Guess how much I paid at the LBS

[Ruthie]

I need to know whether I’m being ripped off.

New headset bearings plus grease.
New 9-speed chain and cassette
New jockey wheels
New brake blocks
Hubs greased
New BB
New gear cables
New brake cables

All fitted at the LBS

How much is a reasonable price, including labour, d’you think?

ETA: it’s a 19 year old Dawes Horizon, basic generic kit, nothing fancy.

[perpetual dan]

My LBS has Labour charges on their website. Sussex prices, but probably £110 for the work. I’d guess at least another £100 for the bits, depending on how shiny. But I’ve not needed to buy more than the odd cable since shipping got more expensive, so it’s quite possibly more. Plus something if they had to do much cleaning before starting work.

So, maybe £250? More?

[Polar Bear]

I'm guessing that would be about 3 hours work and at least a ton for parts

I'd expect a £200 bill myself but luckily I can do those jobs so it's parts and my time.

[Ruthie]

Ah, that makes me feel a bit better. Thank you.

[matthew]

It's a while since I bought any components but based on the list of bits I would be expecting £100-150 depending on if they have used low end components or in stock slightly higher end components. I would expect the labour to be 3-4 hours which becomes a function of their hourly rate but another £60-120, though given your region £30 an hour is probably excessive but in my southern climes to rent the shop space would probably drive that. All said I would be expecting to pay £250-270 here but would hope to pay £200-250 in areas where shop rents are more reasonable.

[Captain Nemo]

Similarly, I would do that as home jobs. When LBS labour taken into account I'd put it at nearer £250 than £200 (possibly more if cable replacement includes outers as well as inners - bar taping, etc).

[Polar Bear]

Dawes Horizon is a good, solid, practical workhorse of a bike.  Worth keeping on the road imo.

mllePB has a 1Down.  Superceded by the Sardar but with Reynolds 631? tubing it made for a brilliant All rounder from a whip around the local reservoir to weeks of loaded touring.  I couldn't find one in my size at the time so I ended up having a Roberts custom frame instead.  Would have been happy with a Dawes though.

[hatler]

I reckoned on £85 for the bits and then about £150 for labour so £235.

[Ruthie]

It’s a brilliant bike, it’s served time as a loaded tourer, a commuter, an Audax bike, and at the moment it has studded ice tyres for reliable transport.

I haven’t a clue about doing those jobs myself. I’m the kind of learner who needs someone to talk me through it while I do it, so my hands can learn as well as my brain. Ain’t nobody got that much patience!!

Thanks everyone.

[Adam]

In my shop in sunny Bognor Regis, the cost for that list would be around £200-£220.

[Hot Flatus]

£150 absolute minimum

[The Family Cyclist]

When you break it down by mileage you do and take fuel costs out-of it it's basically peanuts even if its not pleasant at point of


From my personal experience the hubs greasing would be the part I found hardest but that's just because it's a bit catchy monkey getting them set at right tension, the BB can also be a fiddle and thinking as a I type once you've taken into account some of the tooling makes it better value still

However a lot of those jobs can easily be learnt and if that takes  your fancy there is almost certainly either a YACFer or local bike repair thing where you could learn. I've learnt most those myself by generally being fairly hard up and having to learn

[toontra]

I was going to say £250 before reading any posts below the first. Maybe London prices are a tad higher but that would seem reasonable for the time/work involved, and components are only getting more expensive.

[fd3]

I had a similar moment on collecting my wife's bike where she'd paid for them to swap the (disk) brake pads and I bought a spare pair - I'm used to buying V-brake pads online for <£10 so I "assumed" the price was for a pair...  best part of £80 later I am still much better off than if we had to pay for car brakes.

[Paul H]

If you want a go yourself, there might be some courses in your area, I've seen a few advertised around here. 
I'd agree with others, I'd expect a £200 - £250 bill, good news is they seem to have covered all the stuff that regularly needs it, so it ought to be good for a long while.
Another advantage of DIY is a LBS might replace something that a home mechanic might get some more use from, that isn't a criticism, they want you to be happy and not need to come back a month later, it just doesn't always represent the best value.  Likewise, labour is such a big part of the bill (Understandably, I doubt anyone is getting rich) it's often more economical to replace than to service. I think I do a better job than an LBS, not because I have the skills, but because I'm happy to spend an entire day getting something just right, even if they did it in half the time, no one would want the bill.

[Snakehips]

So what's the answer? What have they quoted? Or did I miss that bit?
I feel I need to know because I have several old bits of crap that could do with some attention, but I fear that the cost would be uneconomic. Which is why I just buy new (highly discounted) bikes.

[Ruthie]

I was quoted £265. I won’t be collecting it till Saturday  thobut, so the final total might still change.

[giropaul]

I think that what you’re being charged is fair and decent.

[Paul H]

I was quoted £265. I won’t be collecting it till Saturday  thobut, so the final total might still change.

That looks a bit on the high side, but not excessively so.  The other thing to consider is the quality of components used, chain and cassette for example have widely differing prices.  A LBS is also likely to be charging close to RRP, they're buying small quantities via a distributor, there won't be much margin for discounts. Doing it yourself allows you to shop around and buy cheaper than the LBS is able to sell.

[rogerzilla]

The quality is remembered long after the price is forgotten, so hopefully it is a good job.  I'm not sure how anyone can strip and regrease a hub (all work being hidden) as diligently as the owner would.

[L CC]

Using the LBS for servicing keeps them in business and that helps make sure they're there when you need them for something you can't do yourself.

(I nearly never do any bike work. If we had an LBS in my village I'd get them to do my punctures, even my bike cleaning.)

[Cudzoziemiec]

So that's something along the lines of:

(click to show/hide)

LCC tried to mend the electric bike
Herself. It failed to work.
And serve her right!
It is the business of the cycling fan
To give employment to the artisan.

[mrcharly-YHT]

Parts are a fortune. I recently replaced chain, jockey wheels, cassette, crankset. I think I paid about £130 for the parts and that was with a lot of shopping around.

[Ruthie]

I did a course once, with my ex, and it was good but there wasn’t enough time to cover very much. We spent half an hour learning to change a tyre and fix a puncture.

It was a group class, everyone had a slightly different bike and that was a big time sink.

[Polar Bear]

I suppose an awful lot depends upon the conscientiousness of the individual, their pride in their own work.

I know that I would want to do a job to a level which I would do it for myself.  Of course the big unanswered question there is, how high are my own standards. 

I'm guessing that if you had asked our infrequently resident bicycle necromancer he would have given you a similar quote.  Many a time has he detailed a tale of a bso appearing in his shop with nothing working and everything needing replacing and the owner thinking that it can be restored to full health for a cup of tea and a few friendly slaps on the back accompanied by the usual racist and sexist diatribe.**

**  Aspects of this may have been over emphasised for dramatic effect.