Am I being ripped off?

pumpers

I've got a Cube Ltd Pro, 11 months old.

I'm pretty new to cycling in general and am not confident mechanically.
The shop where i got it from have a lifetime service policy so i sent it in for a service.

I've just had a phone call telling me the bike needs the following

new headset
new chain
new casette
new bottom bracket
jockey wheels are almost shot as well.

£203 !!!!!

the bike has covered approx 1500miles, mostly easy trail riding but some more adventurous off road stuff round ladybower.

I clean and lube the bike,use a hose followed by a bucket and sponge to clean it. Guy at shop is telling me that this is normal and just wear and tear. Says the headset is knackered because I turn the bike upside down when I hose it off and all the muck drops into the stearing tube and it's knackered the bearings. Has said that the rest is just wear and tear/usage and is normal depending on how it's used.

I have used it but don't believe I've abused it !! The bike was £900 and I expected it to last me a bit longer than this before requiring this sort of maintenance. Funnily enough none of the parts are covered under the warranty !!

your thoughts please.

thnaks.

Craig

benpinnick

Yes, or at least you are if you're a competant mechanic.

Headset: Quite expensive for a decent one, but you could replace the stock FSA for around £30. or just the bearings for even less (about £2) - which is probably all you need.
Chain: £20
Cassette: £30
BB: £15

Jockey wheels, well, you could buy a new mech for £30. jockey wheels are around £15 (oddly expensive) So all in all thats £110 for the parts (If you get a NEW headset). The rest must be labour! Which sounds a lot for less than an hours work.

benpinnick

I can well believe its all necessary BTW.

pumpers

Thanks for the quick reply.

guess I'll just have to bite the bullet this time and learn some mainteance skills and do it myself next time !!

Still seems a bit excessive for an 11 month old bike however !!

thanks

Craig.

giblets

The question is if you feel they actually need replacing. However, I've heard an average life of a chain for example is ~750miles, so 1,500 miles is not bad, if it is worn, will will damage the cassette etc.

Price will depend heavily on the parts they will fit, a cassette runs from £20-50, Jockey wheels, £5+, chains £20+, BB £10-40, Headsets £10-40, so you can see why it adds up.

A few tools, £10-20 each, including a chain wear gauge for future reference!... if you are doing that many miles, might be worth investing a bit of money and time into learning to do these yourself.


Edit: looks like Ben beat me to it! :evil:

pumpers

I will invest the money for the tools and the time to learn !!

I haven't noticed any problems shifting or the chain jumping but if they need doing they need doing !!

I'll know for next time !!

quick check of tools i'll need :

headset press, cassette removal tool, chain wear guide.

I have a chain link splitter and access to spanners, hex keys and a torque wrench.

Anything else?

thanks

Craig.

benpinnick

For the headset, just disassemble and look at it - the ball races are a couple of quid. Some cleaning, regreasing and replacement of the races will probably be fine. Details of what to do are probably on the park tools site.

pumpers

Thanks


Craig

surreymtb

I've got a Cube Acid. Chain/Cassette was replaced at 700 miles - about 7 months from new. Im a lard ass - though less of a lard ass now so the chain/cassette take a bit of a harder beating. I did a bit of research when my lbs said they needed replacing and found plenty of forums/articles that said this was not unusual.

cooldad

If it all feels good I would leave it, read up on Parktools, and do bits as you feel like it. All simple jobs.

Dirtydog11

Might be worth investing in a chain wear tool.

Had the chain been changed at the first sign of wear you would probably have got longer out of the cassette and jockey wheels.

I'd be asking them what level of components they are fitting, like for like, Deore , SLX, Deore XT ? ask for an itemised bill that way you can see what your paying for.

Bear in mind the maybe charging full RRP for the components.

For the cost of the labour you could buy yourself a chain whip , chain wear tool, chain splitter, BB removal tool and cassette lockring tool , basically everything you need to do the job yourself apart from the headset.

StorckSpeed

Get this book:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Zinn-Art-Road-B ... 409&sr=8-1
at £12.59 + free delivery it's worth it's weight in Gold, especially if you have no idea about bike maintenance.
Alternatively see if your LBS runs a bike maintenance class. (£50 approx)
Or if you regularly ride with others perhaps they can show you how to maintain your bike.

pumpers

Thanks for the advice everyone.

I'll invest in the book and the tools and learn how to do it myself.

can't afford to pay that sort of money every year !!

