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Bike repair and maintenance
Let our service experts take care of all your bicycle maintenance needs.
Our staff at The Touring Cyclist can handle all your bike repair needs, from sticky brakes to balky suspensions. Our service centers are fully equipped, our technicians have years of experience, and we are ready to take meticulous care of your two-wheeled transportation.
Our mechanics are active cyclists. Some of us ride to work every day. Some of us race. Some of us have toured by bicycle all over the globe on Touring Cyclist tours. Bikes are very important to our lifestyle, and we understand that your bicycle is just as important to you. We treat every bicycle we work on as if it was our own, with all the loving care and fanatic attention to detail it (and its owner) deserves. Our goal is simple: we want every bike we work on to function as well as it possibly can, and we don’t stop until we reach that goal.
Our mechanics are experts at their craft. With extensive in-house training and over a half century of combined on-the-job experience, our staff of technicians is well prepared to meet any challenge.
Our mechanics are happy to help. We are here to answer your questions about bike performance, maintenance and repair. Want information when choosing your next upgrade? Ask us—advice here is always free. Want some formal training in bike repair? Come to us—we offer beginning and advanced courses in bike mechanic skills in the off-season. Our role is to provide unbiased information and cheerful help, not push a particular type of riding or product. We do have an agenda, though: we encourage healthy living through bicycling!
Special prices through March 15, 2008.
Service packages
Preventative maintenance package: (tune-up) This package gives your bike the periodic maintenance recommended by the manufacturer. We will adjust all the major systems of your bike, including the following: shifting system (derailleurs, shifters and cables), braking system (calipers, levers and cables), wheel system, and control systems (handlebars and stem, headset and bottom bracket). This package also includes a wipe down of your frame and lubrication of your chain and cables. $65 ($100 value).
Peak performance package: (tune-up+) This package is designed for the serious recreational cyclist or anyone seeking better performance and a quieter ride. This includes all the service from the preventative maintenance package plus: removal, cleaning and reinstallation/adjustment of complete drivetrain (chain, crankset, both derailleurs), and installation of new shift cables and housing. This package puts the most wear-prone components of your bicycle back in tip-top condition. $90 plus cables and housing ($130 value).
Comprehensive mechanical rebuild (overhaul): This is the ultimate service package, and we highly recommend it every two years for any bicycle that gets regular use, and annually for any bike ridden in sloppy weather. We have a mechanic spend the entire day with your bike, stripping it down to the bare frame and putting it back together good as new. This package includes a complete disassembly, cleaning, inspection, and rebuild of all systems of your bicycle: frame and fork, wheels, cranks, derailleurs, brakes, headset and bottom bracket. Nothing is left untouched, unadjusted, or unloved. $160.
Standard repair labor rates (a la carte)
Flat tire repair: Remove the tire and tube from wheel, diagnose cause of flat, replace punctured tube, reinstall wheel: $10 to $15 (depending on bike) plus parts.
Shifting system adjustment: Inspection and adjustment of front and rear shifting system, recalibration of cable tension, inspection of chain/cassette/chainrings: $10 per derailleur. The above plus cable and housing replacement: $20 per derailleur plus parts.
Braking system adjustment: Inspection and adjustment of front and rear braking systems resurfacing of brake pads, cleaning of rims, realignment of brake pads, recalibration of brake springs: $10 per brake. The above plus cable and housing replacement: $20 per brake plus parts.
Chain replacement: Install new chain, check calibration of shifting system: $10 plus parts. With installation of new cassette: $15 plus parts.
Wheel system adjustment: Adjustment of hub: $10 per wheel. Tensioning and truing of wheel: $15 to $25 per wheel.
Hub rebuild: Disassembly and cleaning of hub, reassembly of hub with synthetic waterproof grease, adjustment of hub: $25 per wheel plus parts.
Control system adjustment: Adjustment of headset or bottom bracket: $10.
Headset rebuild: Disassembly, cleaning of headset, reassembly with synthetic waterproof grease, adjustment of headset: $25 plus parts.
Cartridge bottom bracket maintenance: Removal and inspection of bottom bracket, rechasing of bottom bracket shell threads if necessary, reinstallation of bottom bracket: $25.
Miscellaneous repair work: Specialty projects, suspension system rebuilds, other unlisted repair work: $55 per hour.
Estimates for repair work are always free. Bring your bike in to one of our stores and we’ll give you a detailed analysis of the estimated cost for parts and labor to restore your bike to excellent working condition. We do repair work on a first come, first served basis. Have your bike’s yearly maintenance done in the off-season (October through March) to avoid the occasional long waits for service work that can happen during the spring and summer.
Not all bicycles are repairable. Some bikes are designed to be thrown away, not fixed, and we don’t work on them. Some bicycles are too badly damaged or need parts that are no longer made. We will happily look at any bike you bring to us, but might have to respectfully decline to work on it.