you have to be kidding - Page 7 - Cycling Mob: Road Cycling, Mountain Biking and More

03-02-2005, 07:36 AM

I live in a large metro area and recently paid about $250 for work like
that, but it also included a couple of tires, a front and rear light, a
set of pedals and a tuneup on an old GT bike I had bought on eBay. You
were wise not to let them do your work.

Around here, a new Trek 1200 would go for $830 plus tax, for what it's
worth. Question for the rest of you: Would you upgrade your components
if you were Mary?

Mary wrote:
> 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.
>
>

03-02-2005, 07:54 AM

[Only registered and activated users can see links. ] wrote:
> Mary wrote:
> >
> > The kicker to my conversation with the mechanic was that it would
be
> more
> > cost effective
> > to buy a new bike than fix the one I had. That is what really
threw
> me for
> > a loop. I can't believe that a 7 year old bike is obsolete...
>
> It's not.
>
> The shop guy is claiming that what you have is no good any more.
> Likewise, some responses here have hinted that your bike is somehow
low
> grade and shouldn't be expected to survive as many miles as it has.
>
> I think both ideas are silly at best. I can still replace anything I
> need to on my 1986 touring bike. In fact, my 1972 commuting bike has
> had essentially everything replaced at one time or other. Only the
> frame and fork remain - and if my crankset somehow caught fire
> tomorrow, I could replace it in two days for much less than $300.
>
> Regarding the quality of your bike versus its expected lifetime: The
> life of a road bike is essentially infinite. The quick-wear items
are
> tires & tubes, chain, rear cogs and perhaps brake pads. Wearing much
> more slowly are the ball beearings, the cables, the occasional spoke,
a
> much-used chainring and the handlebar tape. Beyond that, _someday_
you
> may need to replace a wheel rim, your saddle and the cleats on your
> shoes. Everything else lasts essentially forever - and th parts that
> do wear can all be replaced at reasonable cost, perhaps on your own.
>
> I subscribe to Vintage Bicycle Quarterly. People who write for that
> magazine have entered Paris-Brest-Paris on 1950s bikes and finished
> very well indeed. Your bike is arguably as good.
>
> Bikes are not Kleenex. They should be maintained and used forever.

WORD!

03-02-2005, 07:54 AM

[Only registered and activated users can see links. ] wrote:
> Mary wrote:
> >
> > The kicker to my conversation with the mechanic was that it would
be
> more
> > cost effective
> > to buy a new bike than fix the one I had. That is what really
threw
> me for
> > a loop. I can't believe that a 7 year old bike is obsolete...
>
> It's not.
>
> The shop guy is claiming that what you have is no good any more.
> Likewise, some responses here have hinted that your bike is somehow
low
> grade and shouldn't be expected to survive as many miles as it has.
>
> I think both ideas are silly at best. I can still replace anything I
> need to on my 1986 touring bike. In fact, my 1972 commuting bike has
> had essentially everything replaced at one time or other. Only the
> frame and fork remain - and if my crankset somehow caught fire
> tomorrow, I could replace it in two days for much less than $300.
>
> Regarding the quality of your bike versus its expected lifetime: The
> life of a road bike is essentially infinite. The quick-wear items
are
> tires & tubes, chain, rear cogs and perhaps brake pads. Wearing much
> more slowly are the ball beearings, the cables, the occasional spoke,
a
> much-used chainring and the handlebar tape. Beyond that, _someday_
you
> may need to replace a wheel rim, your saddle and the cleats on your
> shoes. Everything else lasts essentially forever - and th parts that
> do wear can all be replaced at reasonable cost, perhaps on your own.
>
> I subscribe to Vintage Bicycle Quarterly. People who write for that
> magazine have entered Paris-Brest-Paris on 1950s bikes and finished
> very well indeed. Your bike is arguably as good.
>
> Bikes are not Kleenex. They should be maintained and used forever.

WORD!

