Ouch! Hefty repair bill from LBS

Neal_

On the topic of tools Merlin are currently selling a workstand, tool kit and Fenwicks cleaning kit for £89.95 with their current 10% off. My mate bought it as is happy with it all

http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/Bike+Shop ... -OFFER.htm

Anonymous

£200 for parts and their time to do it is about right I suspect especially as they'll be providing full price parts and the more expensive models as they wouldn't stock the cheap stuff. Parts they're probably charging £100 for and then a nice £100 for the labour. Not that the guy doing it gets paid £100 an hour! He'll get £10 and the shop gets the rest. Though given it may take him several hours in between coffee breaks and chatting

How difficult are all these jobs?

That lot, easy. The most difficult is the bottom bracket in that you have to take the crank off. You also need to be sure it's torqued sufficiently when you put it back on and if you've not done it before you may not know how hard to torque it. Torque wrench will tell you, but that costs money. Otherwise see if someone can show you. Warning also - BB threads are typically threaded different each side (left and right threaded), make sure you undo and do them up the correct way or risk over tightening (as I did!).

sandy hill

roundthebend wrote:

Thanks.

I broke it to my wife last night that the LBS wanted ~£200. She blew a fuse!

"£200 for a bike you've only just bought....and it was expensive."
"It's only a bike, not life or death!"
"You may as well buy a new bike..."

I can understand her to a degree. I'm not a very active mountain biker - I commute to work daily but only used the MTB during winter for its brakes and chunky tires, plus we live quite a distance from decent trails so the chance to go "proper" riding is not frequent and when I do it becomes a day trip or weekend which is costly. So, she sees this as being an expensive hobby. It doesn't help that I have a few other hobbies and interests which cost good money.

It would be easy for me to ignore her mis-guided opinion on the subject, but it wouldn't remove the fact that £200 is still a lot of money to us when we have other expenses to cover - car to run, house refurbishment, saving for a new house, holidays etc.

What I'm interested to know is, when does the maintenance cost become economically non-viable? To me, the frame is great, front forks are great, hydraulic brakes and SRAM x7 shifters are all good kit. Should I view £200 as a wear & tear maintenance bill to keep a great bike running, or should I consider selling those bits off and buying a different bike with a better spec? If I could get £250 for those parts, then another £250 would get me a very nice bike by my standards.

I'm sorry but this should have been music to your ears.

roundthebend

sandy hill wrote:

roundthebend wrote:

Thanks.

I broke it to my wife last night that the LBS wanted ~£200. She blew a fuse!

"£200 for a bike you've only just bought....and it was expensive."
"It's only a bike, not life or death!"
"You may as well buy a new bike..."

I can understand her to a degree. I'm not a very active mountain biker - I commute to work daily but only used the MTB during winter for its brakes and chunky tires, plus we live quite a distance from decent trails so the chance to go "proper" riding is not frequent and when I do it becomes a day trip or weekend which is costly. So, she sees this as being an expensive hobby. It doesn't help that I have a few other hobbies and interests which cost good money.

It would be easy for me to ignore her mis-guided opinion on the subject, but it wouldn't remove the fact that £200 is still a lot of money to us when we have other expenses to cover - car to run, house refurbishment, saving for a new house, holidays etc.

What I'm interested to know is, when does the maintenance cost become economically non-viable? To me, the frame is great, front forks are great, hydraulic brakes and SRAM x7 shifters are all good kit. Should I view £200 as a wear & tear maintenance bill to keep a great bike running, or should I consider selling those bits off and buying a different bike with a better spec? If I could get £250 for those parts, then another £250 would get me a very nice bike by my standards.

I'm sorry but this should have been music to your ears.

I can understand how that seems appealing, but she's talking about spending £200 on a new bike........ :?

andrewjoseph

how much is gym membership a year?

tell your wife that riding regularly keeps you fitter and healthier than sitting on the sofa, with more energy for 'other' activities.

You'll feel and look better, live longer and be happier. this money is not an expense, it is an investment.

I'm lucky in that my wife rides too.

I know £200 is a lot of money, but when it comes to buying quality bikes and parts, it's not. I'm not meaning to brag, but my saddle costs near £100 but it is worth it to me as many cheaper/ more expensive saddles are agony to ride on. Same with helmets and cycling clothes, if they are comfortable then they are worth it. And I still have some aldi kit i wear regularly.

roundthebend

Thanks andrewjoseph, I've tried to explain but I've got some work to do on that front. I keep telling her I'm buying her a bike. We hired bikes (Kids too) in the Lake District last year and took lunch with us for a ride around Derwent Water. It was a superb day out which inspired me to get a decent bike. I think I just need to motivate her a little more to do it and then she'll be fully onboard. I took my eldest for a long ride this weekend and, again, it was fantastic so I'm gradually getting them all signed up.

dirty face

cost of repair for a bike that given you problems....+ cost of upgraded parts for a bike that you may not be satisfied with if you start to ride more often = even more expense than you originally planned. I'd say look at a new bike thats a) got the spec you'd be happy with therefore no need to upgrade and b) the reliability of a new bike.

MTB'ing can be perpetually expensive and its easy to get the 'spending bug'. Extra cash initially spent on a better bike will save from spending more in the long run. That worked for me anyway.

In terms of the repairs, anything you or a mate can do will inevitably save you money as you won't pay 'labour costs'. Good luck.

PS, where the missus is concerned, I'm in the same boat, she hates me spending money on biking thats why i bought a bike that i'm ultimatley happy with. Life's a bitch!