What Each Bike Tune-Up Level Includes
Shops name their levels differently, but the work follows the same pattern.
Basic tune-up. Adjusting the brakes and gears, torquing the fasteners, lubricating the chain, inflating the tires and a safety check. Trek Chicago's Level 1 adds a headset adjustment and a bottom bracket inspection. Curbside's single tune-up also includes a clean, a tread check and a test ride by the mechanic.
Standard tune-up. Everything in the basic service, plus removing and deep-cleaning the drivetrain, truing the wheels and adjusting the wheel bearings. Trek Chicago's Level 2 and Phat Tire's The Works both describe this step.
Overhaul. The bike is stripped to the frame. The shops list overhauling the hub, bottom bracket and headset bearings, replacing all cables and housing and bleeding or flushing hydraulic brakes. Phat Tire's top tier adds suspension and dropper post service.
Check the contents before the price. The same word covers different work, and one shop's "standard" can equal another shop's "basic".
The tune-up price is mostly labor, so bike service cost depends on four other things.
- Parts. SCAT says its tune-up price "does not include parts," and Trek Chicago says its packages cover labor only. Curbside also lists parts as extra, with installation at $25 each. A new chain costs about $30 to $60, so a tune-up that finds a worn chain adds to the total.
- Hydraulic brake bleeds. SCAT lists its Level 2 at $110 and the same service with a hydraulic brake bleed at $135. A bleed is part of the overhaul tier at other shops.
- E-bikes and unusual bikes. Curbside charges $20 more for an e-bike ($139) and $149 for recumbents, tandems and cargo bikes.
- Small fees. Trek Chicago notes that a $3 shop charge may apply to tune-ups.
SCAT also installs parts bought from the shop without a labor charge. Ask whether your shop does the same before you buy parts elsewhere.
How Often Should You Get a Bike Tune-Up?
Once a year is the common answer, and the sources agree on it. A Trek dealer's maintenance chart puts a check of all bearing systems, including the bottom bracket, at yearly or about 6,000 miles. USA Cycling lists re-greasing the headset and bottom bracket bearings among the jobs for every six months to a year. SCAT recommends its Level 2 tune-up twice a year and its Level 3 once a year for a geared bike.
Ride more, or ride in the wet, and the intervals shorten. A bike that shifts badly, brakes weakly or makes new noises should go in before its next scheduled service.
Which Bike Tune-Up Level Do You Need?
Start with what the shops recommend themselves. SCAT calls its Level 3 tune-up with cleaning the annual service for a geared bike, and its Level 2 the semi-annual service. In our view, a bike that is ridden regularly and looked after between services usually fits one of those two levels. A full overhaul suits a bike that has gone years without attention, or one ridden hard in wet and gritty conditions.
You can narrow the choice further by checking what is actually due:
If most of that list is current, a basic or standard tune-up is enough. Say what you want done when you book, instead of choosing the top package by default.
How Componentry Helps You Pay for What the Bike Needs
The price of a tune-up depends on the work it finds. Componentry adds the distance and ride time from every Strava, Garmin or Wahoo ride to each part on the bike you rode. You can see which parts are approaching their limits before you book, and the next service starts from a known list.
You can also log each service when it is done. A dated service history shows a buyer the bike was looked after, which our guide to service history and resale value covers.
Shop price lists (checked October 2026):
Interval sources:
Related Componentry guides:
