£175 repair bill for mountain bike

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Bike is a Trek 850, about years old now. It's been well used and pretty much needs most of the components replaced.

Back wheel, chain, full chainset.

I was wondering instead of paying £175, could I just buy a cheapo bike for £70 from Argos and transfer the components over (18 speed to replace 21 speed)? Would also give me new v brakes (currently have cants), new seat etc.

Is that possible? Thanks in advance.
 
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you got a break down of the costs ?

sounds like a total rip off depending on what parts there planning to put on it

could probably fix it yourself for a lot cheaper using cheaper parts (that will still be much better quality than the bits on a 70quid bike)

id think about paying a bit more and getting a decent new bike though. something like a specialized hardrock or its competitors. thesedays 250-300quid gets you a nice bike
 

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you got a break down of the costs ?

sounds like a total rip off depending on what parts youve broke

could probably fix it yourself for a lot cheaper using cheaper parts (that will still be much better quality than the bits on a 70quid bike)

id think about paying a bit more and getting a decent new bike though. something like a specialized hardrock or its competitors. thesedays 300quid gets you a nice bike

Don't have it to hand, but they did break it down. Rear wheel and hub was £45. Need new chain, whole gear system, new crank cog thingy. The bike is genuinely screwed though, been heavily used for 10 years. £175 does seem a lot mind.

I did go and look at new bikes. Even the ones at £300 didn't feel as good as my currently one. They were very heavy, and although the components were better, riding my 850 was more fun. Am keen to fix this one up if I can. Never repaired any bikes though. Is it possible for a total novice?
 
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its possible but the gears and stuff are quite tricky for a beginner as a couple of special tool might be needed for removing the cranks/chain/cassette. things like brakes and wheels are very easy though

they dont seem to be over charging on stuff because 45 is a reasonable price for a wheel.
i guess its up to you wether you think its worth paying to be fixed.

i guess if your buying decent parts now then in the future you can put them on a better frame/forks if you ever do want to upgrade
 

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its possible but the gears and stuff are quite tricky for a beginner as a couple of special tool might be needed for removing the cranks/chain/cassette. things like brakes and wheels are very easy though

they dont seem to be over charging on stuff because 45 is a reasonable price for a wheel.
i guess its up to you wether you think its worth paying to be fixed.

i guess if your buying decent parts now then in the future you can put them on a better frame/forks if you ever do want to upgrade

Thanks Andy, don't think doing it myself is something I've capable of really. £175 feels too much for me to spend. I don't mind loweing the component spec a bit, hence me thinking, why don't I buy a £75 bike and get the shop to transfer the components? I couldn't buy those equivilent components for £75 if I bought them seperately. Is it feasible to do it?
 
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its not something id advise really. the components on those cheap bikes are usually very bad quality and very heavy. usually made from forged steel or cheap quality alloys

id maybe ask the shop what they can do for you. there must be cheaper options on the parts theyre using

try looking at the prices of things on http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/
 

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its not something id advise really. the components on those cheap bikes are usually very bad quality and very heavy. usually made from forged steel or cheap quality alloys

id maybe ask the shop what they can do for you. there must be cheaper options on the parts theyre using

try looking at the prices of things on http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/

Righto, thanks. The spec says "Shimamo" for the gears on the cheapo bike. I assumed the Shimano on that bike was pretty much the same as the Shimano that was originally on my bike.
 
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It could be anything really, I saw a new bike for sale just lately in JJB Sports that had the exact same Shimano SIS gears that my Raleigh Marauder had... I bought that in about 1989 :D

Don't go with the argos bikes, they're terrible in basically every way. What I'd do if I was you, is look for something used but in decent condition on gumtree/ebay etc, there's always decent nick, old fashioned MTBs and the like on my local gumtree for £50-£100 that'll absolutely own the cheap new ones.

What sort of riding do you do? £175 would buy you most of a proper new bike.
 
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Looking at the spec of a '97 trek 850 its all alivio + SLX parts so maybe the shop are pricing it for like for like rather than poorer quality stuff.

The alivio crankset is £25(dunno if u need a new bb),chain about £10,cassette ~£15-20. Shifters if you need them £20 and that sounds about right for a rear wheel. Probably another £20 for a rear mech £15 for a front.

The shop i use change a basic £30 per hour,maybe even 40. So labour can bump the price up a lot.

Cheap £80 bikes will be steel,weigh loads and have crappy gripshift + crappy rear mech,crap bearings,crap tyres,crap brakes,crap everything!
 
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I have a full set of geartrain off my Kona, could let you have cheap, XT 2006 rear mech, deore front mech and Deore shifters.
 

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Thanks a lot guys for all the advice. I have asked the bike shop to try to clean the existing parts up and replace the snapped gear cable. The chain is a gonner (snapped several times after repairs) so going to put a new chain on it and hope it doesn't slip over the worn cogs. This was the main reason for replacing the components, as I was advised that a new chain wouldn't work with existing cogs.

Tell us what parts you need. And i can spec up 2nd hand parts from ebay. You will get better parts for lesser money. Then just take them in and tell them to fit the parts.

In theory the whole gear assembly, and possibly the bottom bracket. The fault with the bike is that the gear cable (rear) and chain snapped, but shop said a new chain wouldn't work on the existing cogs.

I have a full set of geartrain off my Kona, could let you have cheap, XT 2006 rear mech, deore front mech and Deore shifters.

What sort of money we talking about Banny?
 
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Plus i assume that the £80 bike is also a full susser? Its laughable, please god dont do it they are for kids that wont to tootle around the garage. Utter death traps for anyone that takes them onto the grass :)
 
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Thanks a lot guys for all the advice. I have asked the bike shop to try to clean the existing parts up and replace the snapped gear cable. The chain is a gonner (snapped several times after repairs) so going to put a new chain on it and hope it doesn't slip over the worn cogs. This was the main reason for replacing the components, as I was advised that a new chain wouldn't work with existing cogs.

In theory the whole gear assembly, and possibly the bottom bracket. The fault with the bike is that the gear cable (rear) and chain snapped, but shop said a new chain wouldn't work on the existing cogs.

I'd agree with the shop - do it all at once. My hardtail is about to get a new chain, new cassette and new middle+granny rings on the chainset. I've been getting some chainsuck on the last couple of rides, so time to do it all.
 
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