Craig.

giblets

As it gets older, you'll start needing to do other jobs too, servicing the forks (which should have been down already), hubs etc too, so worth investing some time and effort as the money will start to add up!

101_North

Only my opinion but no need to invest in a book with free resources like the Park Tools site available:

http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help

101

andrewjoseph

"can't afford to pay that sort of money every year !!"

Well, maybe not all at once. A chain lasts me 3-4 months, so about £60 a year, brake pads similar. tyres 6 months at around £60 pair. So £180 + a year just to keep one bike in good nick.

cassette 18 mth (£30-£50), chainrings (middle £25-£30) 18-24 mths, jockey wheels (£25) 18 mths, External bb bearings about 18 mths, not sure about the prices for these!

my hope headset has been on two different bikes for 5 years with the same bearings. my hope rear hub is 10 years old and has had about 3 bearing replacements.

mtb'ing is not that cheap really.

styxd

It sounds like you're being ripped off. I cant see how those 4 items add up to £203 - ask them exactly what items they are fitting.

andrewjoseph

styxd wrote:

It sounds like you're being ripped off. I cant see how those 4 items add up to £203 - ask them exactly what items they are fitting.

plus labour, 2 hours or so at £20/hr, £40-£60?

styxd

I thought he said it was a free service?

EH_Rob

i guess it varies from shop to shop.

when i last took my bike for a service they specifically told me free labour if anything needs replacing. i cheekily bought a new headset, forks and brakes (not from them!) and they fitted them for free. Obviously I paid for the service, but that was it.

So it does sound a bit steep yes. But the advice to start learning to do stuff yourself is good, it's well worth it in the long run.

andrewjoseph

styxd wrote:

I thought he said it was a free service?

A free 'service' on a new bike is usually just tightening up cables and bolts and lubing. Replacing worn or broken parts is not a 'service'.

nferrar

Cassette and chain I can believe if it's had a hard life (depends on the conditions you ride in), headset quite possibly if it's not a well-sealed unit and it's been hosed etc. when cleaned, jockey wheels probably wouldn't need doing (I've never replaced jockey wheels on any bike I've owned and some have done a lot more miles than yours), maybe if the chain is badly worn it's caused excessive wear on them though (you might also find your front chain rings might need replacing soon as well though if that's the case...). How many brake pads have you been through in 11 months? If still on your original set then it doesn't sound like it's had a hard life so I wouldn't expect much needs doing.
As others have said though, well worth learning how to do the basics yourself and invest in some tools.

pumpers

Gone through 2 sets of pads( organic) and currently halfway through set of sintered ones !!

Would appear I'm harder on the bike than I thought !! And i have ridden all winter in some really crappy and sandy conditions !

I've checked parts prices and can get all the bits that have been fitted online for £128.

However, the shop have charged me their retail prices which comes to £174.50

Only charged me for fitting headset ( £17.50) and bottom bracket ( £15 ). Rest have been fitted/doen as part of the free service. So all in all I don't think I've been ripped off but it is expensive !

Just came as a bit of a shock when they rang me and told me !!

Got the bike back, was going to go out on a ride but it's driving snow and gales of 70mph in my neck of the woods !!

even I'm not that keen !!

thanks for all your replies, I'll be doing my own maintenance from now on !

Craig.

bails87

Can't believe no one's mentioned the statement from the LBS about dirt getting into the headset via the steerer tube.

The bearings are outside the steerer, how can stuff inside the steerer travel through the steerer wall, past the seals and into the bearings?!

benpinnick

I still cant believe they put a new headset in!

bennett_346

delcol

my drivetrain on my hardtail was 3 years old and still worked fine i only replaced it cause i got a xtr mech and shifters for christmass.
the drive train on the fs was 3 year old and still worked fine when i sold it last year. only thing i replaced on both bikes was the cables both inner and outer..
the drive train on my road bike is nearly 5 years old and still shifts fine no skipping or jumping. replaced the cables a few times..
as for head sets the fsa on my heckler was still going strong 4 years after i installed it. the hope gead set on the pace still smooth as 3 years after it was installed, same with the canecreek and chrisking ones on my other bikes.

the headset on my roadbike is 6 year old and never been touched..

mrmonkfinger

benpinnick wrote:

I still cant believe they put a new headset in!

if its an open race type, the races might be shot... maybe

bails87

Maybe, but not from being washed upside down!