Hivemind - new bike cost

Ben6899

Now then. I am almost ready to go ahead and order my new bike.

Total cost, me walking away with the bike = £3,059

I have priced up the individual components and it comes to ~£2,600, which tells me that I am paying ~£500 for the bike to be put together and for the retailer to make some margin.

I don't know how I feel about this. I would have the 5 year frame warranty and the 2 year workmanship warranty, a free Retul fit and of course the after sales benefits, but I still think £500 for those extras is a bit much. Should I buy everything and build it up myself? Maybe with the help of my very good LBS?

Or to put it another way, am I being tight?

tailwindhome

Ben6899 wrote:

Now then. I am almost ready to go ahead and order my new bike.

Total cost, me walking away with the bike = £3,059

I have priced up the individual components and it comes to ~£2,600, which tells me that I am paying ~£500 for the bike to be put together and for the retailer to make some margin.

I don't know how I feel about this. I would have the 5 year frame warranty and the 2 year workmanship warranty, a free Retul fit and of course the after sales benefits, but I still think £500 for those extras is a bit much. Should I buy everything and build it up myself? Maybe with the help of my very good LBS?

Or to put it another way, am I being tight?

A local LBS re built my Giant TCR (after carbon frame repair) for £35 labour plus about £20 of cabling.

Kieran_Burns

Ben6899 wrote:

Now then. I am almost ready to go ahead and order my new bike.

Total cost, me walking away with the bike = £3,059

I have priced up the individual components and it comes to ~£2,600, which tells me that I am paying ~£500 for the bike to be put together and for the retailer to make some margin.

I don't know how I feel about this. I would have the 5 year frame warranty and the 2 year workmanship warranty, a free Retul fit and of course the after sales benefits, but I still think £500 for those extras is a bit much. Should I buy everything and build it up myself? Maybe with the help of my very good LBS?

Or to put it another way, am I being tight?

Ben6899

Hmm, I am half tempted to pose the question to the retailer "where is the extra £500 going?"

rjsterry

Nothing wrong with asking them to give you a breakdown of what's included, especially for that sort of figure.

DonDaddyD

If you're prepared to drop £3000 on a bicycle and have to ask whether £500 of that money is worth it, then you've answered your own question.

gabriel959

I would ask for either a discount or do what you suggested to do, buy every single bit and then give it to your LBS. £500 is quite a lot of money in my books.

rjsterry

It's not really a question of "is it worth it?" so much as whether the £500 is just straight mark-up or includes things like the extended warranty, bike fit, etc. Just because you are spending a big wedge, doesn't mean you shouldn't be careful how it's spent.

rolf_f

Ben6899 wrote:

I don't know how I feel about this. I would have the 5 year frame warranty and the 2 year workmanship warranty, a free Retul fit and of course the after sales benefits, but I still think £500 for those extras is a bit much. Should I buy everything and build it up myself? Maybe with the help of my very good LBS?

Or to put it another way, am I being tight?

Can't see how building the bike yourself would deprive you of the frame warranty.

FWIW, my Look 585 cost the sum of the components. ie there wasn't a charge for the build as such. It also included a fit and two bikes for test rides built up to match my fit (ie correct crank length, stem, hbar width etc). That said, I could have sourced the components more cheaply on line. The margin for the retailer is that they are selling you £3k worth of components all of which they are charging you above cost price for.

Unless you have missed something, it doesn't sound like a great deal.

il_principe

TBH I don't know why anyone would spend that much on a bike and not choose all the components themselves? Surely you have a preference for gruppo, bars, saddle etc? Whatever you do, it'd be nice if you could support your LBS to some extent.

daviesee

Do you have all the tools required to build and cut?

If so, do it.

If not, how much will that cost?

Ben6899

Thanks for the input guys. I have asked my LBS for a build quote (although I could do 95% myself) and now I am going to email the shop to ask where that additional £500 comes from. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't thinking like a pratt - I haven't bought a whole bike in quite a while!

