Is £30 to put 2 sides of bicycle brakes a rip off?

[fossyant]

Hard late braking is the sign of someone who doesn't use the roads properly, no matter what sort of vehicle you are in.

STRAVA !

 

[Deleted member 26715]

The OP is rightly concerned about being ripped off. A problem nowadays with internet reviews and watchdog /rogue trader TV programmes . We expect every plumber builder and cycle repairer to be a crook .Where as in reality there are many who want to provide a service make a reasonable living and build up a base of satisfied customers.

True, but the OP was asking about 2 options, the first was a shop that would take 2 days to do the repair & the OP stated they would have no way of getting home after dropping the bike off & then no way to get back to the shop to collect, (although public transport in London is far better than anywhere else in the country).

Or secondly take it to another shop which is within a short walking distance of their home, for this privilege they would have to pay the princely sum of £4 extra.

That is assuming both don't find extra things wrong that requires extra work/cost, to me it's a complete no brainer, in the OP's position I'd be going to the local shop, however they feel that because of a single bad review 5 years ago where the LBS allowed a first time customer to pay £4.70 for a £6.20 item they don't want to go there.

Sorry OP if you are unable to do the work yourself you're going to have to pay somebody, if the LBS does a bad job this time, you just don't go back again & leave another bad review then find another shop for the future. However you may fins your local LBS is the best in the whole area, but you won't know till you try.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

I doubt if heavy handed braking will make a damn bit of difference to your cables. It will wear out the blocks/rims a bit quicker though. As will being heavy, carrying stuff, riding in foul weather, riding down hills, start/stop commuting, using hideous cheap abrasive brake pads, not cleaning your bike.

Best way to keep your bike in good order is to keep it in a cool dry storage area and never take it outside.

Simplest tip for cable longevity is to make sure that if the end cap falls off it is replaced immediately. Once it starts to fray and unravel, its days are numbered.

I know someone who didn’t replace the ferrule and the whole bike unravelled in weeks.

 

[All uphill]

It's worth £30 to avoid a cycling accident!

Seems a reasonable price to me.

 

[Fuutarou]

True, but the OP was asking about 2 options, the first was a shop that would take 2 days to do the repair & the OP stated they would have no way of getting home after dropping the bike off & then no way to get back to the shop to collect, (although public transport in London is far better than anywhere else in the country).

Or secondly take it to another shop which is within a short walking distance of their home, for this privilege they would have to pay the princely sum of £4 extra.

That is assuming both don't find extra things wrong that requires extra work/cost, to me it's a complete no brainer, in the OP's position I'd be going to the local shop, however they feel that because of a single bad review 5 years ago where the LBS allowed a first time customer to pay £4.70 for a £6.20 item they don't want to go there.

Sorry OP if you are unable to do the work yourself you're going to have to pay somebody, if the LBS does a bad job this time, you just don't go back again & leave another bad review then find another shop for the future. However you may fins your local LBS is the best in the whole area, but you won't know till you try.

Well to be in detail, I can get back home and travel back there to the shop to collect the bicycle by public transport but as I said before, due to my circumstance so traveling by public transport is not an option. Walking to and back will take 1 hour 30 minutes which I won't do unless for a special reason or I have no choice.

To be precise, there are 6 out of 40 1 star reviews on the LBS.

I have tried the LBS before by getting him to do an inner tube for my tyre for £20 and after a few months, one day when I brought it to someone to pump air into the tyre, the tyre burst. I had an argument with him because at that time I thought he purposely bursted the tyre but after getting it for a professional bicycle mechanic to had a look, the mechanic
said she it's an accidental burst not the person who burst it.

 

[dodgy]

Glad I'm not in the bike repair business, jebus. 🤷‍♂️

 

[cougie uk]

I have tried the LBS before by getting him to do an inner tube for my tyre for £20 and after a few months, one day when I brought it to someone to pump air into the tyre, the tyre burst. I had an argument with him because at that time I thought he purposely bursted the tyre but after getting it for a professional bicycle mechanic to had a look, the mechanic
said she it's an accidental burst not the person who burst it.

Hang on you took your bike to someone to pump a tyre up ? Why ?

 

[Ming the Merciless]

A tyre got a flat after several months of use and you blame the LBS!

