Going to lbs and being nosey....

[Joe24]

While in the LBS today i was standing around looking at the lights. Anyway a guy comes in and asks for a new valve for the tyre on his bike tyre. Strange i though, and the guy that works there tells him you cant get them, how its happened and that he needs a new inner tube. The guy that came i think thought it was going to be expensive. He then asks if he could bring it in, and asks how much it would be for him to do it. Even more strange, how can you not change an inner tube yourself? £8.50!!! for he inner tube and it to be changed. He then asks how he got the front wheel out, so was showed how to do that.
£8.50 to take an inner tube out and put a new one in!!! I asked him about it, he said hes doing it pretty cheap, some do it for £10!
I think i should start my own bussiness going around changing inner tubes for people.
He also said that he has lots of people come in and paying up for him to change the tube.
I understand they have to charge for doing it, but why dont the people just change the tube themself? Its a 10min job at the most, and isnt the hardest. But they decide to drive down to the bike shop, leave the tyre or stand around waiting for the tube to be changed, then drive home.
Why?

 

[gbb]

Some people just cant be bothered, some dont want to get dirty, some are scared of even (what are to you and me..) simple jobs.
Its the same in the garage trade....any trade really

 

[mr_cellophane]

I suppose that depends if the £8 included the tube (and rim tape)

 

[Joe24]

I suppose that depends if the £8 included the tube (and rim tape)

Yeh, included the tube. Not so bad, but still bad for someting so easy.
I guess it might be because the person didnt wont to get dirty.

 

[Mr Pig]

But it's the same with everything. I wonder why people pay to have their cars serviced, kitchens fitted, houses decorated, carpets laid...

 

[Cyclista]

I quite often talk with the guys in my LBS and they tell some weird stories about this sort of thing, mainly people who bring in just the wheel and ask for the tube to be changed!

I thought that this was going to be about sneaking into the workshop and rummaging around in the spares box they keep hidden away!

 

[marinyork]

I've changed people's MTB tyres and found them fairly all right but I don't think all tyres are dead easy to change. My Marathon Pluses are a complete nightmare to change.

 

[ChrisKH]

And has no one here, never completely messed up a tube replacement? I know I have. There is a bit of a tehnique to doing it and some bike wheels can be tricky (eg Brompton rear wheel for example) so I'm not surprised people do bring them in. I once watched a bike at work sit in the stands for a couple of months with a puncture. In the end I did a Ninja repair and the girl who owned the bike was elated. She didn't sleep with me though.

 

[Losidan]

I remember going to my local a few years back and he was stacked with bikes to repair...He said nearly all were in for puncture repairs.

i suppose I can see why if you are not really into cycling...They have probably tried to get the wheel off with a rusty spanner or socket which has rounded the nut off. Those that do manage it try getting the tyre off with the back of a spoon and given up after bending three or four.

Those that do get past that point that presta valve doesnt work at the garage car tyre pump so cant reinflate it anyway....

In the end, £8 is looking fairly good value to them

 

[gavintc]

And has no one here, never completely messed up a tube replacement? I.

Yep, been there and with a group from the club ride standing around on a cold winter morning. I was not the most popular man. I think it was because I was rushing it and nicked the tube - twat.

 

[Hilldodger]

don't knock people who don't want to repair their bikes, we make a lot of money from fixing/servicing bikes. All bike shops do.

 

[swee'pea99]

When I used to work in a camera shop, people used to come in all the time asking if we repaired cameras. 'Have you checked the battery?' we'd ask. Almost to a man (and woman) the response was: 'Battery?'

 

[Maz]

Some people don't feel confident (or don't have the time or inclination) doing jobs which to others seem really easy. I used to feel the same about chain and cassette replacements, but I'm ok doing that now.

 

[andy_wrx]

I went into Edinburgh Bike Co-Op in Manchester last year, just after they'd opened.
The guy in front of me in the queue said he had a puncture.
OK, said the assistant, do you just want a new tube or do you want us to repair it - the tube's £3 or the repair's £8 but because we're very busy it'll take 10 days.
To my astonishment, the guy left them the wheel to fix.
When he'd left, I said to the assistant that I was amused that someone didn't know how to fix a puncture and so was willing to pay them to do it, but that I was amazed that they'd wait 10 days for it.
He said that they were right next to the university, got lots of students in, who didn't really use their bikes that much and so they would happily wait.
He said 10 days wasn't really reasonable, not the standard of service they wanted to offer, but that they'd only just opened and had been overwhelmed the demand they'd got, so they were recruiting more mechanics.

 

[just jim]

I went into Edinburgh Bike Co-Op in Manchester last year, just after they'd opened.
The guy in front of me in the queue said he had a puncture.
OK, said the assistant, do you just want a new tube or do you want us to repair it - the tube's £3 or the repair's £8 but because we're very busy it'll take 10 days.
To my astonishment, the guy left them the wheel to fix.