03-02-2005, 08:25 AM

On Wed, 02 Mar 2005 06:22:07 GMT, "S o r n i"
<[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].rr.com> wrote:

>Mary wrote:
>> "RonSonic" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].com> wrote
>
>>> 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.
>
>> When I spoke with the mechanic he said the bearings were fine and I
>> had the pads and cables replaced end of last year. He said it was
>> just the cassette, chain and chainring. Everything else looked fine.
>> I also planed to buy 2 new tires but that was not in the price.
>
>OK, that /definitely/ doesn't add up. Even a DA/Record chainring, chain and
>cassette wouldn't... well... hmmm.
>
>What level components are we talking about here?
>
>You sure it's just ONE chainring? Whole new crankset perhaps? Bottom
>bracket OK?
>
>Something's either missing or fishy here.
>
>Bill S.
>

Even a new crankset, a Sora triple would list for around $75, BB appr
$20 cassette under $50, and chain $15 = $160 + labor

And that is figured on the high side for the crankset and cassette. If
you skip the crank and BB, just a couple of chainrings, no more than
$50.

I would say, $200 with labor would be on the high side but acceptable.

Mary, where are you located? Maybe one of us could recommend a more
reasonable shop.

Life is Good!
Jeff

03-02-2005, 08:25 AM

On Wed, 02 Mar 2005 06:22:07 GMT, "S o r n i"
<[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].rr.com> wrote:

>Mary wrote:
>> "RonSonic" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].com> wrote
>
>>> 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.
>
>> When I spoke with the mechanic he said the bearings were fine and I
>> had the pads and cables replaced end of last year. He said it was
>> just the cassette, chain and chainring. Everything else looked fine.
>> I also planed to buy 2 new tires but that was not in the price.
>
>OK, that /definitely/ doesn't add up. Even a DA/Record chainring, chain and
>cassette wouldn't... well... hmmm.
>
>What level components are we talking about here?
>
>You sure it's just ONE chainring? Whole new crankset perhaps? Bottom
>bracket OK?
>
>Something's either missing or fishy here.
>
>Bill S.
>

Even a new crankset, a Sora triple would list for around $75, BB appr
$20 cassette under $50, and chain $15 = $160 + labor

And that is figured on the high side for the crankset and cassette. If
you skip the crank and BB, just a couple of chainrings, no more than
$50.

I would say, $200 with labor would be on the high side but acceptable.

Mary, where are you located? Maybe one of us could recommend a more
reasonable shop.

Life is Good!
Jeff

03-02-2005, 11:11 AM

b_baka wrote:

> Bill Baka
> Still riding an old Huffy with over 10,000 miles and a Wal-mart
Mongoose
> aproaching 5,000 with less total investment than your 'tune up'.

Hehe...just goes to show how much you can get out of a bike if it's
taken care of.

I have to admit that I've been tempted in the past to get the latest
and greatest, but my budget didn't always allow it. A good thing too,
as I'm sure I would have bought more bike than I needed. I had a Trek
800 for a while and got rid of it for a hardtail - I finally got a Gary
Fisher Marlin, which I still have. Of course, if you believe all the
hype from Bicycling magazine, you'd be convinced that you need a new
bike every year. Can't blame 'em, I suppose - they need to keep their
advertisers happy and what better way to do that then to have articles
that tell you to what you need to buy every year.

All the real riders I've known have had bikes for many years, taken
care of them, loved them through all the crashes, rust spots, and even
as their parts have had to be replaced. I think a used ten speed is
still a great thing and you can find them at garage sales and thrift
stores everywhere.

Some will snicker at Wal-Mart bikes, but I think back to the Huffy I
had when I was about 10 years old. It was red. I would beat the crap
out of that thing day in and day out. It had no shocks. It was a
single-speed bike with pedal braking. Classic. I must have crashed
that thing 10,000 times, and it was always there for me the next day.
Gotta love 'em.

-Bill H.

03-02-2005, 11:11 AM

b_baka wrote:

> Bill Baka
> Still riding an old Huffy with over 10,000 miles and a Wal-mart
Mongoose
> aproaching 5,000 with less total investment than your 'tune up'.

Hehe...just goes to show how much you can get out of a bike if it's
taken care of.

