Chancers in bike shops

byrnem31 · 18-03-2022 10:38pm #1

I left my defy into a well known shop Wednesday for a service at €75. Its basically a tune up. They called me back saying the rear hub was lose and needed fixing, complete bull as its a brand new wheel replaced under warranty that was checked by the other shop i bought the bike from. The stickers are still on the wheel its that new. They said i needed a new casette and chain, more bull as theres only about 500klm on current one again which was only checked by the other shop. Its in perfect condition. And i needed new cables for a 2 year old bike. Plus, they wanted €50 to bleed the brakes. All in 300 to 400 quids worth of work depending.

I asked this shop very recently for a trade in and they said my bike was immaculate and offered me very good money for it. (Didn't do the deal as my go to shop can get the bike earlier). But all of a sudden it need loads of work.

I told them to service it, ie. quick tune up for the €75 i was quoted and new pads. €109 in total. I didnt get the other work done that was suggested and low and behold the bike is fine and has never been better.

I dont usually use this shop for servicing but i could not get into the city centre to my usual shop so was stuck. Never again. Cycling is gone like the car trade, full of chancers and Del boy sales men.

I flagged the rear wheel with him in that its fine and told him to look at the stickers on it, its a brand new wheel checked by giant and the dealer. He didnt really have an answer for that one.

Be aware, and always ask for a call before any additional work is done.

Seve OB · 18-03-2022 10:48pm

Sounds like *********. They pulled same with me last year. Gobshite here though paid them for it all!

after a recent visit there to buy a pair of runners (which I posted about in running forum) I will never darken their doorstep again. Brazen chancers.

byrnem31 · 18-03-2022 10:57pm

Not there but i wont be naming the shop. What is a fair price for a service that tightens up everything, ie, tune up, and gives it a bit of lube where needed ? I think €75 is steep.

magicbastarder · 18-03-2022 11:19pm

name of bike shop edited out as they were accused in the wrong in this instance.

cletus · 18-03-2022 11:20pm

I suppose it depends on what you expect to be done. What is a "tune up"?

[Deleted User] · 18-03-2022 11:31pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118803859#Comment_118803859

That's effectively €75 of labour? nothing replaced in terms of cables or fluid or brake pads?

byrnem31 · 18-03-2022 11:39pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118804007#Comment_118804007

No parts, just labour for tightening everything back up and making sure gears and that are changing smoothly.

magicbastarder · 18-03-2022 11:42pm

that's above gold service level for this particular place (and platinum means full cable replacement)

https://duffcycles.com/repairs/

[Deleted User] · 19-03-2022 12:15am

€14 euro to fix a puncture? Surely thats a new tube and not actually mending the old tube?

byrnem31 · 19-03-2022 12:26am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118804049#Comment_118804049

I can give my 2006 civic a basic service myself for €50, oil, oilfilter and air filter change. Im just not great working with bikes at all, they are very finnicky with small parts. I have stubby fingers and no patience. So €75 for a tune up with no parts provided, to me seems steep.

stevencn88 · 19-03-2022 12:49am

Asked my new LBS about getting the bike "serviced" and was told minimum €120 just for labour. Chain, front chain rings, jockey wheels and rear block all needed "replacing".... all replaced in November (so they can get f****d). Bought a chain wear tool last week and the chain may as well be new! Crazy carry on altogether.

gn3dr · 19-03-2022 1:08am

Key part of cycling for me is being able to do all maintenance myself, I mean everything. Maybe it's a factor of growing up in the 70's and 80's or maybe I'm a control freak but there is no way I'd give any bikes I own into a shop to service or repair. It's not hard.

However if you do want to send your bike into a shop for repair then you have to consider the shop overheads as well. So as mentioned - €14 to fix a puncture - is it that bad when you factor in paying the guy, rent , carrying spares etc. If you owned the shop how much would you charge to fix a puncture if let say it took your employee 20 mins to do it?.

Of course a shop telling you your chain is worn when it clearly isn't, well that's another story.

[Deleted User] · 19-03-2022 7:57am

Find a LBS where the mechanics/owners are into cycling/racing and get to know them. The guy in my LBS is a font of knowledge and always gives me tips and likes working my bikes as they are in good condition and well looked after. He always gives me a fair price and never does anything extra without ringing me first.

