Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Are you a repair shop or do you sell bikes?
A: Both. I like to think that, as a bicycle is greater than the sum of it's parts, so is Southwest Bicycle. Sure, we service, repair, modify and upgrade bikes as well as sell new, reconditioned, and pre owned bikes but we also have accessories, parts and friendly advice about most anything bicycle related.
Q: How much do you charge for a tune up?
A: "Tune up" means different things to different people. The service we call a Basic Tune up costs $60 and includes adjusting everything on the bike starting with the bearings to make sure they are not too tight or too loose and spin smoothly in the wheels, headset and bottom bracket. If you're not sure what all those are, here is a glossary of bike terms. Shifting and braking mechanisms are adjusted, the wheels are trued, worn parts are replaced as needed, a light cleaning is done and all nuts and bolts are checked for safety.
We also offer what we call a "Performance Tune" for $90. It's something I took back with me from my days working on the road with the pros that involves degreasing the entire drive train including crankset, sprockets, chain and derailleurs. In addition, the entire bike is washed so you get it back looking and working it's very best. This is the same service the pro's get because the sponsors want the bikes to look their best at the start line and the riders demand the bike work it's best during the race. Then I take it a step further and the rear derailleur jockey pulleys are ultra-sonically cleaned in a special solution with 46,000 exploding microscopic bubbles per second. To my knowledge, Southwest Bicycle is the only store to offer this service. No one else will do it. So instead of a black, greasy chain and sprockets that you try not to touch or get on anything, you will have a transmission literally clean enough to eat off of. When your transmission is clean, it will last longer and work smoother.
Replacement parts are additional and typically include chain, shift and brake wires and brake pads. To finish it off you might want fresh bar tape or grips. They go a long way to make the bike look and feel like new. Just need a brake adjustment? We can do as much or as little as you need.
Q: What's the difference between a tune up and an overhaul?
A: We often hear from customers that their bike was "overhauled" sometime earlier when it was actually only tuned up. A "tune up" takes care of all the mechanical adjustments on the bike such as bearing preload, wheel trueing, brake and derailleur adjustments but does not get into the bearings themselves. When we do an overhaul, the bike is stripped to the bare frame and the bearings in the hubs, headset and bottom bracket are disassembled, cleaned, inspected and rebuilt with new bearings and grease. It's more work, time, and money. If you are riding the same bike every day, it should be done about twice a year to prevent wearing the bearings to the point the races become damaged and need to be replaced. An example would be a 70's vintage French bike. If the crank bearings had been serviced on occasion, it will probably work fine for many more years. If on the other hand, it had only been tuned up, the bearing races may be worn out and no longer serviceable. The solution would be to simply replace the ruined bearings, right? Wrong. You can't buy a French threaded bottom bracket and now your otherwise nice vintage ride is a wall hanger good only for looking at or spare parts. If you love your old bike, get it overhauled. The required frequency depends on the type of seals if any, the conditions you ride in and how often you ride. The rule is, overhaul bearings before they need it and it will cost less in parts. This can be done a little at a time. You might have the bottom bracket done one time and the rear hub another time.
We will do as much or as little as you need. By the way, have you checked the price of an overhaul at the big bike stores? Their sale price is close to our regular price!
Q: Is my chain okay?
A: Probably not. Most people think the number one replacement part on a bike is tires or brake pads. They're not. It's the chain. Keeping a fresh chain on a clean transmission is the best way to ensure smooth, reliable shifting and longer lasting sprockets. Generally speaking, the more speeds your bike has the more frequently the chain needs replaced. For instance, A chain made to run on a 10 speed cluster is narrower than a 7 speed chain so the load bearing surfaces are smaller and wear faster. Chains and sprockets wear together. If you run a chain too many miles, chances are that when you replace it the gears will "jump" because it no longer meshes smoothly on the worn cogs and you will need a new gear cluster as well. Even if the chain does not skip, running it on worn cogs will accelerate the wear so a new chain will last only a fraction of time it should. Change the chain more often and the sprockets will wear much longer. For more on chains, look here.
Q: Is my bike worth fixing or is it a total piece of junk?
A: If you have to ask....
Unfortunately, most department store bikes are designed to be throw aways never having been intended to get much service beyond flat fixing. They are short term bikes intended to last a year or two and then be discarded. Check Goodwill or craigslist and you will find lots of them of them for cheap. The problem is, all those used department store bikes probably need service that costs even more than what you paid for it the first place and after it's serviced, you still have used cheap bike. There are some good bikes at Goodwill and craigslist but it takes an experienced eye to spot them. I don't want to sound 100% negative. Sometimes these bikes are in decent shape and will work for limited use. I once rode a Huffy Trans Am from San Diego to Phoenix with 50 pounds of packs before it broke. Your mileage may vary. We look at them on a case by case basis. I'm often reluctant to work on these bikes because people think that if a professional at a respected bike store works on the department store bike that it will somehow be transformed from a river bike to a precision machine simply from my touch. In fact, thin, wobbly sprockets shifted by a crude, stamped steel and plastic derailleur will only work so well despite the best efforts of good mechanics. They are harder to work on and take longer because getting a precise adjustment out of a crude cheap steel stamping is challenging at best. The result is you pay for a tune up that doesn't really help the bike work a whole lot better than it did before. I'll be happy to take a look at your bike and help you determine if you want to fix it or scrap it.
Today a guy brought in a nice, old bike he bought from craigslist to get it serviced. I took a look at it and told him it would need a new headset because the one on it was broken. Had he been able to spot that, he might have negotiated a much lower price or passed on it altogether. About every two weeks someone brings in a "great deal" they just bought to get tuned up and I have to tell them it needs $$$ worth of work to make it work right. If you don't live bikes like we do, perhaps you could get the seller to let you have a mechanic look at the bike before you buy it.