I have to admit that I've been tempted in the past to get the latest
and greatest, but my budget didn't always allow it. A good thing too,
as I'm sure I would have bought more bike than I needed. I had a Trek
800 for a while and got rid of it for a hardtail - I finally got a Gary
Fisher Marlin, which I still have. Of course, if you believe all the
hype from Bicycling magazine, you'd be convinced that you need a new
bike every year. Can't blame 'em, I suppose - they need to keep their
advertisers happy and what better way to do that then to have articles
that tell you to what you need to buy every year.

All the real riders I've known have had bikes for many years, taken
care of them, loved them through all the crashes, rust spots, and even
as their parts have had to be replaced. I think a used ten speed is
still a great thing and you can find them at garage sales and thrift
stores everywhere.

Some will snicker at Wal-Mart bikes, but I think back to the Huffy I
had when I was about 10 years old. It was red. I would beat the crap
out of that thing day in and day out. It had no shocks. It was a
single-speed bike with pedal braking. Classic. I must have crashed
that thing 10,000 times, and it was always there for me the next day.
Gotta love 'em.

-Bill H.

03-02-2005, 04:04 PM

"RonSonic" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].com> wrote in message
news:[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]...
> On Tue, 1 Mar 2005 23:18:50 -0500, "Mary" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:
>
>>I am the original poster. The shop wants $300 to replace the chainring,
>>chain and cassette. That's all folks. As I stated in a second post. I
>>took this bike to the shop for a full tune-up every year. I have had
>>general maintenance and some components replaced as needed. The kicker to
>>my conversation with the mechanic was that it would be more cost effective
>>to buy a new bike than fix the one I had. That is what really threw me
>>for
>>a loop. I can't believe that a 7 year old bike is obsolete but he said it
>>was and that bikes are now built to become obsolete after a few years. He
>>said in 6 months there would be no parts available for the bike
>>I think he saw a middle aged woman and figured I was an easy mark. Will
>>pick my bike up tomorrow. Have found a shop who is sure they have the
>>parts
>>and can do the work for a resonable price.
>
>
> Okay, If that's it, no other maintenance involved then pick it up
> unrepaired.
> That's a "go to hell" price from someone who doesn't want to be in the
> repair
> business.
>
> I expect a bike that goes as far as yours to need a fair amount of work
> done and
> a $300 bill every couple or three years is reasonable. That would be a lot
> more
> work than what you describe.
>
> The fashions now change faster than ever before, but the need to replace a
> bike
> hasn't changed much.
>
> Ron
>
>
>> Thanks to all for the help.
>>.
>>"RonSonic" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].com> wrote in message
>>news:[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]. ..
>>> On Wed, 02 Mar 2005 02:45:17 +0000, Ken <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:
>>>
>>>>RonSonic <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].com> wrote in
>>>>news:[Only registered and activated users can see links. ] m:
>>>>> One of the shops in my area is advertising their overhaul which they
>>>>> recommend for any bike over two years old at $192.
>>>>
>>>>An overhaul includes replacing and repacking all your bearings. This is
>>>>a
>>>>fairly labor intensive operation, so $200 isn't totally out-of-line.
>>>>The original poster was talking about 3 easy-to-replace parts, so labor
>>>>should
>>>>be a lot less.
>>>
>>> Add those three easy to replace parts to the $200 and what do you get?
>>>
>>> The original post says: "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."
>>>
>>> I don't know enough to say this is a rip off. Yet.
>>>
>>> Ron
>>>
>>>
>>
I would love to buy a spiffy new bike but if and when I do that I want to
get just what I want and that may cost a bit. I am not in a position to
spend that kind of $$ right now. For now I'll stick with my Trek1200 and
enjoy myself. I can always dream of a new bike in the future.

