Lab4Us

Hi all,

Bought brand new, built out of box Trek DS3 back in early Sep. At the time, LBS said bring it back in 4-6 weeks for tune up (tighten cables, check gears, etc). I’ve ridden about 85 miles (Apple Workouts tracked), 5-7 miles at a time, ensuring I work through the gears on every ride and do frequent braking (lots of stop signs in my neighborhood).

Is that enough riding before first check up or should I shoot for more miles first?

cyccommute 

Probably a bit more mileage would be warranted. Put another 100 miles or so on it or take it in if the shifting starts to degrade. The reason for the tune up is to get the cables stretched to the proper length.

And ride it more than 5 to 7 miles at a time! Jeeze! It's a new bike! Ride the wheels off it!

themp

If you Google "how many miles on a bicycle before a tune up", the consensus was 300-400 miles. I did see one post 75-100 miles. That seems low to me.

Bigbus

If it's not giving you any shifting problems or other unexplained noises, I would put a few more miles on it before taking it back. However, if you suspect anything has changed since you bought it, take it in and have them check it out. The only downside to an early inspection is if there's nothing to adjust yet, it'll just be a waste of time for you and the LBS mechanic.

Lab4Us

Would love to. 10 miles once so far. 61 yoa and three stents in my heart slows me down just a tiny bit. Then there’s the first bike in 45 years thing. Working to get up to regular 10 mile rides before it’s too cold. Come next Spring I should be able to push myself a bit harder.

Thanks for the suggestion though, will get some more miles under my belt before I take the bike back in.

mstateglfr 

1- Everyone comes to cycling from a different position in life, so however miles you can ride right now is perfectly OK. Cycling is always better than alternatives like watching reruns or mowing the yard.
2- Assuming everything works as expected right now and for the rest of the fall, check to see if the adjustment/tune-up is for any time within the first year or what the timeline is. In your situation, I would much rather ride it as is for the fall, ride it in the spring, then tale it in later in the spring.

Lab4Us

Thanks ^^^. Another thing to consider! Seems like a pretty good idea too.

berner

Well done Lab4us. It is never to late to have a second childhood. It is not so important how many miles one rides. It is important that you enjoy every ride.

Ross520

Have you considered learning how to perform the tune-up yourself?

I will never go back to a shop for one after visting this website. I can adjust my brakes and derailleurs in far less time than it would take to load-up one of my bikes and haul her off to the LBS.

Doesn't take long to learn either, and once you do, you'll scoff at the idea of having someone else make the adjustments for you.

livedarklions

Bless your heart, literally. That's great! It's admirable that you're taking this up after 45 years, and don't let anyone but your doctor tell you how much you should be doing. You'll know better what will work for you than anyone on an internet forum.

Big thing for me is to have an indoor cardio activity so I don't lose progress over the long winter months. I realize this is a topic shift, but do you have something planned for the winter?

livedarklions

Very minor quibble--pushing a mower isn't a bad cardio activity, plus someone has got to do it. Maybe sell the riding mower as a fitness program?

Lab4Us

Two 60 pound Staffy mixes and just rescued a 6 mo old boxer. First Staffy gets walked 1-2 miles, second 2-3 miles, both 4-5 times a week. Boxer will probably be on three 2-3 mile schedule. So lots of walking! I’m in West Texas. Perfectly normal to hit 50 degree (F) highs mid winter. We walk all through the winter, just later in the day. I’ve been walking first two since adopted (#1 2015, #2 2017), increasing distance over time. Not near as aerobic as the biking, but enough to make me sweat and get the heart rate up. Plus if I’m really adventurous, #2 will run with me any distance I like and I’m strong enough to control his speed on leash. And I think I’ll be able to out a couple times a week on the bike to at least maintain.

Should have mentioned above, first two stents were 2010 @ 52, third was 2013 @ 55. So I’ve been exercising regularly post surgery a while, mostly walking. The bike is a great change of pace, just wanted to explain why I’m okay with shorter distances. I shoot for 30 minute minimum and if I’m feeling good at that point, 10 miles is my goal. I’m still acclimating to bike, trying to find right seat fore/aft and preventing hand numbness around the 6-7 mile mark (without constantly lifting them off the bars).