Il Principe wrote:

TBH I don't know why anyone would spend that much on a bike and not choose all the components themselves? Surely you have a preference for gruppo, bars, saddle etc? Whatever you do, it'd be nice if you could support your LBS to some extent.

For clarity, I have specified the build down to the very last detail: frameset (including colour options), bars, stem, seatpost, gruppo (DA7900 w/ Ultegra cassette and chain), saddle, tape, cable colour, wheels. It's my bike and there isn't one in the shop or on the manufacturer's website like it.

Ben6899

daviesee wrote:

Do you have all the tools required to build and cut?

If so, do it.

If not, how much will that cost?

I would need to have the steerer cut and cranks fitted by my LBS. I wouldn't bother buying the tools for that.

daddy0

I would put it together myself. Its not hard.

supersonic

Warranties are in addition to you statutory rights. They don't even have to be given... however the SOGA protects you in most cases. This warranty offers you additional peace of mind given the time periods involved.

Seems you will be paying for this warranty if it is invalidated by building the bike yourself, though I would check the terms carefully.

sketchley

Honestly I'd phone and talk to them. I suspect one of the reason for the difference is online retailers using grey market supply and your LBS going the more officail route as they want dealer support. Also are you paying for stuff your not using, for example is LBS buying a full DA group plus an ultegra cassette and chain, if so what is happening to the DA cassette and chain that's go to account for a couple of hundred notes.....

walkingbootweather

Sounds like the shop is charging RRP for components and a premium for assembly. For my last bike I sourced all the components myself which I delivered to my LBS who assembled them all for £50. By shopping around and making small compromises e.g. some of the previous years components, I saved a small fortune. It cost me £1300 for a custom designed titanium frame, handbuilt wheels and Ultegra level kit. If I could have bought the bike off the shelf it would have cost me double that.

But then I'm probably tighter than you

spasypaddy

erm we seem to have missed the real question.

what bike?

Ben6899

spasypaddy wrote:

erm we seem to have missed the real question.

what bike?

I didn't want the bike choice/people's preferences to sway the discussion. But it's a Starley JKS R1.

redhanded

Ben6899 wrote:

but I still think £500 for those extras is a bit much. Should I buy everything and build it up myself?

A fairer comparison would include paying yourself a salary for the time you would take to build the bike (including national insurance, of course) and included the costs for the premises you used to build the bike (rental, rates, lighting, heating, insurance etc.) then you would have a better idea if it was too much or not.

I don't know if it is, or isn't, and £500 more in your pocket is still £500, but in doing the comparison you are really viewing all your overheads as being for free, but they aren't for the LBS.

Ben6899

redhanded wrote:

Ben6899 wrote:

but I still think £500 for those extras is a bit much. Should I buy everything and build it up myself?

A fairer comparison would include paying yourself a salary for the time you would take to build the bike (including national insurance, of course) and included the costs for the premises you used to build the bike (rental, rates, lighting, heating, insurance etc.) then you would have a better idea if it was too much or not.

I don't know if it is, or isn't, and £500 more in your pocket is still £500, but in doing the comparison you are really viewing all your overheads as being for free, but they aren't for the LBS.

I don't disagree at all and I don't begrudge these companies covering overheads, making profits etc. Not at all!

However, IF this is what I am paying for then I would prefer to order all the parts and build it myself with the help of my LBS.

iPete

I don't see how you can compare finding all the components online vs the price of a LBS. If you really have hunted around and thrown all the bargains in a basket, the disparity could be huge.

Personally I'd spend the £500 on Park Tools but if I was unsure of size, had to make several visits for test rides etc. I'd be paying the shop.

Ben6899

iPete wrote:

I don't see how you can compare finding all the components online vs the price of a LBS. If you really have hunted around and thrown all the bargains in a basket, the disparity could be huge.

Personally I'd spend the £500 on Park Tools but if I was unsure of size, had to make several visits for test rides etc. I'd be paying the shop.

I think there is some misunderstanding. I haven't hunted for bargains, I have used list price for all items.

