| Re: you have to be kidding
On Tue, 1 Mar 2005 20:37:41 -0500, "Mary" <Sharkm@netcarrier.com> wrote:
>I took the bike in once a year for a full tune-up to the shop in question.
>They also did all of the maintenance and repairs on the bike over the last 6
>years.
Okay, we know it's been maintained. Let's look at this a little deeper then.
What are your typical annual repair needs and bills like? Has the bike had a
complete overhaul, all bearings replaced and repacked, cables, pads, tuned and
tightened recently? Or is that all part of this $300 service package? If so,
then this is not a bad thing or a bad deal. Especially if it's been a few years
since a full overhaul.
Bikes do last pretty well forever and the replacement parts are not usually real
expensive but can add up. Labor is fairly extensive and increasingly expensive
for them. I wouldn't worry about anything on that bike becoming obsolete. In the
future those part might not be under the counter, but they will be available. I
just overhauled my bikes, one from 1988 the other a 1990 with no parts problems.
I do not like that guy's line about impending obsolescence but don't know what
it's based on, sales spiffs, his sense that this bike might be needing a lot
soon, something his boss tells him to say, or and as likely as anything else a
tendency toward trendiness that afflicts this hobby. A lot of people are happy
to have an excuse to buy a new bike, not disappointed at the need.
The more involved you are in the maintenance and repair of your bike the less it
will cost. That's the one thing I'm sure of. That's true of everything. The most
expensive maintenance program for any object is to make it someone else's
problem and just sign the checks. It is also among the surest ways of ensuring
reliability as well.
Anyway, let's see what he's proposing to do to the bike and what's been done in
the last couple years and see if it adds up.
Ron
>
>"RonSonic" <ronsonic@tampabay.rr.com> wrote in message
>news:1u3a21hpgfro26vrr388nck04chv65obf5@4ax.com.. .
>> On Tue, 1 Mar 2005 18:18:59 -0500, "psycholist" <technico@wctel.net>
>> wrote:
>>
>>>"Mary" <Sharkm@netcarrier.com> wrote in message
>>>news:4224ea05$0$165$ad3619e8@news.netcarrier.ne t...
>>>> six years ago I bought a Trek 1200. I love the bike and have put about
>>>> 4500 miles a year on it. I took it in for a tune-up last week and to
>>>> have
>>>> the chain and chain ring in the back replaced. I just got a call from
>>>> the
>>>> mechanic. He said that the front ring is worn out and that total cost
>>>> of
>>>> replacing everything that needs to be replaced will be about $300. He
>>>> also said that many of the parts on the bike have become obsolete and
>>>> that
>>>> in 6 months it will be hard to find parts for the bike. He recommended
>>>> I
>>>> come in and look at a new bike in the 600 to 700 $$ range.
>>>> I thought this was the last bike I would have to buy. Didn't bikes use
>>>> to
>>>> last like forever? Your opinion...should I fix the bike I have now for
>>>> 300$ and buy new when I come to that bridge or purchase new now? Any
>>>> thoughts would be appreciated. I ride daily when the temperature is
>>>> over
>>>> 40 f. Longest ride each year is a century with 20 mile rides each night
>>>> and many 30 to 40 mile rides on the weekends.
>>>
>>>No reputable or knowledgeable bike dealer would try that load of garbage.
>>>That's what it is.
>>>
>>>If you're riding 4,500 miles a year, you should probably be changing your
>>>chain once or twice a year. Your rear cassette may need to be replaced
>>>every year, too. Your front chainrings should be checked out, but they
>>>may
>>>be OK for another six months to a year.
>>
>> Mostly this is true.
>>
>>>Those items can easily be replaced, and I'd bet you could do it through
>>>internet shopping for $100 or less. It shouldn't take a decent bike shop
>>>mechanic more than 15 to 20 minutes to replace all that. So maybe it will
>>>cost you for 1/3 of their hourly rate on top of the $100 (though my LBS
>>>will
>>>install about any part you buy from him for free).
>>
>> WHOA!
>>
>> We've got a bike with 27,000 miles on it and we don't know a damn thing
>> about
>> its maintenance history. Do you really think that any bike with that kind
>> of
>> mileage is going to get fixed in twenty freeking minutes? Especially since
>> the
>> owner doesn't seem to have any perspective on replacing cogs or chains.
>>
>> One of the shops in my area is advertising their overhaul which they
>> recommend
>> for any bike over two years old at $192.
>>
>> Now maybe you think that's too much, I don't want to pay it, but sometimes
>> it
>> costs a lot to have someone else do the things you should learn to do for
>> yourself. Whether that's a lot or not, that is what people are charging
>> for this
>> kind of work nowadays. I'm not going to begrudge them.
>>
>>>Don't tolerate this rip-off. Don't tolerate ANY rip-off. It will only
>>>encourage the theif to continue in his wicked ways. Take your business
>>>elsewhere!
>>
>> I think the sales pitch especially on the future availability of parts
>> rings
>> badly. That is not the same as a rip-off.
>>
>> If it turns out that this bike has been well maintained with annual
>> repacks and
>> chains and the cogs were replaced every other year, then the price starts
>> looking excessive. But if, as is certainly possible given the description,
>> the
>> bike has been riden enough miles as to circle the globe without frequent
>> maintenance, the bill may be very reasonable. What would you charge to
>> spend a
>> day with this bike?
>>
>> This group is full of bitching about how there are so few real,
>> professional
>> bike mechanics, and bitching about how much the shops charge. Gee, do you
>> think
>> there's a relationship there.
>>
>> Ron
>
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