03-02-2005, 04:04 PM

"RonSonic" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].com> wrote in message
news:[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]...
> On Tue, 1 Mar 2005 23:18:50 -0500, "Mary" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:
>
>>I am the original poster. The shop wants $300 to replace the chainring,
>>chain and cassette. That's all folks. As I stated in a second post. I
>>took this bike to the shop for a full tune-up every year. I have had
>>general maintenance and some components replaced as needed. The kicker to
>>my conversation with the mechanic was that it would be more cost effective
>>to buy a new bike than fix the one I had. That is what really threw me
>>for
>>a loop. I can't believe that a 7 year old bike is obsolete but he said it
>>was and that bikes are now built to become obsolete after a few years. He
>>said in 6 months there would be no parts available for the bike
>>I think he saw a middle aged woman and figured I was an easy mark. Will
>>pick my bike up tomorrow. Have found a shop who is sure they have the
>>parts
>>and can do the work for a resonable price.
>
>
> Okay, If that's it, no other maintenance involved then pick it up
> unrepaired.
> That's a "go to hell" price from someone who doesn't want to be in the
> repair
> business.
>
> I expect a bike that goes as far as yours to need a fair amount of work
> done and
> a $300 bill every couple or three years is reasonable. That would be a lot
> more
> work than what you describe.
>
> The fashions now change faster than ever before, but the need to replace a
> bike
> hasn't changed much.
>
> Ron
>
>
>> Thanks to all for the help.
>>.
>>"RonSonic" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].com> wrote in message
>>news:[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]. ..
>>> On Wed, 02 Mar 2005 02:45:17 +0000, Ken <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:
>>>
>>>>RonSonic <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].com> wrote in
>>>>news:[Only registered and activated users can see links. ] m:
>>>>> One of the shops in my area is advertising their overhaul which they
>>>>> recommend for any bike over two years old at $192.
>>>>
>>>>An overhaul includes replacing and repacking all your bearings. This is
>>>>a
>>>>fairly labor intensive operation, so $200 isn't totally out-of-line.
>>>>The original poster was talking about 3 easy-to-replace parts, so labor
>>>>should
>>>>be a lot less.
>>>
>>> Add those three easy to replace parts to the $200 and what do you get?
>>>
>>> The original post says: "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."
>>>
>>> I don't know enough to say this is a rip off. Yet.
>>>
>>> Ron
>>>
>>>
>>
I would love to buy a spiffy new bike but if and when I do that I want to
get just what I want and that may cost a bit. I am not in a position to
spend that kind of $$ right now. For now I'll stick with my Trek1200 and
enjoy myself. I can always dream of a new bike in the future.

03-02-2005, 04:07 PM

"Mike Jacoubowsky" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message
news:CYcVd.8424$[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].prodigy.co m...
> >I am the original poster. The shop wants $300 to replace the chainring,
> >chain and cassette. That's all folks. As I stated in a second post. I
> >took this bike to the shop for a full tune-up every year. I have had
> >general maintenance and some components replaced as needed. The kicker
> >to my conversation with the mechanic was that it would be more cost
> >effective to buy a new bike than fix the one I had. That is what really
> >threw me for a loop. I can't believe that a 7 year old bike is obsolete
> >but he said it was and that bikes are now built to become obsolete after
> >a few years. He said in 6 months there would be no parts available for
> >the bike
>> I think he saw a middle aged woman and figured I was an easy mark. Will
>> pick my bike up tomorrow. Have found a shop who is sure they have the
>> parts and can do the work for a resonable price.
>>
>> Thanks to all for the help.
>
> Something really doesn't add up here. I think you need to have a
> conversation with the owner of the shop, rather than spend time going over
> things here. $300 for just a chain, chainrings and cassette defies logic.
> On the other hand, at 27,000 miles, quite a number of parts on your bike
> must be nearing the end of their lifespan; indeed, it would be difficult
> to imagine an early Sora or RSX shifter lasting that long, and a pair of
> those alone runs to $200. That's why, even though you've stated very
> clearly that the $300 is just for chain, chainrings and cassette, some of
> us wonder if there might be a communications problem.
>
> In any event, sounds like you've been happy with the service there before,
> but most certainly aren't now. Your choices boil down to just two- either
> talk with the owner of the store and find out what's really going on, or
> take it to another shop. There's no point debating anything else. I, for
> one, would very much like to know the result of talking with the owner (if
> you do so).
>
> --Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
> [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

I spoke with the manager today. He said the guy I spoke with didn't know
what he was talking about and the total bill will be $160 or there abouts.
He had a second machanic (the one I really trust) go over the bike and they
found that the chain, chainring and cassette needed to be replaced.
Bearings fine etc. They have to order the cassette but otherwise no
problem.
>