Estimate £ of my LBS job.

[Profpointy]

On the one hand it's up to the shop whether they feel there's a living to be made doing this or that kind of work.
And given an earlier poster suggested taking it to several shops for a quote, and then presumably only one (if that) actually gets the work, so why bother

But on the other hand, a snooty response saying "we only work on bikes bought here", pretty much ensures any further bike spend, which could after all be your next bike purchase (£1500 or whatever) will drop in someone else's till - not good business in my book.

But again, in the local Cheltenham paper, some silly cow wrote in to complain that a bike shop wanted a fiver to change a tube, and wouldn't (I am quoting) "help a damsel in distress", by effecting a "temporary repair" whatever that may have been in her mind.

I do my own servicing but would have no objection to paying someone a fair price to do a job of work I found trick or simply couldn't be arsed with for any reason. As I've previously posted, all of us here will have happily paid a fiver for a coffee and a sandwich at some point - neither of which require great skill to make !

 

[boydj]

Not unreasonable for an LBS to want to see it first. One person's 'brand new' is not the same as anothers.

£30-£40 per hour is the going rate. It's not a difficult job, but if I was swapping bars, then there is a good chance, as a minimum, you will want new gear and brake inners (if already new) as the crimping the ends and the clamping of the cable in the mechs/calipers deforms the cables, so they won't thread back in well.

It's a simple job, but does take time. Personally I'd learn to do it yourself. You will also need to learn how to pre-load the headset if removing the stem, again easy. You won't need loads of tools to do this, but it may set you back the equivalent of the labour rate. It's always good to build up your tools bit by bit, that's how I did mine. I have hundreds of pounds worth of tools, bike stands and wheel truing stands now, but that's collected over many years.

Bikes are not hard to work on, and there are so many videos these days explaining how to do it, it's simple.

All good info, but I think I could change the bars without undoing any cables. There should be enough play in the cables to get the levers off the bars with them connected.

 

[SteCenturion]

It seems that some members here have kinda lost the plot thread.

While there are a lot of very valid comments/perceptions etc, if read carefully the question is not 'is £30, 40, 50 per hour fair but...

Is it fair not to give a rough idea of cost of a job & how long would it take an experienced bike mechanic with a workshop/shop floor & all the specific tools at their disposal.

Also questioned is the "I need to see it 1st" thing when I clearly told him everything was brand new (fact) & the question of "my dad might be able to do it when he helps out on saturday".

Now, his dad might be a very nice bloke & possibly the ex mechanic for Michael Schumacher & Ferrari - we don't know, but he could also be Victor Meldrew.

As for the other lbs "I won't do any bike not supplied by me" - well...

As one very wise post said - not very good business & unlikely to see my money for a new bike etc - well he won't sell me so much as an energy bar.

The fact that someone feels their time/skill/qualifications or anything else is worth £30 - 50 per hour doesn't bother me at all but where's all the ambiguity coming from ?

It is a simple job (fact) for a 'bike mechanic' who does this all the time with all the correct tools.

The job was explained 'thoroughly' & 'clearly' -

If he doesn't want the work or can't handle the volume of work on his books for example, I will just travel further afield & find someone who does/can.

If I feel they have done a good job & not charged me 3 hours for a 90 minute job then they will see business again & furthermore might get recommendations to others, thereby enhancing their cash flow/profits/reputation - can't be a bad thing can it ?

 

[Andrew_P]

I would imagine a month working in a bike shop might answer a lot of your questions, I bet loads of people describe stuff as brand new when reality is different. Or come in armed with description of it only needs a new chain when in fact half the drivetrain is fubarred. I couldn't imagine anyone quoting from someone walking in describing what needs doing. I would say take the bikes or parts in next time when you want the quote. For the sake of all the aggro I would just drop them off and risk getting ripped off, in my experience it seldom happens.

 

[Big Nick]

I think its clear that lbs didn't want your custom, clearly they don't follow the philosophy of 'no job too big or too small'
The job you list is easily done at home and the 'specialist tools' you mention are a cassette removal tool and a chain whip which will only cost around £25 (surely you have Allen keys?)
Unless you're Frank Spencer or just can't be bothered you'd be far better off doing the job yourself which will teach you more about your bike and give you a sense of achievement when you've done it

 

[e-rider]

You have a point there.
I'm so lucky I recently found the LBS mechanic of my dreams ... she does not mind showing how it's done, while doing the repairs.

maybe she could show me how it's done too - what's the address?

