# What's Lifetime Service worth?



## damacl6 (Aug 15, 2011)

I am getting ready to buy my first bike. I've narrowed it down to the '11 Giant Defy 3 and the '12 Cannondale Synapse Alloy 7. After putting pedals on the Canonndale the cost for the bike would be about $980. The cost of the Giant is $749. Both shops were great, I would be very comfortable buying my first bike from either. Both bikes felt great as well. So the big difference is the service plans that come with the bikes. 

With the Giant I would get free adjustments for 60 days and 5 free tune ups to be used at my discretion. The Cannondale shop gives a lifetime service plan. This is the link to that Infinite Lifetime Service | Infinite Cycles Bike Shop

So the question is, what is the lifetime plan worth, assuming I own the bike for at least 5 years? Is it worth the extra $200+ dollars I would pay for the Cannondale? Just wondering if folks had to put a monetary value on the service plan what it would be.


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## ezrida (Aug 20, 2011)

Depends on how good are you at maintaining your bike and how good you are with the tools. Sounds like a good service plan if you're keep the bike for a while. But most good lbs offers lifetime free service. If you read their excluding criteria, you still can be charge for basic stuff, at their determination.
If you get a complete tune up every six months at $48 each, over 5 years is $480, not including other minor stuff that you can bring it in for. 
But the service plan should not determine which bike for you to get, but which one feels/fits the best to you when riding. But a good service/warranty plan by the lbs is the icing on the cake.


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## damacl6 (Aug 15, 2011)

I have absolutely no experience maintaining bikes and am honestly not great with tools. Both bikes felt great. Like I said, the shop that sells the Giant gives 5 free tune ups compared to lifetime with the Cannondale. Given that both bikes felt equally good and both shops were great, I'm trying to decide if the lifetime service is worth the extra $250 or so the Cannondale costs. Maybe I need to go ride them again. Are there other differences in the bikes I'm missing that might help make the decision? Component wise they seem very similar and from what I've read quality wise Giant and Cannondale are both good. Both have a triple crank, which I'm looking for. Anything I'm missing? I've got two weeks to stew over this till I have the money so I will keep researching, opinions would be great though.


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## ezrida (Aug 20, 2011)

seems like you are also paying msrp for both bikes. I think with the 2011 giant defy you should be able to get a little more discount, given that the 2012 models are coming out. That's i would do, negotiates with the shop to knock a few $$ off, or adding in some accessories. Try riding other bikes as well and compare them. 
Many shops are having sales for the 2011 models, you should be able to find the defy for cheaper imo.
Both the giant and c-dale frames are good quality. Appears to me that the components on the c-dale is a little bit better. 
So another thing to consider when deciding is which lbs will give you the best in store fitting before you take the bike home. Are they willing to swap out saddles, stem, etc of equal value for better fit? ask them, worse they can say is no


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## cxwrench (Nov 9, 2004)

i'd have to say it's not worth very much. most shops will do minor adjustments on bikes they sell for no charge. this shop you're looking at is not going to give you 'free tune-ups'...they're going to give you free adjustments. they specifically mention that their so-called free work does not include normal wear-and-tear items like pads, chains, cassettes, etc. oddly enough, those are the items that are replaced when a 'tune-up' is done. a derailleur or brake adjustment is not a tune-up, it's an adjustment. if you take your bike in after a year and need a new chain, pads, and cables/housing, they are definitely going to charge you for labor to do all that work. they are basically making a big deal out of something that most shops will do for free, or a very minor charge.


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## superjesus (Jul 26, 2010)

cxwrench said:


> i'd have to say it's not worth very much. most shops will do minor adjustments on bikes they sell for no charge. this shop you're looking at is not going to give you 'free tune-ups'...they're going to give you free adjustments. they specifically mention that their so-called free work does not include normal wear-and-tear items like pads, chains, cassettes, etc. oddly enough, those are the items that are replaced when a 'tune-up' is done. a derailleur or brake adjustment is not a tune-up, it's an adjustment. if you take your bike in after a year and need a new chain, pads, and cables/housing, they are definitely going to charge you for labor to do all that work. they are basically making a big deal out of something that most shops will do for free, or a very minor charge.


This mirrors my own experience. The shop I bought my first bike from years ago offered "free lifetime tuneups." What they failed to mention during the sale was that those tuneups are generally done by their trainee mechanics and that the free tuneups are pushed to the back of the maintenance queue whenever the shop has paying service jobs. I admit that I brought my bike in at peak tuneup time in late April, but my 30 minute routine tuneup took 8 days to turn around. 

Another local shop offers a "Lifetime Service" plan for an additional fee. This plan basically covers all bench fees; all you pay for are parts. IMO, this is a much better type of plan that I would gladly pay extra for. 

Don't be fooled by the word "free." You will end up paying for the service you get one way or another.


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## BeginnerCycling (Jun 4, 2011)

Looks like the shop with the Cannondale is charging you $111 over MSRP for this "free" service, while the Giant shop is charging you $51 less than MSRP -- granted, they should be giving a discount on 2011's now, but still, the Cannondale shop is not doing you any favors. 

Let me also say that 60 days + 5 more tune-ups is better than most shops where I live (they mostly give the "first maintenance" -- tightening cables after the breaking-in time, etc.). To be honest, I think 5 is probably enough for several years -- by the time you use those up, you will probably either: (1) be ready to upgrade; (2) [hopefully] have gotten comfortable doing most common tune-up repairs yourself (bikes are fairly simple, and lots of good YouTube videos out there, so saves the hassle and wait of taking it to the shop); or (3) [hopefully not] have decided cycling is not for you, and not be riding. So, I wouldn't really give any value to the "lifetime" plan over the 60 days +5 plan.


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## Kodi Crescent (Aug 3, 2011)

I don't think the lifetime service is worth anything. The shop rarely sees a bike return for its 30 day tune up, much less any after that. As CX stated, mostly the tune ups are adjustments anyhow.

I used to use a LBS staffed with a bunch of teenagers. I realized that they had no vested interest in maintaining my bike correctly. I had to be very diligent about making sure they actually did what I paid them to do.

I now use a guy who runs his own shop. He has skin in the game and a vested interest in ensuring that I come back. That's worth paying for.


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