What exactly does "free servicing" entail?

[Justin Fox]

I've noticed some local bike stores offer "free servicing for 12 months" on new bike sales. That sounds a lot more appealing than "first service free"!

I was just wondering what exactly does "free servicing" entail?

 

[Sethius]

I've noticed some local bike stores offer "free servicing for 12 months" on new bike sales. That sounds a lot more appealing than "first service free"!

I was just wondering what exactly does "free servicing" entail?

cable replacement,
hub tightening
cleaning the headset
tyre checking
inspection of the bike
grease up
tightening of parts etc

doenst include fork repairs.blown shocks

some shops include brake bleeding etc

last shop i worked included it.

 

[Buck]

Pretty much as the previous poster said.
My LBS seems to due a quick gear tune-up, lube, hub check, bottom bracket check etc.

It's probably not worth much but it's handy since I can take it in whenever I am too lazy to tinker around with it.

 

[Turner_rider]

I was just wondering what exactly does "free servicing" entail?

In the worst case, a 30 second look at the bike and a recovery of servicing time costs built into the price of replacement parts required...

 

[JaRedy]

I took my new bike into an shop to get my 1 free service and they did sh*t all. It still felt the same.
Wasn't even cleaned.




When I get my bike serviced by FTR it seriously feels new even if it is shite

 

[Plow King]

Sweet fa from my experiences.

 

[pavey]

I took my new bike into an shop to get my 1 free service and they did sh*t all. It still felt the same.
Wasn't even cleaned.




When I get my bike serviced by FTR it seriously feels new even if it is shite

Bike shops are hardly a place to send you bike to be cleaned, it should be clean when you take the bike in.

 

[cameron_15]

Bike shops are hardly a place to send you bike to be cleaned, it should be clean when you take the bike in.

on work experience the first thing the shop i worked at did to a bike when servicing was a clean and polish. just get a rag and wipe off all the dust/mud off the whole bike and just polish stuff like the rims so they look like knew.

 

[adam_lavv]

honest

really its just to check the bikes they are selling doent brake once they leave the shop

 

[Regan]

At the local shop were I work part time they offer Free lifetime servicing on bikes purchased from them. It covers all adjustments/re-grease if needed. They do not clean bikes. It also doesn’t cover any replacement parts or fitting of those replacement parts although they offer 25% off labour charges for bikes purchased from them.

 

[BT180]

My LBS also adjust the brakes after the initial bedding in period.

Every bike shop will vary though.

 

[kevinicus]

Bike shops are hardly a place to send you bike to be cleaned, it should be clean when you take the bike in.

i totally disagree.

a customer is paying money for a service and a proper service should include cleaning the bike.

apart from presentation, dirt does affect the smooth running of the bike.

at the very least, if the kids at the bike store are that lazy a nice simple wipe down isn't too much to ask.

heck, my car dealership even cleans my car when i pop it in for a service

 

[Matt C]

I took my new bike into an shop to get my 1 free service and they did sh*t all. It still felt the same.
Wasn't even cleaned.




When I get my bike serviced by FTR it seriously feels new even if it is shite

Clean it yourself ! It's not there for a cut 'n' polish. Cleaning the bike takes up our time more than anything and just piss' us off. Be grateful you're not paying for it.

 

[pekel]

no clean

a first service shouldnt entitled it to get clean
you should expect it to run exactly the same as the day you bought it
any squeaks gone and any loose parts tightened
parts usually dont get included

 

[climbo]

i totally disagree.

a customer is paying money for a service and a proper service should include cleaning the bike.

apart from presentation, dirt does affect the smooth running of the bike.

at the very least, if the kids at the bike store are that lazy a nice simple wipe down isn't too much to ask.

heck, my car dealership even cleans my car when i pop it in for a service

would you be prepared to pay $100+ for a basic bike service?

PLUS, most bike shops are not designed around a wash bay so they can clean your bike, you should see some of the crud infested pieces of junk that get brought in, you'd never get them clean.

Analogy - If you filled your cars engine, drivetrain and brakes with dirt and grease, would they be happy to clean it all out as part of the service?

 

[climbo]

At the local shop were I work part time they offer Free lifetime servicing on bikes purchased from them. It covers all adjustments/re-grease if needed. They do not clean bikes. It also doesn’t cover any replacement parts or fitting of those replacement parts although they offer 25% off labour charges for bikes purchased from them.

all adjustments? that's a long list of things to get done. Sounds like you could do a lot of free servicing.

 

[Regan]

all adjustments? that's a long list of things to get done. Sounds like you could do a lot of free servicing.

Yeah, we get heaps! If something’s not loose though (eg. hubs/cones...) they don't touch it. But things like brakes and gears are the main items needing attention. And then they just go over the rest of the bike and make sure everything is tight and working properly. And then let you know what is worm out and needs replacing and sell it to you if you want…

 

[Steve-0]

I've never had to use services...as soon as i get a new bike, i go over everything and get it right, because more then once, i've gotten a brand new bike from the shop and alot of the bolts were finger tight. Pick up some tools and learn how to do it yourself and it will turn out way better then any service that a bike shop could do.

Free services should only include the very basic checking over of the bike and tuning of the gears, gosh ITS FREE!!! bike shops make crap all money (in perspective to other small businesses) and they shouldnt be expected to bend over backwards to clean and fix your bike for free.

 

[jazzabro]

hadleys

worst decision i ever made was taking my hadleys bike back into hadleys cycles... they told me id get a free service, pick up next week. a week later told me they couldnt do it free anymore and said my busted shock was fine and charged me $250 to check gears and replace brake pads...