Before wintertime hibernation, bicycles forage and fill their inner tubes with enough sustenance to feed training-wheeled cubs come spring, a noble act that often leads to serious exhaustion. Help spin the spokes of life with today's Groupon: for $45, you get a bicycle tune-up (a $100 value) at The Bicycle Chain. Choose from any of the store’s five Raleigh-area locations listed in the sidebar to the right. Customers who purchase their bicycle at one of The Bicycle Chain's locations normally get $30 off its service packages, but this Groupon still offers the best deal.

The Bicycle Chain is a chain of specialty bike stores offering bicycles, service, and repair, as well as cycling accessories. These titans of two-wheelers contain full-service repair centers staffed with friendly, knowledgeable salespeople and qualified technicians. Today's Groupon is good for one Tune-Up package, which gives any chromatic cruiser the attention needed to forgo future therapy and remain comfortable for riding. All brakes, shifters, brackets, and bearings, as well as the tire pressure, will be adjusted to the ideal level for riding safely over a vast field of banana peels. Frames and forks will be polished, and chains and gears wiped down and lubricated where necessary. Cranks, bolts, and pedals will be tightened until the bike is ready to be cleaned and polished like Yul Brynner's head. Post primping, The Bicycle Chain's mechanics will advise you of any problem areas, such as a worn brake pad or piece of spinach in your teeth.

Autumn is the ideal time to tune up a bicycle, whether for riding over the rougher terrain of Old Man Winter's grizzled torso, or to make sure your summer antics didn't permanently traumatize any of your ride's soft tissues. All Bicycle Chain locations provide dedicated parking for customers who roll up in four-wheelers due to their bicycles' current status on the injured list.

Reviews

Although some Citysearchers weren't satisfied with the attention they received at the Durham location, other locations such as Cary/Apex have a perfect five-star average from Google Mappers. Four Insider Pagers give the Chapel Hill location a five-star average as well. The Bicycle Chain has more than 2,100 Facebook fans:

• I brought my mountain bike here, after one of the gears broke. I was extremely pleased when the staff at Franklin Street cycles repaired it on-site, and helped fine tune other parts of my bike. – Ryan G., Insider Pages
• Someone suggested trying the Bicycle Chain in Apex. Wow ! I wish i had known about them earlier – Rana, Google Maps