Overcharged?

[Spoked Wheels]

Having lost my chain on my 6 speed commuter bike.(as in it came off and I can't find it) I went to a new independent bike shop, just openning for a new one. They want to charge me £16 for the chain and £25 to set the rear derailleur. Is this fair?

I find that expensive. £25 is what some wheel builders claim to charge to build a wheel. To set up the rear derailleur takes a fraction of the time it takes to build a wheel. There is definitely more work involve

Learn to adjust the derailleur yourself, there are quite a few videos on youtube on how to do it.

 

[Mickthemove]

I find that expensive. £25 is what some wheel builders claim to charge to build a wheel. To set up the rear derailleur takes a fraction of the time it takes to build a wheel. There is definitely more work involve

Learn to adjust the derailleur yourself, there are quite a few videos on youtube on how to do it.

But a wheel builder has made a pile of splash on the actual wheel parts! No wheel builder I have met would do it for 25 if you turned up with all the bits.

 

[Dusty Bin]

Agreed - I don't know anyone who will build a wheel for £25...

 

[Cubist]

I do.

 

[fossyant]

The LBS has a right to earn a bit of money to do a good job. I once queried an LBS owner when I heard him quote for a simple job. He replied that it may be a simple job on a well maintained and clean bike, but he pointed out that he gets bikes in with dogs*** on the tyres, crusted chains and rear mechs, stretched cables, non-indexed gears and folk start pretending it's his fault if the gears don't work properly when he fixes their puncture for example. So, he charges an hour's labour and makes sure he cleans and sorts the gears before giving it back.

This. Most bikes come in baked in crap. Takes time to clean enough to get to the bits to work on them.

 

[fossyant]

£25 to build a wheel... Maybe. Do my own now and it takes time, most of it lacing the wheel. I can't see an LBS actually makes any money from a build. It costs me slightly less to build a wheel than I can get the LBS to do it, but I love the challenge of the build. Takes patience I don't usually have. Wheels, then I have it.

 

[Dusty Bin]

I do.

Can I have his number?

 

[Supersuperleeds]

£25 to build a wheel... Maybe. Do my own now and it takes time, most of it lacing the wheel. I can't see an LBS actually makes any money from a build. It costs me slightly less to build a wheel than I can get the LBS to do it, but I love the challenge of the build. Takes patience I don't usually have. Wheels, then I have it.

My lbs built my wheels for free, only caveat was I had to buy all the bits from them

 

[Cubist]

Can I have his number?

You can google for them . Velocity, Huddersfield, quotes £20, Cyclefast Halifax £20 and Wheelspin Huddersfield £30.
In fact, Dave at Cyclefast spent two hours standing over me instructing me as I used all his kit to build my own wheel and still only charged me for a single build.

 

[Spoked Wheels]

But a wheel builder has made a pile of splash on the actual wheel parts! No wheel builder I have met would do it for 25 if you turned up with all the bits.

Precisely, that is why I said "some wheel builders claim "

If you were to turn up at my door with the bits I wouldn't charge you £25 but zero..... at least for another few weeks

 

[Spoked Wheels]

Takes patience I don't usually have. Wheels, then I have it.

Interesting, I do it as a therapy. I have always found terribly difficult to switch off from work issues and my wife hates it... the whole family find it annoying. Reading or watching TV doesn't help, my mind still wonders off to whatever issues I'm dealing with at work.
By accident I discovered learning to play the guitar helped me switch off and now wheel building. The problem is that I got bored of the guitar, got bored of water colour painting...... and now I'm getting bored of the wheel building.

Like yourself, I did enjoy the challenge too to start with, mainly because lots of people made it out to be a difficult job and I wanted to try that myself. Once I learnt I could do it easily there was not challenge to enjoy unless it was something different which is not easy to come by unless I do it professionally and I don't wish to go down that road.