I do absolutely appreciate the support!

livedarklions

With that history, approaching any change in activity level with some caution seems wise.

Hand numbness at 6-7 miles does indicate to me you've got a problem with fit/position and I assume you've probably read up a bit on preventing that. Have you tried putting bar ends on? I use them for long rides on my FX 3, and it gives me at least two additional hand positions. Bontrager uses a non-standard size for some of its handlebars, so you might have to buy adapters as well as the bar ends.

Wilfred Laurier

The main things that will need adjustment are (1) the shifting (the cable housing will compress slightly and this has the safe effect as the cable 'stretching', which will throw off the shift indexing), (2) Bearings may need adjustment to remove play that developed during break-in (if there is any rattling coming from your wheels or headset then you should have the shop should take care of that immediately); (3) t6he machine built wheels will likely require their spokes to be retensioned after a few hundred kms (letting the spokes stay loose after break-in will result in an out-of-true wheel or broken spokes).

Another thing to keep in mind is that many bike shops will do minor adjustments and not count it as the 'free tune-up' - if something seems like it is not working 100% (for instance, gears don't shift smoothly with every 'click' of the shifter"), the shop may be able to quickly fix that one problem and get you quickly back out on the road, then lay down another few hundred kms and take the bike back before you put it away for the season.

Also, as others said, many of the things they do for a 'tune-up' are quite simple, and if you have even a minor amount of mechanical aptitude and an internet connection you can easily figure out how to do them yourself. This can also come in handy when things go wrong while you are riding and there is not a bike shop handy.

Homebrew01

With the right clothing, you can ride in cold(er) weather. Some cheap gloves, a few layers of clothing, maybe a thin hat under your helmet.

Lab4Us

Already in possession of layers (from dog walking), so a “go” there for riding in colder weather. Wind a big factor here - 22 mph all day today, but 92 (F) lol. I love pushing my lawn mower! As for the at home bike maintenance, maybe after I get to know my LBS guys better. Want to build that relationship for future needs/deals...maybe trade-ins down there road. I am researching how to raise my handlebars using the spacers, so there’s that! I’m generally okay with trying basic maintenance on stuff. My last bike in the 70s was a 10 speed hand me down POS so I pretty much learned how to deal with cables, gears, etc., by trial and error...and no internet. I’m sure I can learn again.

Again, though, the encouragement is great.

02Giant 

I would see if there is a time limit on the free adjustment. If so, ride it up to that point or when it starts to act up, which ever comes first, before taking it in.

Lemond1985

Having someone else work on your stuff is great, until they're not around, and the task falls to you to fix it, and you don't have the first clue what to do.

I remember when I bought my car, I refused pretty much everything they offered to do, but I did agree to let the salesman did set up the bluetooth on my phone. So when it came time for me to add a new phone, I had no idea how to do it myself, and that was really frustrating to have to take a 1/2 hour to figure it out myself, sitting in the car sweating bullets on a hot day with no manual and very little patience.

For that very reason, I like to do all my own work whenever possible on anything I own, but that's just me.

Bigbus

Great minds think alike... Just saying

Lab4Us

True story. When I bought my 2015 4Runner (since totaled by red light runner playing on phone), at pick up, the salesman jumped in with the “let me show you how to set up your phone” line. After about 10 minutes of me watching him not be able to do it, I just said I think you have to do this, then followed about 4 direct and clear prompts from screen to screen and set up my phone. While I get your point, you were lucky to get a car salesman who knew how to use what they were selling. Most don’t!

Lab4Us

So took bike in today because downshifting was skipping gears between 16-10. Found out I can bring in as often as I like first year and covered under warranty. Excellent CS!

TheDudeIsHere

Check the terms of your free tune up. I have had offer anywhere from 60 days to one year. One place offered 3 years but cheesed on it when I took my bike back after 2 years. Change in policy.

If it is 60 days only, then if you wait, you may be out of luck.

Though as some have mentioned, once I started tuning my own, I have no reason to go back. Fairly simple if one has some mechanical ability and common sense.

Gresp15C

Consider the season. Winter is a good time to take a bike in, if you're not planning on riding it in cold weather, though Abilene should be fine year-round. (I lived in Fort Worth for a while). Springtime is when shops get super busy and might take longer.