truman sparks
Well-Known Member
Apologies in advance for the long post!
My 2017 M6R is in need of a new rear hinge & bushings as well as replacement frame hinge pin and (probably) stem pin - all jobs which, for the home DIY mechanic, are effectively discouraged by Brompton in various ways including the need for expensive specialist tools not readily available to public, leaving aside the obvious risk of wrecking the frame itself if it all goes pear shaped…
I live in the Scottish Borders, with a very limited number of Brompton dealers within reasonable distance, a number of whom I’ve contacted say they’d need to get the tools sent from another branch to do the requested works, which doesn’t fill me with confidence that they‘ll actually be competent to do the job.
I’d checked a number of Brompton agents’ websites for prices to get a rough idea of likely costs - e.g. London’s Phoenix Cycles rear hinge replacement currently being around £75 and a frame or stem pin £50 inc parts. The Brompton Man in Somerset is £25 and £30 respectively plus parts (approx £20-£30 for the rear hinge kit and around £10 for a pivot pin).
Imagine my surprise, etc when I received the following email from a Brompton recommended outlet in Scotland (no names, no pack drill!) having asked for a quote:
”Without seeing it would be a rough estimate, but based on the worst case it would look something like:
Rear hinge £30
labour £100
Main frame hinge £10
labour £100
Stem hinge £10
labour £100
TOTAL £350
This is based on the worst case scenario of EACH hinge requiring two hours for removal and refitting. They will typically take one hour each, which would be £50 per hinge + parts”.
Now, I realise that the implied ‘best case’ scenario might mean that I’d be looking at around £200 for all three hinges at this dealer assuming one hour for each (I’m aware rear hinge bolts can be ‘fun’ to remove), but this still looks steep - double that of The Brompton Man and £25 more than Phoenix at ‘London prices’. Moreover, I fear if I went ahead with estimated repairs, said dealer would simply say each job was a b****r and charge the full £350 anyway…
I’ve also seen a YouTube video of rear hinge replacement ( the bolt eventually needing drilled out!), which - even allowing for the limited editing - did not appear to be a 2 hour job.
[BTW - I’m not knocking Phoenix, who did an excellent job of servicing & rebuilding my BWR rear hub for only £80 - a job that was considered uneconomic to repair by another Scottish Brompton dealer, who simply sold me a new rear wheel. (My daughter lives in London and took the old wheel to Phoenix) - I have thought of couriering my whole bike down to her to have the works performed there, but it’ll leave me without my bike, which is used for daily commuting, for longer than I’d like, not to mention risk of damage in transit.]
I‘d welcome any comments regarding the estimate costs as being reasonable/unreasonable and/or recommendations for a competent LBS within 60 mile radius of Gretna - Brompton affiliated or not - that’s both familiar and equipped to undertake above jobs.
My 2017 M6R is in need of a new rear hinge & bushings as well as replacement frame hinge pin and (probably) stem pin - all jobs which, for the home DIY mechanic, are effectively discouraged by Brompton in various ways including the need for expensive specialist tools not readily available to public, leaving aside the obvious risk of wrecking the frame itself if it all goes pear shaped…
I live in the Scottish Borders, with a very limited number of Brompton dealers within reasonable distance, a number of whom I’ve contacted say they’d need to get the tools sent from another branch to do the requested works, which doesn’t fill me with confidence that they‘ll actually be competent to do the job.
I’d checked a number of Brompton agents’ websites for prices to get a rough idea of likely costs - e.g. London’s Phoenix Cycles rear hinge replacement currently being around £75 and a frame or stem pin £50 inc parts. The Brompton Man in Somerset is £25 and £30 respectively plus parts (approx £20-£30 for the rear hinge kit and around £10 for a pivot pin).
Imagine my surprise, etc when I received the following email from a Brompton recommended outlet in Scotland (no names, no pack drill!) having asked for a quote:
”Without seeing it would be a rough estimate, but based on the worst case it would look something like:
Rear hinge £30
labour £100
Main frame hinge £10
labour £100
Stem hinge £10
labour £100
TOTAL £350
This is based on the worst case scenario of EACH hinge requiring two hours for removal and refitting. They will typically take one hour each, which would be £50 per hinge + parts”.
Now, I realise that the implied ‘best case’ scenario might mean that I’d be looking at around £200 for all three hinges at this dealer assuming one hour for each (I’m aware rear hinge bolts can be ‘fun’ to remove), but this still looks steep - double that of The Brompton Man and £25 more than Phoenix at ‘London prices’. Moreover, I fear if I went ahead with estimated repairs, said dealer would simply say each job was a b****r and charge the full £350 anyway…
I’ve also seen a YouTube video of rear hinge replacement ( the bolt eventually needing drilled out!), which - even allowing for the limited editing - did not appear to be a 2 hour job.
[BTW - I’m not knocking Phoenix, who did an excellent job of servicing & rebuilding my BWR rear hub for only £80 - a job that was considered uneconomic to repair by another Scottish Brompton dealer, who simply sold me a new rear wheel. (My daughter lives in London and took the old wheel to Phoenix) - I have thought of couriering my whole bike down to her to have the works performed there, but it’ll leave me without my bike, which is used for daily commuting, for longer than I’d like, not to mention risk of damage in transit.]
I‘d welcome any comments regarding the estimate costs as being reasonable/unreasonable and/or recommendations for a competent LBS within 60 mile radius of Gretna - Brompton affiliated or not - that’s both familiar and equipped to undertake above jobs.
