I do a wash and lube about every two weeks. Anything else is done as needed. If you are good about keeping things working right, there is never a need for a full tuneup, whatever that means.

that's about my schedule unless I ride out in some muddier conditions. and once in awhile not on any set schedule I'll throw the chain and cassette in an ultrasonic cleaner just to get them really clean. the full tuneup of course depends on the shop but really is nothing special other than truing the wheels and adjusting bottom bracket. Other than that it's standard stuff.

I went 7 years old my 2008 Cervelo P2c before I actually did any sort of overhaul on it.

Took a lot of work at that point - rusted cockpit/aerobars, fused stem, stuck cabling, etc.

I spent a lot of time overhauling that bike and my 5-yr old also not-maintained road bike, including full groupset replacement on the road bike, cockpit/aerobar replacement on the TT bike.

I gotta admit - I don't know if it was worth it! Sure, I saved about $1000-$1500 by getting the parts myself and installing everything, but not only did it seem like it took forever (I had zero experience, zero friends to show me stuff), but for the first 6 months, I had quite a few annoying problems pop up that I have never had before. Really subtle, hard-to-fix things as a newbie that I totally didn't expect (including having a shifter cable puncture out through the brifter since I didn't put a ferrule on it within the brifter).

I think it's taken me 2 years of little fixes aftewards to finally get my bike the way I'd like it, which is still not as good as when it was new from the LBS.

I still hate swapping stuff in/out on my bikes now even though I know how to do it. If you're only fixing up 1-2 bikes, you simply don't do it enough to easily remember what you did, even if you took notes and pictures along the way. I have to literally restudy my old notes and hope for the best every time, which is seriously annoying.

After my experience, I think it's totally legit to just pay your LBS $100-200 to overhaul/inspect your race bike at the start of the season and then not worry much about it afterwards. The downsides are that where I live, it takes the LBS 2 wks minimum to fix your bike after late spring, and 3-4wks typical in summer. Plus, you can't fix things up quickly in your garage if needed (but a well setup bike won't need much tuning.)

Bikes do not need a tune-up. They do need general awareness for replacement of worn parts or loosens.

• Chain needs lube on a regular interval, depending on what type of lube you use. Just follow their guidelines.
• Derailleur's do not need adjusting unless you have shifting issues.
• Brakes rarely need adjusting unless you change something else.
• In normal life, brake pads will last forever.
  
• Chains will wear out around 3K-5K miles. Just replace it annually depending on your ride volume.
• Stuff will randomly loosen, like headsets, bottle cages, accessories, whatever, from road vibrations. Be aware and tighten as needed.
• Bottom brackets will last a long time. You could replace those annually or every other year just to be proactive. They are cheap.
• Headset bearings will last a long time, until you rust them out with your trainer sweat. You could ditto the bottom bracket schedule.
• Cables and housings last forever. No need to replace them unless you are changing something else.
• Cassettes and chainrings will last close to forever. No need to change them unless you think you have degraded shifting from excessive tooth wear.
  

Great list and my experience matches your advice except for bottom bracket. I have one of the press fit bottom brackets PF30 and so far no problems after four years. Since those things are the dickens to get off, would you wait until there is a noticeable problem, creak or failure?

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Indoor Triathlete - I thought I was right, until I realized I was wrong.

bikes need to be maintained , the idea of letting everything slide and doing a big "tune uip" is generally not a good way to go. Wash it and clean the filth out of the drivetrain frequently, lube the chain and remove the residue, check for play in the bb, headset and hub bearings and keep ends on the cables so they don't fray. If you ride a trainer, use something to keep from sweating all over the bike of wipe of off after with a cleaning spray. Learn to adjust the barrel on your derailleur when the shifting isn't working right.

When things go bad, fix them or have them fixed.

Do you happen to live in a clean and dry area?

Context? Can you be more specific about why you are asking?

I do a dirty ride often that leaves my bike a mess. I wash it with soap and water after and re-lube the chain. I do a lot of hours on a trainer that will corrode my headset if I am not careful. I am careful. I do not live near a beach with sand in the air-- all bets are off for people riding in salty, sandy, beach air. I do not take my road bikes off-road. I generally avoid riding in the rain, but do get caught occasionally.

You answered my question, I was wondering if you rode mostly indoors or in a place like Arizona but it appears you ride in conditions similar to mine.

This^^^. Know your bike. Recognize when stuff needs to be done and specifically request that. If you can replace the chain&cassette and learn how to adjust the shifting, the only thing the shop really needs to do is replace your cables and bottom brackets. Otherwise you are paying $100 for a "wash"

Why would you pay a shop to replace cables and bottom bracket?

I have a press fit bottom bracket on my tri bike so I don't have the tools or knowledge to mess with that.

Tap out the old bottom bracket and press in a new one. You don't need a special tool.

I take mine in basically once a year before my first race and have the shop look it over. Usually they just adjust the derailures some and the me it's fine. This year they trued my rear wheel as it was ever so slightly out of true. That's something I def. don't want to try myself.

Other than that the guy always talks to me about how horrible triathlete's are with their bikes and bring them in all dirty with gel and drink residue all over the bikes and nasty drivetrains etc. He always is surprised that my bike is so clean. This past time he even went off about how he's glad he wears gloves when he works on bikes because he's "heard that triathletes even *gasp* don't stop to use the bathroom and just go on the bike" LOL

Anyway... washing the bike is a major part of that shop's "Tune up." I always wash mine before I bring it in so they just charge me for 15-20mins of labor... usually around $20 or $30 and that's it.

