How much does bicycle servicing usually cost?

ColtonGreenwood

So my dad gave me a bicycle for my 17th birthday last week as he wants me to have some exercise instead of always sleeping. However, I want it to be tuned up by this bicycle servicing London shop I found online to further ensure its calibre in the long run as I’m also planning to join a cycling marathon (for beginners) this year. I’m wondering how much servicing would cost me. Anyone? TIA.

cymruchris

What your asking is a bit like asking 'How much does a car cost to service' - or 'how long is a piece of string?' - There are too many unknown factors to answer the question. For example - you might need new brake blocks, there might be a buckle in the wheel that needs truing, the bottom bracket might be worn and need replacing, the tyres could have some tread damage and need replacing - without knowing the bike, it's history, and any faults, it's hard to say what it might cost. For a general tighten and lubrication service you might be looking at around £30 - plus the cost then of replacing any parts worn beyond their useful limit.

The Halfords website will give you a ball-park figure on prices - other cycle shops are available:
https://www.halfords.com/cycling/service/service-centre.html?cm_mmc=&_$ja=tsid:57505%7Ccid:1739468379%7Cagid:69803799002%7Ctid:aud-80976661069:kwd-317276705507%7Ccrid:413896467252%7Cnw:g%7Crnd:7646548205433422008%7Cdvc:c%7Cadp:%7Cmt:e%7Cloc:9045368&gclid=Cj0KCQjw1Iv0BRDaARIsAGTWD1s7n_x9YT9FoyA5M1ACLZoycfYgXiL4I_9DIp9lsuDpuudz5YOXSHsaAs6wEALw_wcB

ruperts

A full service in my local bike shop is £90 but that includes a load of things you don't need if the bike is only a week old, like taking it apart and giving it a thorough clean, adding grease, replacing cables etc. 

If all you want is to make sure the gears are indexed properly and that everything is true and aligned then £30-£40 should be plenty. If the bike was put together by anyone competent then it shouldn't really need any adjustment, so they'll just be checking it for you.

If you plan on taking up cycling as a sport then it would be good to learn how to do things like index gears yourself. There's some good videos on a YouTube channel called Park Tool.

esuhl

Bike servicing is fairly easy.  For most things I've wanted fixed on my bike, the cost of a single service has been about the same as the cost of buying the tools to do it myself. Aside from saving money, it means I can continually make minor tweaks to get the setup "just right", and my bike isn't out of action for a few days in the repair shop.

As above, knowing how to adjust the gears will save you a lot of headache, as they're what often need tweaking.  It would be worth getting a chain-wear guage (a cheap bit of metal to tell you when the chain is worn).  A worn chain will wear out the gears much quicker, so replacing the chain in time can save more expensive repairs.

Hope this helps -- I love the feeling of freedom you get from riding a bike! :-:smiley:

alembicbassman

It's easy to learn how to service a bike yourself, there are a few places that provide classes on how to do basic stuff. I started servicing my own bikes in 2009 and now build them from scratch, there are lots of youtube videos and websites that show you how to do stuff.
Park tool has videos to show you how to fix pretty much everything. You don't have to buy their tools, there are plenty of cheaper alternatives
https://www.parktool.com/
Shimano publishes all of its installation guides in pdf format
https://bike.shimano.com/en-EU/home.html
Sheldon Brown explains just about everything:
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/
General consumables like cables and brake pads are cheap. You're paying for the labour.
The bike below took about 30 minutes to strip down and about 3 hours to re-build with new inner cables, wheel bearings re-greased, headset re-greased and all gears, brakes set correctly. This would have probably cost over £100 in labour and parts, the bike only cost me £60 used !
A basic bike tool kit will allow you to do this and more.

[Deleted User]

I agree with the above poster and would recommend learning to do anything on a bike yourself.They are not like cars where even I as a former mechanic am daunted by most  jobs on cars   .Dads nowadays have no idea how to mend a simple puncture on a bike and do not teach their offspring and so I would recommend that the first thing you learn to do is to learn how to  mend a puncture because sooner or later you will get one ten miles from home  .Also learn to adjust a brake cable and adjust and align  front and rear changers ..A  very useful tool which will be needed at some time is a £5 chain link removal tool .
.Carry with you at all times on long runs  a spare inner tube, puncture repair kit ( for multiple punctures or punctures nipping the inner tube when replacing it )  a multi tool kit plus three tyre removal levers . 
Personally I have never had a puncture out on the road since I took up cycling when I retired a few years ago and would recommend , if you do need new tyres , buying a known brand which has good puncture protection.  I like Continental Gatorskins personally which so far have never let me down but they are difficult to put on  to begin with .Other brands are available which won t have this problem 

Xbigman

Where was the bike purchased? There's usually a free service around the 6 week mark that just checks everything is ok. If bought online from a national retailer (Evans, Halfords) you can take it to any of their shops. Expect a delay due to the Pandemic but most bike shops are open to some extent.
Personally I change brake pads, tyres and chains myself and get a more complete service every 18 months from the LBS who charges £60 plus parts. It can get expensive if you can't do anything yourself so it's well worth learning the basics. 


Darren

Apjs87

Expect to pay anything from £30 - £100 dependant on parts required. I’d visit an independent cycle shop to support those rather than a large chain. In my experience, the large chains such as Halfords aren’t as thorough with their work.