 

[Cyclopathic]

I'd say somewhere between £25 and £40 depending on some variables. I also think it is necessary to see a bike before giving an estimate on any job. It is possible sometimes that changing a handlebar set up will require new brake cables to be fitted and this will affect the price. If you give some one an estimate without seeing a bike and then find out that there is more to it than mentioned people get understandably upset when you tell them it will cost more.

You are not just paying for the mechanics time but also the overheads. It's not as if charging £30 to do the job means they earn £30, not by a long way. If you paid the £10 or £15 I've heard mentioned the mechanic could well be working for minimum wage or less. Also you are buying that hour for yourself. You have to figure into it how much you would want to be paid for an hour (possibly longer if inexperienced and have to re-do things to your satisfaction) of work. It is entirely possible that you could be using that hour to work at your own job so that also has to be taken into account.

Being a bike mechanic is not an incredibly difficult thing to do but to be a good one does require paying attention to detail and putting in an effort to be consistent. Hopefully that is what an l.b.s will provide. I've had people try to haggle £6.50 to fix a puncture, saying that it is an easy and quick job, but don't want to do it themselves.

 

[Cyclopathic]

You have a point there.
I'm so lucky I recently found the LBS mechanic of my dreams ... she does not mind showing how it's done, while doing the repairs.

She sounds like a diamond. I am more than willing to explain what has gone wrong and show people the worn out/broken part afterwards but I find it almost impossible to work with people watching me. I do like to try and show people what the issue has been because I think it's important that they know and can watch out for these things in future.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

It seems that some members here have kinda lost the plot thread.

While there are a lot of very valid comments/perceptions etc, if read carefully the question is not 'is £30, 40, 50 per hour fair but...

Is it fair not to give a rough idea of cost of a job & how long would it take an experienced bike mechanic with a workshop/shop floor & all the specific tools at their disposal.

Also questioned is the "I need to see it 1st" thing when I clearly told him everything was brand new (fact) & the question of "my dad might be able to do it when he helps out on saturday".

Now, his dad might be a very nice bloke & possibly the ex mechanic for Michael Schumacher & Ferrari - we don't know, but he could also be Victor Meldrew.

As for the other lbs "I won't do any bike not supplied by me" - well...

As one very wise post said - not very good business & unlikely to see my money for a new bike etc - well he won't sell me so much as an energy bar.

The fact that someone feels their time/skill/qualifications or anything else is worth £30 - 50 per hour doesn't bother me at all but where's all the ambiguity coming from ?

It is a simple job (fact) for a 'bike mechanic' who does this all the time with all the correct tools.

The job was explained 'thoroughly' & 'clearly' -

If he doesn't want the work or can't handle the volume of work on his books for example, I will just travel further afield & find someone who does/can.

If I feel they have done a good job & not charged me 3 hours for a 90 minute job then they will see business again & furthermore might get recommendations to others, thereby enhancing their cash flow/profits/reputation - can't be a bad thing can it ?

Possibly not helped by your contribution in Post #19.

 

[musa]

the only reason why a bike shop may say they cant say for sure until they see the bike is if more work is needed ie parts or something, then they can give you a proper price ratherthan do work then tell you when you come to collect oh we had to do this........if its only the bars etc needing doing then they are not obliged to do other work without informing you....but the estimate could have been given

 

[mr messy]

Ah the number of times i've been handed supposedly correct new parts to fit to something in perfect condition.
The customer always wants a fixed price and once quoted believes that will be all they'll pay no matter if there's sheared bolts, seized fixtures, poor fitment, etc, etc that has nothing to do with the repairer. Customer considers they're been ripped off if bill has increased. If you build a contingency into original quote the customer thinks you're trying to rip them off! Freebies cost a business money, people should be aware of that.
Yes you can give a rough guesstimate for straightforward things but you should always emphasise to customer it is only that.

 

[screenman]

I would like to hear what the shop has to say, give me a name and I will give them a call.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

maybe she could show me how it's done too - what's the address?

Local to me, do you mind traveling a bit for your repairs?

 

[SteCenturion]

Possibly not helped by your contribution in Post #19.

Don't get the #19 thing - did you.count them up ?
Doesn't show numbered posts on my phone where I do all my forum stuff.

Remind me what I said that brings you to this conclusion & I will re-read it.

May have not been worded clearly enough.

 

[uclown2002]

Local authority consultant my boss - not the only pie he has his finger in.

Me however 1% pay rise in 4 years.

He - not governed by the same rules imposed by Cameron & his 81TCH - Clegg.

Still I can be happy knowing that -

"We are all in it together".

The text above is post #19