Had my bike 4 years and I've replaced the chain once, got a new bottom bracket, crank, and cassette but that was only to get a different gear ratio for a hilly race and I took the time to upgrade some of those parts at the same time. Still have the same cables etc. with no issues.

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-Nate
Triathlonpal.com
Flaer|Team Kiwami|Nuun Hydration|Honey Stinger
Twitter: @N8deck

Will never forget the day I was spectating at a full distance IM race. Standing a hundred yards or so past the bike mount line, a fellow's crank broke right in front of me. The actual crank arm broke off on the opposite end of the pedal mount. The guy was heart broken to say the least. He said he had been working himself up to the full distance for several years and to not even get a hundred yards into the bike was devastating. Who knows if any kind of maintenance or regular inspection would have prevented this from happening but I started looking at my bike more closely and I always take it to my local mechanic for an inspection prior to any races.

Simply cleaning your bike will usually uncover problems like that.

Like most here I keep on top of things year round. My commuting singlespeed gets very little love and still keeps on going.
I've just got new brake levers for the tt so changed my cables at the same time, gears too as I don't like messing with internal cables too often and everything was open.
If anything new goes on the bike other bits get some attention at the same time.

My best buy was a set of chain link pliers for removing my chain for cleaning.

IF you keep the chain clean-ish (wipe it down after every ride w/ a rag, maybe lube it every 3-4 rides), and check the brake pads (rim brakes) for grit and glaze a few times a season, you should be good for at least 1-2 years of riding, without needing a full LBS tune-up.

The cables should last a good 3-4 years before needing to be replaced, unless you ride in really bad weather a LOT, or it's on the trainer and gets sweated on a lot.
Brake pads - as needed, which seems to be 2-4 years.
I deglaze the pads w/ sandpaper a few times a season, which helps maintain good braking, at the slight cost of wearing down the pads a little quicker.

I sweat like an alien, very salty and corrosive, so about every other year I need some major headset love to be done, so I get the full tune-up, to make sure there's not any other issues I may have missed.

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float , hammer , and jog

I don't really do a FULL, FULL makeover/tune-up. It's usually just constant replacing tuning when needed.

- Full wash, check-over and re-lube, every few weeks depending on how often I ride when it's wet and dirty - after ride when it is wet/dirty - I do the full wash and re-lube shortly after the ride.

- New chain ounce a year on average or when needed, again this is based on use/abuse!

- New BB bearings typically ounce a hear.

- New Handle Bar tape - about ounce a year

- Cables/Housing, on average, about ounce a year

- Brake pads - same, or when needed. (Did 10 days of group riding in Mallorca last month - A lot of very hilly technical riding with lots of braking that toasted the new pads I had just put in before the trip!)

- Saddle - typically every two years

- Tires - when they start to get close to the wear indicators. But before I get there (rear does go faster), I'll rotate the front tire to the rear to get a bit more life out of them as a set!

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

pressfit BBs are super easy to replace. There are plenty of Youtube videos, but find one that makes a DIY tool for install. All it requires is some threaded rod, fender washers and a couple nuts. It is a $10 trip to the hardware store for a perfectly fine BB 'press'. If you don't have 2 wrenches to match the nuts, then add in some more $.

To pop it out, you could get the rocket ship OR again make a DIY tool. That one takes a bit more work, so I just got the park BBT. You only need a removal tool if you want to try to put it back in*. If you are just replacing it, you need a hammer and a fat screwdriver. It will be destroyed on removal, but who cares? You are just trashing it anyway.

...and to the original question: Never. All components are constantly monitored and addressed as needed. All of my bikes are in newish operating condition at all times.


*so do the math. The tool costs $45 and new BBs are $20-30. I can usually reinstall a BB 2-3X before it cracks on reinstall. If I can reuse 3 BBs, the tool paid itself off. I hit that a long time ago.

You can use a hammer and block of wood to install a pressfit bottom bracket.

Agree 100% on de-glazing the brake pads, probably the most overlooked maintenance item I see. Get a little grit in them and they will eat through an aluminum rim in a hurry. You should really sand them down after any significant rain ride because the grit is unavoidable.

I disagree on shifting cables, I would never go more that ~6k miles without at least changing inner cables. The later 10sp versions of Shimano was notorious for shredding shift cables at the brifter and I'd change those more frequently. I don't know if they have fixed that with the newer versions, but it's still a high wear item and it's so cheap and easy to change. I've seen at least 5 people lose RD cables on rides, one of those in a race and she had to finish the race in her 11. The shift housings are more a factor of weather/grit and they will tell you when to change based on shift performance. I normally just change mine any time I change cables. Cables and housing is so cheap if you buy in bulk, ~$10 to install new shift cables and housing.

I've never seen a brake cable fail, they are much thicker than shift cables. I'd say 4 years or 25k miles, which ever comes first.

Chains every ~3k miles is probalby overkill, but they are cheap and who doesn't like rolling a new chain. Wipe/lube chain weekly.

I think old chain causes the biggest problem, so if you replace chain on time, you should be good. I maintain my bike myself and I keep it pretty clean, so no major tune up is needed. Just watch some youtube videos, so you can adjust front and rear derailleurs and service brakes. I do take my rear wheel to LBS and get the hub serviced and wheel truing done. It's not a rocket science, so don't spend too much money or time on it.

Wow, I'm impressed!
I can definitely see that working but I am probably too clumsy for it. I imagine I'd get it a little misaligned and bust the slipover part of the two halves. The DIY press is dirt cheap and slides in super slow and easy to control.