Am I being ripped off by LBS?

[Philjack]

Not knowing much about maintenance is it better to have a new wheel or replace sealed bearings? Bike done about 2500 miles (hybrid bike) - back wheel

Just a tad bit sceptical I don't need a new wheel as LBS say, then of course new chain and cassette mentioned so the cost escalated

Thanks

 

[ozboz]

I got ripped off by a LBS in Richmond,nowt worse , take it elsewhere , or give your location on here, a fellow CC er will know of a reputable one in your area I would say ,

 

[ianrauk]

new sealed bearings cost £5.00. Labour £10.
That's what my LBS charged.

I watched them do it and the next time did it myself. It's a very easy job to do.

 

[AndyRM]

What are they quoting you?

 

[BorderReiver]

Unless the wheel has been damaged in some other way it should be way cheaper just to replace the bearings. However, 2,500 miles seems like a very short life for wheel bearings. How old is the bike/wheel?

 

[mjr]

The main reasons to replace a wheel are the brakes wearing the rim out (there's often a wear monitor line which vanishes when it needs replacement - happens quicker if you don't clean junk out of the brake pads occasionally); or the freehub going bad somehow; or in freewheel-based bikes, the freewheel threads turning to shoot. You can rebuild wheels from all of those but it's often not much dearer to buy a new wheel if it's a typical machine-built wheel on a workhorse bike.

If the bearings are shot, you can often feel it as a sort of roughness when spinning the wheel with it in the air (on a stand or winch or with a friend lifting the bike by the seat tube) compared to spinning a good wheel. It's usually cheapest to replace the bearings.

If they're loose bearings, it's a fairly simple job (although it's easiest with a couple of special thin spanners) except for getting the bearing pressure correct at the finish, described in this 1978 article http://sheldonbrown.com/tooltips/hubs.html - if it's cartridge bearings, then it's a case of popping out the old cartridges and putting the new ones in... but you might not know which new ones to buy until you get the old cartridges out, unless the bike's spec sheet was detailed enough.

Are you sure they really mean that you should replace the wheel because the bearings are wrecked or has something else gone wrong too?

 

[steveindenmark]

Take it to another LBS for a second opinion.

 

[PhilDawson8270]

OPs wheel.

 

[mickle]

What kind of bike is it?
What kind of hub is it?
How many miles do you do?
What's your maintenance schedule?

*All* bearings have seals of one kind or another. Their effectiveness depends on their quality versus what they're subjected to. Unless you're refering to cartridge bearings, which also have seals, and which tend to apear at the higher quality end of the market. So either you've got 'cup & cone' bearings or cartridge. Either of which, if they failed in the first 2500 miles of life should be taken back to the retailer under warranty.

The cost didn't 'escalate' BTW it just added up. Shops which charge unreasonable prices for goods and services don't survive. I suspect that it's not their prices that are too high - but that your expectations are.

As someone who works in cycle retail I meet people all the time who are shocked by the labour prices we charge, which is not because we're expensive, far from it, we have the lowest labour rates in town. The people who complain the most are always those with the shittest bikes. These are the people who buy the very cheapest bike they can find, ride it til it dies and then they're surprised that it costs actual money to repair. Cycling isn't, as some people seem to imagine; 'free'. It costs money to keep a bike rolling. The classic is when they say: 'But I only use it for riding to work', unaware that commuting is precisely the kind of high mileage, day-in-day-out use which will eventually destroy any bike, but is particularly hard on cheap/shoot/old/poorly maintained ones.

 

[User16625]

Unless the wheel has been damaged in some other way it should be way cheaper just to replace the bearings. However, 2,500 miles seems like a very short life for wheel bearings. How old is the bike/wheel?

This.

Not knowing much about maintenance is it better to have a new wheel or replace sealed bearings? Bike done about 2500 miles (hybrid bike) - back wheel

Just a tad bit sceptical I don't need a new wheel as LBS say, then of course new chain and cassette mentioned so the cost escalated

Thanks

Do your wheels happen to be American Classics? They are known to have bearings that are too small, so they wear out quickly.

 

[mjr]

The cost didn't 'escalate' BTW it just added up. Shops which charge unreasonable prices for goods and services don't survive. I suspect that it's not their prices that are too high - but that your expectations are.

That's most likely, but there is a very slight possibility that the original poster has indeed encountered a shop which charges unreasonable prices for goods and services. I do know one which staggered on for years (I think it was a plaything for a rich owner) and another which still seems to survive mysteriously.

 

[subaqua]

OPs wheel.

just needs a bit of a buff and it will be fine .

 

[fossyant]

If the hub is using cup and cone, and the bearing race is pitted, then it's a new hub. If they are cartridge bearings, then it's relatively easy to replace.

If it's just the ball bearings or the cone, then a cheap job, but all too often, the race gets badly pitted and it's game over.

Has the bike been ridden in all weathers, have you checked the grease in there ?

 

[Red17]

This.



Do your wheels happen to be American Classics? They are known to have bearings that are too small, so they wear out quickly.

Or Vision 30's - mine went after a couple of thousand miles and an internet search showed it is a common fault with them.

 

[screenman]

That's most likely, but there is a very slight possibility that the original poster has indeed encountered a shop which charges unreasonable prices for goods and services. I do know one which staggered on for years (I think it was a plaything for a rich owner) and another which still seems to survive mysteriously.

What would you consider a reasonable hourly rate for a shop to charge?