 

[Fuutarou]

NO NO NO!!!!! You guys misunderstand. DON'T BLAME ME MING!(This is why I don't like telling so much story because sometimes people misunderstand and say the wrong thing about me) I was cycling to somewhere one day when my tyre had little air so I asked someone who I encountered if he has a pump and he can help me with a pump. He said ok, and he pumped air into my tyre and after a short while the inner tube inside the tyre burst. (AGAIN I AM NOT A PROFESSIONAL CYCLIST) So I thought he pumped wrong and caused the tyre to burst, fast forward the story, I brought it to a mechanic to repair it and she explained to me the inner tube burst by itself not because the guy who pumped it cause it to burst. AND I AM NOT BLAMING THE LBS. One of my suspicions was the LBS's inner/outer tube or whatever he did for my tyre( A few months before this incident) was not a good quality that's why it did not last long.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

The only cyclist who doesn't get a puncture every now & again is a cyclist who doesn't ride their bike, you are being very unfair to the LBS

 

[vickster]

NO NO NO!!!!! You guys misunderstand. DON'T BLAME ME MING!(This is why I don't like telling so much story because sometimes people misunderstand and say the wrong thing about me) I was cycling to somewhere one day when my tyre had little air so I asked someone who I encountered if he has a pump and he can help me with a pump. He said ok, and he pumped air into my tyre and after a short while the inner tube inside the tyre burst. (AGAIN I AM NOT A PROFESSIONAL CYCLIST) So I thought he pumped wrong and caused the tyre to burst, fast forward the story, I brought it to a mechanic to repair it and she explained to me the inner tube burst by itself not because the guy who pumped it cause it to burst. AND I AM NOT BLAMING THE LBS. One of my suspicions was the LBS's inner/outer tube or whatever he did for my tyre( A few months before this incident) was not a good quality that's why it did not last long.

Inner tubes can get damaged at any time, they don’t have an average or expected life! If you hadn’t pumped it up for several months, it’s hardly surprising it didn’t survive long. You need to get your own pump and check the tyre pressures regularly (And the state of the tyres)

 

[DaveReading]

I was cycling to somewhere one day when my tyre had little air so I asked someone who I encountered if he has a pump and he can help me with a pump.

If you'd been cycling with so little air in the tyre, it's possible that contributed to the failure.

 

[cougie uk]

NO NO NO!!!!! You guys misunderstand. DON'T BLAME ME MING!(This is why I don't like telling so much story because sometimes people misunderstand and say the wrong thing about me) I was cycling to somewhere one day when my tyre had little air so I asked someone who I encountered if he has a pump and he can help me with a pump. He said ok, and he pumped air into my tyre and after a short while the inner tube inside the tyre burst. (AGAIN I AM NOT A PROFESSIONAL CYCLIST) So I thought he pumped wrong and caused the tyre to burst, fast forward the story, I brought it to a mechanic to repair it and she explained to me the inner tube burst by itself not because the guy who pumped it cause it to burst. AND I AM NOT BLAMING THE LBS. One of my suspicions was the LBS's inner/outer tube or whatever he did for my tyre( A few months before this incident) was not a good quality that's why it did not last long.

You need to learn to take some responsibility. You didn't look after your bike so a good samaritan pumped up the tyre and you blamed him for 'pumping it wrong'.

None of us here are professional cyclists but even kids know that a flat tyre is not a good thing. Get a pump and check your tyes. If you do this you'll have less issues.

 

[Fuutarou]

The only cyclist who doesn't get a puncture every now & again is a cyclist who doesn't ride their bike, you are being very unfair to the LBS

I know it's not a puncture. It was something wrong with the inner tube. I am not sure what you call the problem. I just thought maybe it was because the LBS's inner tube or whatever the name the part is he did for me was not a good quality that's why the new tyre/part burst/did not last long(And maybe one of the factors the tyre/part burst was because it was under a hot sun)

 

[vickster]

I know it's not a puncture. It was something wrong with the inner tube. I am not sure what you call the problem. I just thought maybe it was because the LBS's inner tube or whatever the name the part is he did for me was not a good quality that's the new tyre/part burst/did not last long.

There’s little difference between inner tubes, but like anything some can be faulty but a shop would never know that. they are a low cost consumable. Plenty of cyclists have got through several in a day due to something embedded in the tyre for example. It‘s just down to luck often