When to get a Bike Tune-Up

After 3 years and 3,000 road miles I’d say my bike was ready for a tune-up.

My maintenance has consisted of replacing a few tubes, oiling the chain, and wiping it down when it gets especially dirty. Other than new Gatorskin Tires and a basic bike computer (similar here), I haven’t changed much on my bike and it’s worked great! I’m not one who likes to futz around with the mechanics of the bike (both the Gatorskin tires and the bike computer were put on by my old coworker, who is a bike enthusiast). I couldn’t tell you what kind of derailleur, crankset, fork, or cassette I have; I’d rather spend my time riding than pretending to be a mechanic.

When I first got my bike I liked that it had brakes on the front and on the shifters. At first I was much more comfortable riding on the tops, so the brake positions were perfect. After lots of rides I became way more comfortable on the hoods and now I ride almost exclusively on the hoods or the drops. (A good explanation of all that jargon.)

Before I did the 2016 Tour de Cure I brought it into Car’s Bike Shop.  Along with the tune up I had them remove the brakes, replace the dirty, worn-out red tape and install my new bike computer. I probably could have figured it all out myself but it would have taken me twice as long with many more curse words. And look how nice the black tape looks?

Not only does it look good, but it rides better now too. Now, if only I could figure out how to change the computer from km to miles…

PS: Isn’t this t-shirt funny?

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