| Re: you have to be kidding
RonSonic wrote:
>
> Now imagine if you had no clue whatsoever - what would someone have
to do to
> ensure you were safe, happy, rolling smooth and never ever stranded?
What level
> of care and maintenance does that take. A hell of a lot more than you
or I are
> going to do because we are a different customer than that.
>
> Now, as to how are you going to spend $200 on a bike. It's called
labor and it
> has to be paid for or you don't get any, or you get the ****ty
indifferent kind.
> What is your time worth? What is the time of someone you want working
on your
> bike worth? Wear and tear on tools? Overhead?
>
> Let's follow this up a little further. You say parts should only be
replaced at
> need and bearings repacked if contaminated and so on. How much time,
and this is
> an actual question since I'm not a pro bike mechanic like some of our
guys here,
> does it take to inspect everything and confirm that none of that
needs done.
> Next question - how much do you charge for that inspection. How much
work could
> you have done in the time it took to inspect? How much time to see
that the
> bearing's grease is uncontaminated compared to repacking and
replacing bearings?
>
> What would you have to charge?
As far as "safety" and being "stranded", I think you are introducing
the bogeyman. What kind of things can a bike shop do to prevent these?
A normal bike inspection will check the brakes (pad wear/alignment, rim
wear, etc.), wiggle the handlebars for loose stem and/or headset, check
the wheels for true. Drivetrain parts (chain, sprockets, rings) need to
be checked for wear, but that's trivial, and not a "safety" issue.
Wheel, headset and BB bearings can be felt for roughness and repacked
as necessary. Many newer bearings are cartridge, so there's no
serviceability, just toss when they're shot. Bearings also typically
won't "strand" you or raise safety issues. Since BB bearings can't be
felt without pulling the cranks, I wait until I have to pull the cranks
for something else, or until they develop some play. I would regrease
seatposts and quill stems and tweak shifting and brake pull if needed.
An inspection like that should take a half hour.
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