Last time I wandered into a bike shop where they didn't know me, the chancer of a mechanic tried to replace the rear cassette and chain which were pretty much brand new. Seems like any issues with the drive train and their go to is to replace the cassette and chain. It was my winter bike and he thought I didn't know what I was talking about, but his whole demeanour changed when he realised I did (kind of).

cletus · 19-03-2022 8:26am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118804318#Comment_118804318

Exactly. People seem to only factor in the cost of the item being replaced. The shop has to cover the cost of the item being replaced, the wages of the employee doing the job, rents, rates and other bills, and try and turn a profit too.

In the fix a puncture example above, a new tube is, what, €4. That leaves a tenner being charged for the labour. Our national minimum wage is €10.50 an hour. Now I know that it doesn't take an hour to change a tube, but it takes part of the hour, so part of the tenner is wages, part is running the shop, providing tools etc, and part is profit for the owner.

I know I've said this on the forum before, but really, most of the jobs on a bike are very easy to do. Whatever about jobs that require you to have specific tool, a "tune up" (which, according to the OP consists of making sure no fasteners are loose, and lubing the chain) should be doable by just about anyone.

If you really have no mechanical sympathy, a torque wrench will cost less than the €75 charged for the service.

The reality is, if you're not able to/ not happy to learn how to work on your bike, then you have to accept that there's a cost involved. If shops aren't covering their costs, they close down

Bikespeeds YouTube channel is great if you want to see what goes into the various types of service a bike shop might carry out on a bike.

byrnem31 · 19-03-2022 8:50am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118804539#Comment_118804539

I do have a go to shop. I just couldnt get to it on the day as its city centre based. I learned my lesson, stick to what i know.

dahat · 19-03-2022 10:44am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118804186#Comment_118804186

Tubes are near €7 in a shop now so €12-€14 for a new tube & fit isn’t the worst price in the world to be fair

sham58107 · 19-03-2022 10:53am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118804803#Comment_118804803

What LBS are you using , €3.50- € 3.99 for Conti on Chain Reaction . assuming LBS buys cheaper €14 euro is including an awful labour charge for say 10 min job.

whodafunk · 19-03-2022 10:57am

I think I know exactly the shop you are talking about…

magicbastarder · 19-03-2022 10:59am

last time i asked, several years ago, my LBS had a minimum price for labour (though i don't know if this included fixing punctures); that €15 applied to replacing a spoke (didn't charge for the spoke) or swapping out a BB (i had the replacement BB, which they'd sold me a year earlier)

Searchers · 19-03-2022 11:02am

I prefer to get my bike serviced in a LBS, and don’t mind paying the labour for a professional job that gives me that extra bit of confidence on long spins. However, I don’t think I’ve ever left a bike in any shop and not been told I need a chain and cassette replacement!

magicbastarder · 19-03-2022 11:09am

i dropped a bike into duff cycles about six years ago (was €30 for a standard service then); a bike which had been in storage for years. when i picked it up, they told me that they'd barely needed to do a thing with it, just a bit of lubrication and minor gear adjustment.

maybe i should feel slightly cheated in that they still charged me the €30 even though they explicitly told me it was an easy one.

IIRC they now charge a mandatory €10 cleaning fee if you drop a bike in which is filthy, before they'll start to work on it.

cletus · 19-03-2022 11:23am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118804825#Comment_118804825

The cheapest I've seen a tube in a bricks and mortar shop is about 4.50 in Halfords. Markup on items would, I would imagine, be in and around 30-40%, so let's say 40%, which leaves cost of the tube at €2.70.

That means the labour cost is €11.30. let's say the mechanic is on minimum wage (anther discussion). The 10 minutes they were working on the puncture costs €1.75

That leaves €9.55 for the owner to pay rates, bills, and take a profit themselves.

Now, those figure obviously change if the shop don't charge wholesale for their parts (there's no reason why the parts should be supplied at cost), and if the fella on the spanners gets more than minimum wage. Let's say he's on €15 an hour. Now that 10 minute job is costing €2.50 in wages, and the the tube is costing €4.

