Cost to supply and fit new disc brake pads - Specialized Hardrock

SerialComplaint

Ladies & Gents

Would you have any guidance on the ballpark cost to supply and fit new brake pads on a 2010 Specialized MTB? My local shop made a big song and dance about problems getting the right pads in, and I've a funny feeling that I've been kinda ripped off.

Thanks.

C3PO

Changing pads on a mountain bike is really something that just about anyone can do, it really isn't difficult. If you can wait, order pads online, they are much cheaper and depending on what brakes you have a set of Allan keys and a big bladed screwdriver should be all you need! What brakes are on your bike?

Rein-in

If it's the Avid BB5 brakes listed on the Specialized website, then they can be bought for anything from less than a tenner for a spurious brand up to 20-odd Euro for Avid's own brand.

After that, they can take less than a minute to install.

How much were you charged?

seamus

€20 for pads + 5 mins for each caliper to install and tweak. Any more than €40 and you're being completely ripped off. Even €40 would be pretty high, a decent shop would fit them for free and include that cost in their mark-up.

SerialComplaint

Rein-in wrote: »

If it's the Avid BB5 brakes listed on the Specialized website, then they can be bought for anything from less than a tenner for a spurious brand up to 20-odd Euro for Avid's own brand.

Is this for a pair (front & back) or just one?

Are there any views on why it might 10 days for a shop to get the right pads?

seamus

SerialComplaint wrote: »

Is this for a pair (front & back) or just one?

That'd be €20-odd euro for a single pair of OEM pads, but you'd get two pairs of generic pads for about €20.

Are there any views on why it might 10 days for a shop to get the right pads?

Standard ordering cycles I guess. Obviously they're not going to place an order with a distributor and expect it in the post the next day. Likely that they probably place a single order with the supplier once every 7 or 14 days and then it all arrives as a single delivery in a van or truck.
So when they say they'll order it in, what they mean is, "We're placing an order with the distributer next Friday, and they'll deliver that to us within 3-4 working days".

Karma

poor stock turnover in ireland, "sure the lads will be fine till next week" cable or hydrolic disc brakes? search chain reaction and wiggle, you could get a deal. any problems putting them on, you can pm me for help.
regards
dotc

kona

seamus wrote: »

€20 for pads + 5 mins for each caliper to install and tweak. Any more than €40 and you're being completely ripped off. Even €40 would be pretty high, a decent shop would fit them for free and include that cost in their mark-up.

Depending on pads, Id budget e15 for fitting, most shops will charge e50 a hour labour, and avid brakes are a pain in the ass to align as they use balljoints on the mounts where shimano and others dont.

Bit mad saying a shop isnt decent because it charges for labour? 10 minutes labour is around e10 - e15 depending on shop. Add in the fact that the brakes may need to be bled etc etc. Its not a matter of whacking in the pads and off you go. You essentially have to do a brake service too. Expecting that for free is mental.

seamus

kona wrote: »

Depending on pads, Id budget e15 for fitting, most shops will charge e50 a hour labour, and avid brakes are a pain in the ass to align as they use balljoints on the mounts where shimano and others dont.

Bit mad saying a shop isnt decent because it charges for labour? 10 minutes labour is around e10 - e15 depending on shop. Add in the fact that the brakes may need to be bled etc etc. Its not a matter of whacking in the pads and off you go. You essentially have to do a brake service too. Expecting that for free is mental.

Well I don't know the specifics of any of the manufacturers. Theoretically it should be a five-minute job, the brake system doesn't always need a full service. Piston back, pads in, align, five minutes and done. Especially on a bike that's at most 18 months old, it should be simple.
Though I suppose you're right - there's doing a quick and free job, and then there's doing a proper job and rightfully charging for it.

I wasn't saying that a shop shouldn't charge for labour, but it would be a good idea as policy to build in a small labour cost to the mark up and fit them for free. Gives them the opportunity to look at the brakes and recommend that a service is due or whatever.
Apologies, I did use the word "decent" wrongly there, I didn't mean that a shop is taking the piss if they charge, I meant that if they felt like being nice, they would do it for free.

studiorat

I hate when guys in any shops do that, not just bike shops too.

"Aw mate tricky job! then we'll have send off to Narobi for the parts!!"

Simply blowing their own trumpet and trying to make out you how brilliant they they are IMO.

Fifty quid an hour is a reasonable charge, I'd give them Sixty if they'd keep their traps shut half the time!

kona

seamus wrote: »

Well I don't know the specifics of any of the manufacturers. Theoretically it should be a five-minute job, the brake system doesn't always need a full service. Piston back, pads in, align, five minutes and done. Especially on a bike that's at most 18 months old, it should be simple.
Though I suppose you're right - there's doing a quick and free job, and then there's doing a proper job and rightfully charging for it.

I wasn't saying that a shop shouldn't charge for labour, but it would be a good idea as policy to build in a small labour cost to the mark up and fit them for free. Gives them the opportunity to look at the brakes and recommend that a service is due or whatever.
Apologies, I did use the word "decent" wrongly there, I didn't mean that a shop is taking the piss if they charge, I meant that if they felt like being nice, they would do it for free.

It gets messy when you build in labour into product pricing, because then you come across as a rip off, the "Ryanair" approach seems to work, break it all down and let people pay for what they want.

Avid BB5 are mechanical, if they were hydraulic you may get away with pushing the pistons back in and away you go. With mechanical Id have to undo the canble, back off the static pad, then fit pads, and re adjust, as I said sometimes mechanical can be a pain in the ass, couple that with bent rotors it can be a pain in the ass. While a customer can live with the brakes rubbing, if he pays for them to be fixed, he expects them to be perfect.

I know this doesnt apply to the OP but disc brakes on BSOs, are a disaster, you could spend a half an hour getting them to just stop the bike without rubbing as the mounts do be bent alont with rotors and crap callipers. I wouldnt be doing these for free.

However I would do a quick alignment for somebody for free if they were buying something and asked about brakes, takes me few mins and the customer will probably come back again.

Also suppliers, dear jesus they are a pain in the ring to get anything off, I ordered a 105 rear mech 3 weeks ago and last week I got a 105 rim.... Cutomer wasnt too pleased, and I get the **** for the suppliers stupidity. Madison supply our shimano stuff, they are based in england, so order goes through in the morning, so unless you order at the weekend for monday morning, it can go into a 2 week lead time depending on past etc, bit of a joke. Thats why CRC are great the are wholesale so more than likely have the parts to hand, however I have been left waiting 3 weeks for a wheelset from CRC, so LBS aint the only ones ridden by suppliers.

SerialComplaint

Thanks for all the replies and the offers of help. The good news is (no sniggers please) that I've learnt from this thread the difference between disc brake pads and disc brake discs. I was mixing up the two, and was wondering why my disc was obviously worn and rusty in spots. So now I get that the disc was not replaced, but the pads were. The brakes are cable brakes, not hydraulic.

I was charged €55 in my local shop for supply and fit of the new pads, and replacing some spacers on the headset. They made a big fuss about how hard it was to find the right pads, and how the reps kept bringing in the wrong ones. In fact, I had agreed to take the bike elsewhere when they actually got the right ones on that day. I've also found the gears are slipping a bit, or not changing up/down on certain cogs with a single click since I got it back. Bad experience IMHO.