And I am not comparing to the LBS; I am comparing to the built bike bought from the manufacturer (via a shop in London).

It's also based on prices on the manufacturer's website, so it is a like-for-like job.

sketchley

Are you saying that bike suplpied by shop in London (but built by manufacturer) is £500 more expensive than frame + components at full list price? If so I'd be walking away or just buying the frame, getting all the other bits yourself, idealy at discouted price not list, then finding a good LBS and asking them to build the bike. I'd be expecting £100 - £150 for a good build.

Ben6899

Sketchley wrote:

Are you saying that bike suplpied by shop in London (but built by manufacturer) is £500 more expensive than frame + components at full list price? If so I'd be walking away or just buying the frame, getting all the other bits yourself, idealy at discouted price not list, then finding a good LBS and asking them to build the bike. I'd be expecting £100 - £150 for a good build.

Exactly Chris. And my LBS has quoted £150 for a full build.

rubertoe

Then there is no issue, source the frame and parts and go to LBS.

Why get stung for £500 - that is a decent set of spare wheels there

Ben6899

rubertoe wrote:

Then there is no issue, source the frame and parts and go to LBS.

Why get stung for £500 - that is a decent set of spare wheels there

Or I up the ante on the frame.

sketchley

Ben6899 wrote:

Sketchley wrote:

Are you saying that bike suplpied by shop in London (but built by manufacturer) is £500 more expensive than frame + components at full list price? If so I'd be walking away or just buying the frame, getting all the other bits yourself, idealy at discouted price not list, then finding a good LBS and asking them to build the bike. I'd be expecting £100 - £150 for a good build.

Exactly Chris. And my LBS has quoted £150 for a full build.

Well you should do exactly that then.

Reading this http://starleybikes.com/warranty/

You need to check the bit below out with Starley to make sure LBS is authorised. I'd be telling asking them to put it in writting that your LBS are authorised to do that. Of course if you assembled yourself you would have the same problem and would be unlikely to be authorised.

"Assembly and adjustment of the frame-set and components must be done by an authorised Starley mechanic or other outlets specifically authorised by Starley. Frame-sets and/or bicycles not assembled or adjusted by an authorised Starley mechanic are not covered and excluded from this Warranty."

veronese68

People aren't paying attention. You said what the bike was in the stuff you've bought thread.
I bought my frame from Sigma and if you buy the frame and components from them they will build the bike for free. I bought my components elsewhere and built the bike myself.
I certainly would not pay full retail plus £500 to give someone the privilege of bolting my bike together. Not even if I got a 'happy ending'.

veronese68

Sketchley wrote:

Ben6899 wrote:

Sketchley wrote:

Are you saying that bike suplpied by shop in London (but built by manufacturer) is £500 more expensive than frame + components at full list price? If so I'd be walking away or just buying the frame, getting all the other bits yourself, idealy at discouted price not list, then finding a good LBS and asking them to build the bike. I'd be expecting £100 - £150 for a good build.

Exactly Chris. And my LBS has quoted £150 for a full build.

Well you should do exactly that then.

Reading this http://starleybikes.com/warranty/

You need to check the bit below out with Starley to make sure LBS is authorised. I'd be telling asking them to put it in writting that your LBS are authorised to do that. Of course if you assembled yourself you would have the same problem and would be unlikely to be authorised.

"Assembly and adjustment of the frame-set and components must be done by an authorised Starley mechanic or other outlets specifically authorised by Starley. Frame-sets and/or bicycles not assembled or adjusted by an authorised Starley mechanic are not covered and excluded from this Warranty."

Or to put it another way the warranty costs £500. Is that legal? I think if the frame failed and it could be proven it was not the fault of the build you could take them to court quite easily.

Ben6899

I really appreciate all the input to this, chaps.

I have spoken with the shop and they have asked for my breakdown to send to Starley. I am also trying to not be a pratt as far as the shop is concerned; they're a very pleasant outfit and have been very helpful so far.