Now the owner has €7.50 to pay bills, rates, and make a profit.

Personally, I think anyone paying somebody to change a tube on a bike is mad, but I can understand the cost involved if it's a service that you provide, and people are willing to use

AndrewJRenko · 19-03-2022 11:39am

I've had the reverse problem with Joe Daly's in Dundrum, where I'm almost embarrassed at the extent of stuff they insist on doing for free, or they say 'sure we'll just charge you for the parts'.

ted1 · 19-03-2022 12:14pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118804919#Comment_118804919

It’s not about the 10 mins time to change it, it’s about the 50 minutes paying a staff to be available to change it ;)

cletus · 19-03-2022 12:17pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118805057#Comment_118805057

I get that too. I'm trying to break down the numbers the way that other posters are suggesting. Obviously workers aren't paid in 10 minute blocks or anything. But even if you break it down the way I did, it's not exactly extortionate.

That's obviously not condoning upselling on parts that aren't needed

Weepsie · 19-03-2022 12:18pm

I generally have the opposite experience and have built up a relationship that means I trust them to do something if it needs doing.

Sometimes I'll ask for something very specific to be done so they know that's all that needs doing. Other times it's a whatever you think needs to be done and they'll go ahead and is their judgement

I've paid a lot less than I thought I would for some jobs and more for others so it all balances out

Working class heroes · 19-03-2022 12:19pm

Yis are some miserable shower alright 😁

[Deleted User] · 19-03-2022 12:23pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118804967#Comment_118804967

Hasn't been my neck of the woods for a good few years but I'd have had similar experience of them even back when they were on main st. or being handed tools to do the job myself on a couple of occasions when the lads would have been away at the Rás and shop was short handed. It's funny I reckon that kind service led me to spending a few thousand there over the years I was living around that way.

eeeee · 19-03-2022 12:43pm

I also have the opposite problem. I've never had a cassette or chain recommendation, but I only go to a bike shop for things I can't do myself. I've only had that stuff done when I've specifically asked for it.

€15 to change a tube isn't extortionate, employees, rent, rates, insurance, tax etc etc etc don't get charged only when someone's in the shop. And the skill and knowledge of a good mechanic is worth more than the minimum wage.

If you can't service you're bike you have to pay for the expertise to do so.

That said I've had sexist moments in bike shops - rolled in for an emergency ass saver of a wet day, to be told my bike was "very aggressive for a woman", and wouldn't I be more comfortable on something more upright, or a women's specific bike 🙄🙄 they're no longer open...

8valve · 19-03-2022 1:54pm

If you are paying over €40 to have your bike checked over and tuned up, you are paying too much. We charge €30.

Additional labour is €40 p/h. We're in South Tipp, in a small town; I'm reliably informed that some Dublin shops charge 60-75 per hour labour, as that is what the public are willing to pay up there.

Check-over should include a check of literally every nut and bolt on the bike for tightness, gear tune and brake tune, tyres pumped.

Anything extra will incur charge for parts and additional labour, naturally.

If I get a customer who is doing plenty of mileage, I stick a chain checker in the bike while they are standing there after dropping in the bike; that way, we can agree at the outset on whether a chain or chain/cassette are required.

If I come across anything serious while checking the bike, a phone call is made to the customer with an estimate of the parts/labour cost before any additional work commences.

With regards to tube prices online and from large chainstores; they buy their tubes in the thousands...we buy a box of 20/30 at a time. From an independent Irish wholesaler. Who also has to make a few bob. I can assure you we're not getting them as cheaply as the big boys.

Local bike shops: use 'em or lose 'em, folks.

Wishbone Ash · 19-03-2022 2:08pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118804967#Comment_118804967

I suffered a mechanical very close to their shop a few years ago. I chanced my arm to see if they could sort me out. They did it on the spot and wouldn't take a penny for it.

I'm astounded that some people think €14 is too expensive to sort out a puncture. If I couldn't do it myself I'd think that was very reasonable. The same people would probably think nothing of spending €4 on a coffee or €7 on a pint. The mind boggles.

Chancers in bike shops

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