Hi, I have had my new bike for about 8 weeks now using it maybe once a week on average. Is it time for a service? Is this long enough for things to settle in and get them checked?
Bike is an orange five
Is a first service/check over worth it or can it be done at home?
Thanks
how many miles has it done in the 8 weeks??
Usually a couple of rides is enough for components to settle in, the longer you ride on a component that may have started to work loose, the more likely you are to damage it.
Bikes aren't serviced on miles/weeks, but its more about hours - a bit like an MX bike.
And yes, you can do it.
Just buy:
And then whatever tools are required.
I'd go on about 4 to 8 weeks depending on use. Give Orange a call and ask them if the waranty is void if you do the work yourself. Shouldn't really be a service either. More like a post sale check.
Maybe done 1.5 hrs per week so I'd guess an average of 12-15 hrs of riding off road, nothing too technical and no serious drops etc.. Maybe get a few quotes from LBS in the area(Aylesbury).
It will pay dividends if you learn how to do basic things yourself. The linked book is a good start and will give you confidence to 'fettle' more! The Park Tool website also offers good pictorial guides to various tasks. When you are confident to tweak your bike a bit, it will give you confidence when riding. Knowing how to solve a dragging brake or poor shifting gears will allow you to not loose enjoyment in your new past-time.
It's just a case of making sure all the bolts are done up and the gears are still indexed. If you think you can do that yourself (hint: you can) then there's no need to take it to a shop. However, a lot of shops will offer this service for free if you buy a bike from them, so if that's the case you might as well.
speak to where you bought it from. most shops give a free first service ime. worth a call at least.
I normally tell people to bring bikes back for a (free of course) first check-over after 100 miles or so. Really, I pulled that number out of my head with no real logic behind it 🙂
Ride it enough to bed stuff in, not so much that stuff is beginning to wear out.