Estimate £ of my LBS job.

[fossyant]

Not unreasonable for an LBS to want to see it first. One person's 'brand new' is not the same as anothers.

£30-£40 per hour is the going rate. It's not a difficult job, but if I was swapping bars, then there is a good chance, as a minimum, you will want new gear and brake inners (if already new) as the crimping the ends and the clamping of the cable in the mechs/calipers deforms the cables, so they won't thread back in well.

It's a simple job, but does take time. Personally I'd learn to do it yourself. You will also need to learn how to pre-load the headset if removing the stem, again easy. You won't need loads of tools to do this, but it may set you back the equivalent of the labour rate. It's always good to build up your tools bit by bit, that's how I did mine. I have hundreds of pounds worth of tools, bike stands and wheel truing stands now, but that's collected over many years.

Bikes are not hard to work on, and there are so many videos these days explaining how to do it, it's simple.

 

[JoeyB]

Coming from DIY car mechanics, bikes are an absolute JOY to work on.

 

[fossyant]

There are many more people cycling, and a whole lot more who haven't a clue about bikes. Most aren't crazy enthusiasts that drool over parts that weigh a gram less. I've seen some 'new' bikes in shocking states as folk don't know that a bit of oil is needed after a wet ride. I can see where the LBS is coming from. I rarely agree to look at mates bikes - twice I've ended up with a bike that's been covered in crap, and it's been an afternoons work. Payback, bottle of wine if lucky (that was a neighbour) mates = nothing.

 

[jay clock]

At least LBS are not as bad as plumbers. I had a job needing doing recently. Called 8 plumbers. All went to voicemail. Left messages. One called back but wasn't able to help!

 

[JoeyB]

At least LBS are not as bad as plumbers. I had a job needing doing recently. Called 8 plumbers. All went to voicemail. Left messages. One called back but wasn't able to help!

Don't get me started on tradesmen lol....I am still waiting on a quote back from our sparky for some work in the office. They are of a different generation whereby communication clearly didn't have its place haha

 

[e-rider]

wow these prices are not what i expected, i would say around 10-15 quid at my lbs but then again its a one man business. then again even if i was in the business of fixing bikes i wouldnt charge someone 30-40 to wrap some tape and bolt on a few bits....

you wouldn't stay in business long then - for a shop to 'make' minimum wage per hour (£6) they need to be taking at least £25 per hour, more if they have expensive rent. Now most people want to earn (much) more than minimum wage - do the math!

 

[fossyant]

Some folk are happy to pay £100 plus per hour to fix a car, but not £30 per hour for a bike !

 

[JoeyB]

Some folk are happy to pay £100 plus per hour to fix a car, but not £30 per hour for a bike !

I don't think 'happy' is the right word...'forced' might be more appropriate lol

 

[uclown2002]

Just demonstrates the value in a good local bike shop. Where do you live? Perhaps someone on CC could recommend someone.

I've just upgraded my 2300 groupset to 105. Although I thought about doing it myself it would have taken me more time than I had so I bought all the stuff and got my lbs (Ace Cycles, Harrogate) to fit.

New shifters, bar tape, RD, FD, Chain, Cassette, Crankset, Bottom Bracket fitted 3 hrs after dropping my bike off, for the cost of £40 labour.

Dropped in also on the fly yesterday in the hope he could true my rear wheel; only took him 5-10 mins but refused payment.

Now that is a proper lbs.

 

[ayceejay]

Just a thought: is this the same shop that you bought your bike from? All these items would be changed FOC by a good LBS if so. If on he other hand you bought it from this guys competition this could explain his reticence.
Incidentally: no employee works (ie earns the firm money) 24 hours a day for 52 weeks a year but the cost of running a business continues for all this time.
I had a young guy working for me who was approached by one of my clients who asked how much he was paid and offered him more(cash in hand), my guy took the offer and left me to take it. Within three months the client was asking me to restart and the young wanted his job back.

 

[jack smith]

you wouldn't stay in business long then - for a shop to 'make' minimum wage per hour (£6) they need to be taking at least £25 per hour, more if they have expensive rent. Now most people want to earn (much) more than minimum wage - do the math!

then again i have noticed it hasent been open for a couple of weeks, but it is a tiny area and there is another that has been there years just over the road, its a one bloke job and a canny bloke he is, heck if i could get 40+ pound an hour for undoing and doing a few bolts i think i better set up a one man bike shop.

as someone else mentioned i bought the tool kit from aldi for £20 and its saved me a heck of alot of money just from december, and id happily fix, friends/families bikes for nothing because i simply enjoy it, £40+ for the job stated is horrendous. best thing to do is go to a independent bike shop IMO usually alot friendlier and cheaper, i got 7 days on and off work on my old road bike after a head on collision with a car, needed the whole thing apart then reassembled including inner and outer cables for £20, bloke even lent me his personal bike for the week.

 

[jack smith]

£10-15 for an hour's work? Seriously

£10-15 is alot more than minimum wage the majority of people in my area around durham dont earn anywhere near that an hour, so i dont see how they can justify £40+ thats on par with some very high up jobs

 

[SteCenturion]

Just demonstrates the value in a good local bike shop. Where do you live? Perhaps someone on CC could recommend someone.

I've just upgraded my 2300 groupset to 105. Although I thought about doing it myself it would have taken me more time than I had so I bought all the stuff and got my lbs (Ace Cycles, Harrogate) to fit.

New shifters, bar tape, RD, FD, Chain, Cassette, Crankset, Bottom Bracket fitted 3 hrs after dropping my bike off, for the cost of £40 labour.

Dropped in also on the fly yesterday in the hope he could true my rear wheel; only took him 5-10 mins but refused payment.

Now that is a proper lbs.

That's what I call 'Ace'.

Wish it were my lbs.

 

[Banjo]

Amuses me how you can know its a "relatively easy " job when you cant do it yourself.

If you can find a bike mechanic working in a garden shed cash in hand then maybe 10 to 15 quid will do it.

£10-15 is alot more than minimum wage the majority of people in my area around durham dont earn anywhere near that an hour, so i dont see how they can justify £40+ thats on par with some very high up jobs

They dont have to justify it they charge it people pay it.

The point is this is a business not a job.

An employee gets paid for every hour they work a business can only charge for hours actually worked on jobs.

so unloading vans, sweeping floor ,making coffee, doing the books ,chatting to customers about bikes or jobs they may or may not buy/ have done etc etc all have to be payed for and noone specifically to charge for it.

Add on the overheads of rent ,rates power /water, insurances, a company vehicle etc etc . I dont think many small bike shop owners reach the richest 100 list.

 

[AndyRM]

£10-15 is alot more than minimum wage the majority of people in my area around durham dont earn anywhere near that an hour, so i dont see how they can justify £40+ thats on par with some very high up jobs

You have to take into account that you are paying for use of someone's time, skill, knowledge, education and equipment. Also factor in that you're paying for something you don't/can't/won't do yourself, so it's a bit of a luxury purchase which comes with a premium.

If I'm doing a freelance graphic design job, I'll either agree a flat fee up front based on how long I think it will take me. If a client is vague or unsure, I'll bill them at £30 an hour.