Help with my bike repair

Russinating

Russinating

Russinating

Soldato
Joined
27 Dec 2005
Posts
17,310
Location
Bristol
I came off my bike the other day and broke the plastic around my RH shifter pin, so I took it in for a repair. The guys picked up on pretty much everything that isn't perfect... which is everything apart from the frame and wheels.

As such the total bill is £529. Considering the bike was £999 new about 4 years ago (Boardman Team Carbon) and the wheels are less than a year old at £231 I'm pretty much paying for a whole new bike again, but with an old/used frame.

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I can't really justify that outlay, nor afford a new bike of a similar spec, so I don't know what to do! I only use it for commuting now and the odd evening/weekend ride in the summer; I'm certainly not challenging for the yellow jersey.

Advice and thoughts welcome please!
 
you didn't change the chain in 4 years? because that would appear to be your problem and the reason the whole drive train needs replacing

where is this anyway? £100 for labor? It's prob some guy on minimum wage of like £5.30 an hour or whatever they pay kids these days

Oddly they don't seem to be quoting new tyres which would suggest you have done some maintenance on the bike yourself over the 4 years?
 
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Having a laugh.

It's possible though extremely unlikely that you need to replace all that stuff. As Asprilla says, how does it shift?

Also, post up some pics on here with close-ups of the various parts that are supposedly damages.
 
You don't need to replace a crankset if the chanrings are worn. Neither do you have to replace a rear mech if the jockey wheels are worn.

Bent mech hanger implies it's been battered pretty hard though. I bent mine when I crashed late last year and needed stitches in my arm.
 
£100 for shifters? Am I reading this right?

Also have you broke the crankset?

I HATE bikeshops like this, just ****ing on an otherwise great community. Got charged £55 for a headset replacement once, because allegedly the headset I supplied was missing parts and they replaced some bolts... Insane.
 
This people why you go single or fixed when commuting :D. All I ever need to do are tyres and brake blocks.
Definitely DIY plenty of online resources to fix it yourself.
 
you should at least get them to price match on the items you do need, chain is like £15 not 30, shifter like like 80 not 95 etc, cassette is like £20-£35 not £48 ?

does it even matter if the cassette make matches the rest of the drive train? it's just got to be 10 speed and as many teeth as you want?

shimano ones seem much cheaper than sram

Is this halfords? the people think that you have to fit the exact same components the bike came with even if said components are harder to source and more expensive than the newer compatible replacements ?

goto halfords for chainrings etc, they will try to find the exact ones on the bike, after markets ones that fit don't even enter their minds lol

they would rather sell you a whole new crank than fit after market chain rings if they can't source the official
 
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All the stuff looks like retail price and the labour is what I'd expect down south. I'd not be charging as much labour but the shifter is £95 as I fitted a RH rival shifter a week or two back.

You could fit cheaper chain+ cassette and get cables cheaper online.

If the crank is fine you could just replace rings as has been said + the bottom bracket. Some rings can be silly money but £40ish would easily cover two cheaper ones.

I don't get the hate for shops charging what the RRP is, trade is worked out based on that....even using fishers price match they couldn't get trade low enough to price match a sram red cassette on wiggle. Think we could get the chain low enough to make £1.50 off it but what's the point?
 
Jonny ///M said:
All the stuff looks like retail price and the labour is what I'd expect down south. I'd not be charging as much labour but the shifter is £95 as I fitted a RH rival shifter a week or two back.

You could fit cheaper chain+ cassette and get cables cheaper online.

If the crank is fine you could just replace rings as has been said + the bottom bracket. Some rings can be silly money but £40ish would easily cover two cheaper ones.

I don't get the hate for shops charging what the RRP is, trade is worked out based on that....even using fishers price match they couldn't get trade low enough to price match a sram red cassette on wiggle. Think we could get the chain low enough to make £1.50 off it but what's the point?
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I'm inclined to agree. If you want it at online prices don't expect a shop to fit it for you.

To which end, if it were me, I'd be sourcing the parts and fitting them myself. £50 of tools will be enough to replace all those parts.
 
must be some shops that let you source your own parts and only charge the labour though.

alternatively the op could see if there's any places local to him that have a workspace you can rent and advisor you can pay to help you with any issues with is far cheaper than the labour costs quoted.

like in newcastle there is http://www.recyke-y-bike.org/repair/
Fix your own bike

Our workbenches and tools can be hired for you to do the essential repairs on your bike yourself.

£5 per hour

However, if you have little to no experience in fixing your bike, you can hire a workbench and a mechanic to help you.

£15 per hour
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£15 an hour, probably only take you 1-2 hours

must be similar places to that around the country and it beats paying £100 for labour when most of it is dead simple

although you might just want to get a second opinion I bet half of it doesn't really need replacing
 
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I fit stuff bought online all the time. I get paid to fit it and none of the warranty stuff lies with me....win?

I know of some shops that can be awkward but I think you need to be flexible.

Cheap chainrings are cheap but I've found stronglight ones not being great on the big to small change, falling onto the middle rather than fully on the small ring. I'd probably fit a tiagra + BB for £90 and have good shifts and not be stuck on the crappy GXP cups.
 
I fit stuff bought online all the time. I get paid to fit it and none of the warranty stuff lies with me....win?
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I'd have thought so too.
most stuff is 5mins work on a bike so it's easy money surely
but I can see why some shops might be a bit awkward , I'd have thought most little independents would be fine with it though
 
Exactly, as long as the customer buys the right part. It's not as bad as the car industry as most of the time it's the exact part they are buying rather than a pattern part.

I had a guy come in and ask me what the website was I told him about months ago and which brakes to buy. He then ordered them on bike-discount.de and I fitted them. Those brakes cost less than my trade price.
 
I don't have issues with shops charging more for parts but the list in the op is ridiculous and looks very much like a shop hoping to take a non-savvy customer for a ride.

I have respect for lots of LBS staff but calling out ones on taking the **** isn't something that I would ever refrain from.
 
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