularly).

Dave Tallo

I think the bb, headset and hub bearings could probably stand an overhaul after 5 years.   The other stuff to follow Scott's yearly schedule. 

As as an additional item, I want to get better at taking an afternoon in mid-season to completely remove, degrease and reinstall all the other bolts (seat collar, seat, aero armrests, pedals, etc).   Just a few hours, a beer or two, a torque wrench and a guy with a bike.    Why?    Because I have now had 3-4 experiences when I travel to an a race, pack and unpack my bike, and then arrive to find that a bolt has corroded, rusted, stripped, or whatever ... and what was first a bolt problem ends up leading to a failure and complete reinstall/replacement of a larger component, which needs a special part to now get it back together after an os and season of abuse ... which ends up costing a few hundred bucks to have the manufacturer send via 'same day ' to the race site .... and so forth.   Plus, it's enjoyable once in a while.

(Timely question because this Friday afternoon is bike work/play day!)

Paul Hough

@Dave Tallo  - corrosion is my biggest problem from sweating buckets in the heat here...so none of my bikes are going to come close to 5 years for that.  For example, my BMC TMO1 needs headset bearings replaced every year or sooner due to the design that allows me to drop sweat right on them.  With 4 bikes in rotation, I am only going to get about 3 yrs per BB and hub.  And I have to check bolts for corrosion too. I travel with a spare RD hanger, spare seat post clamp, and a set of the most likely bolts that tend to corrode/strip.

Shaughn Simmons

The best answer is "It depends".....

How much volume does your bike get a year?

Some peeps have 2 or more bikes and they spread the volume across several bikes.

Some sweat more than others and some provide more weekly maintenance than others.

My general rule is that unless something is making a weird noise or broken, I consider the need for a major overhaul once a year, meaning, I disassemble the bike completely, check for corrosion, wear, etc......if I find nothing, I put it back together, otherwise I fix it myself or take to the LBS.

SS

Peter Carroll

Thanks everyone!  Sounds as if since its been 5 years or so that I should just have everything taken apart and see what happens.  Then i'll be better about removing some of the things I can remove and check them every 6 month/year.
Thanks!

scott dinhofer

i refer to "the rules"

Rule #4//

It’s all about the bike.

It is, absolutely, without question, unequivocally, about the bike. Anyone who says otherwise is obviously a twatwaffle.

Dave Tallo

Case study: 2 weeks out from my race, in friday's tear-down, I saw that the L aerobar armrest had cracked.   Ride the RR with the rest (literally) ziptied to the bar.  Happy that it wasn't a race day surprise.