Was this bad value for money?

TheRealGuybrush

barrybridges wrote:

but even if I did, that's not an excuse at any point for someone to artificially inflate the prices for parts.

They didn't! Stop looking at places like Wiggle and CRC and take a look at the the official prices.

Here's a screenshot from ChickenCycleKit's website. They're one of the official international distributors for Campagnolo in the UK and it shows you the cables they used and the RRP of them.



They have not inflated the prices. If you wanted the cables cheaper, buy them yourself and fit them, but if you go to a bike shop and they service your bike with the official cable sets ordered direct from the distributor,and probably, (not trying to sound disrespectful), perform the service to a higher standard than you would have done, they have to sell them at the RRP otherwise they just wont make enough money.

Surely if they're always inflating prices, you wouldn't have been recommended them?

paul_mck

the question maybe is did it need a full cable set or just a set of inners?

why no phonecall to discuss options? If they had called, and said look you need a set of cables and they are quite expensive at £55. We can fit these or else just replace the inners but Id recommend the whole lot.

the prices arent particularly the issue, the lack of communication and customer authorisation is.

TheRealGuybrush

Agreed! They should have called with a quote/options before going ahead with any work, but I don't think it's right to accuse them of inflating prices when they haven't.

Although not entirely the OP's fault, when visiting a new shop for a service, I would have checked the procedures they go through before doing any work to make sure there was nothing unexpected that I hadn't been told about.

giant_man

BuckMulligan wrote:

I can definitely sympathise with your situation. I was thinking of sticking my bike in for a full service now that the weather is clearing up; I'm perfectly capable of doing everything myself, just don't have the time! When I get a spare couple of hours at the weekend I want to be out on it not cleaning it, but perhaps not if it's going to end up like this. They certainly should have consulted you first, especially with non-essential items like bar tape!

giant man wrote:

If you come across as an amateur, then you should be prepared to be ripped off quite honestly.

What a tw@t.

lol

giant_man

barrybridges wrote:

giant man wrote:

paul_mck wrote:

well imo they should have called you once they inspected the bike. you cant just go off and change things willy nilly without getting the customers permission.

@giant man - big words but not everyone has the confidence or time to do the stuff themselves. And despite saying aye just DIY it setting the gears etc can be tricky. Doesnt mean the OP was right to be ripped off, which at £55 for a set of cables PLUS labour, he well and truly was.

Not big words mate just the facts. If you come across as an amateur, then you should be prepared to be ripped off quite honestly. The OP didn't exactly help himself did he. Bike shops come in all shapes and sizes and there are good and bad of course. The OP's one he decided to go to can't be the only one in his area. Perhaps a little more thought and research before he took it to this particular place might have helped his cause, and left more cash in his wallet.

Ouch. What a horrible, harsh and - frankly - undeserved thing to say.

In actual fact, this LBS is one of the best-known ones in the South-East and has been recommended to me countless times for its service, hence why I took it there. It's the only place within 30 minutes' drive that people name when it comes to being a 'proper' bike shop.

It was also the only place nearby that specialise in Campag servicing; given I was having issues with my right ultrashift there was a very logical reason why I took my bike to them. I didn't want to take it to Joe Bloggs down the road who told me that 'all gears are the same really'.

I don't think I came across as an amateur to them at all; but even if I did, that's not an excuse at any point for someone to artificially inflate the prices for parts.

lol

gozzy

You're not helping yourself giant man.

thespanishadam

Name and shame the shop...

I'm in the South East, had a similar instance. One service is all they got out of me, I now have a LBS I use that doesn't rip me off.

LBS make more money on accesories than bikes, they probably pay around 50% RRP on most items. Mine generally knocks 15-20% off whatever I order, we are both happy :-)

ricky1980

just give an perspective

my tool sets
1) work stand - £30
2) Torque wrenches inc bits - £40
3) cassette tool/BB tool - £20
4) pedal tool - £5
5) chain whip and missing link remover - £10

so for the price of the service you can get a complete set of tools for general bike maintenance.

6) degreaser and cleaner 25L - £15
7) Lube for chain and cassette - £8

the above is pretty much what you need for cleaning and relube. and it will last about 3 years. I order the cleaner since September last year and used up a bottle and half so far. that was once a month clean of the bike. the lube was a small 250ml but it lasts ages.

8) a set of cable and housing - ranging from £10-30 nothing wrong with Clarke stainless steel cables @ £6 a set and some housing
9) bar tape - ranging from £5-£20 again depend on your preference

and so on. obviously the labour cost is not included. but then again if you have a spare weekend of doing nothing why not get a bit of bike grease on yourself

so summarise, i do believe they ripped you off in terms of the additional works and parts they charged. but you can;t really dispute the service cost as that is up-front and you are aware of it. I know a person had a similar experience ended up paying nearly £300 which still sound stupid to me today.

Brushiemma10w

jordan_217 wrote:

A torque wrench is handy but not essential and you might want to get some better allen keys but that should be enough to completely service your bike. For less than you've been charged here you can buy all stuff to DIY and the Zinn book is really easy to follow. It's daunting but just take your time be methodical and you'll be fine. Take pictures of how things look before you remove them if that makes it easier.

Can you give me the full title of this 'Zinn book' as I'm a relative newbie & keen to do at least some of my own maintenance?

lcowner

£110 for a service-what does this 'service' normally include?- a spotty little lad greasing and cleaniing ur bike??like if the bike is running ok and selecting gears ect and the head bearings and wheel bearings are ok :roll:
so is the 110 for u to bring the bike into lbs and then anything they need to change goes on top of the £110???license to print money if u ask me

dawebbo

Is this any different to when you get your car serviced?

Of course if you do it yourself and shop around for cheap parts it will cost less... The price sounds pretty much in line with what any bike shop would charge.

Crozza

£110 for a service?

my LBS charges £15 an hour, and a thorough service normally takes 2 hours max. either they are charging £55 an hour (yikes) or completely stripping and re-building your bike (which is not what I understand from a service)

paul_mck

dawebbo wrote:

Is this any different to when you get your car serviced?

Of course if you do it yourself and shop around for cheap parts it will cost less... The price sounds pretty much in line with what any bike shop would charge.

a garage has to phone first and let you know whats needs done. its then up to you if you want them to go ahead and do it.

mrbrightside

Holy feck!

I assembled a bike I built and dropped into my local shop to be finished/serviced/fettled/set-up which included installing bar tape and supply/ fitting and setting up brake and gear cables.
£25!

I would be seriously pissed off if I was you and would never of left the bike without agreeing the 'level' of servicing first.

barrybridges

Thanks for all your replies.

Just to clarify, the £110 was for a full service which included a full stripdown and rebuild.

Having said that, I don't think they did a great job. The gears aren't aligned correctly and needed adjustment after my first ride; they hadn't even aligned the break blocks to the rim correctly.

Never mind. Lesson learnt. DIY in future.