LouisS Posted October 27, 2015 Share Some food for though....after securing and paying 7x1hour sessions to a qualified sport massage therapist for next year's epic, I realised how we are being ripped off by LBS for maintenance contracts for the epic, or for that matter, any other stage race. I am paying R360/hour to a sport massage therapist (with tertiary education and ample experience) which I think is quite fair. Maintenance packages at the Epic runs between 4 and 6K (5K average). That excludes any parts. How much time do they spend on your bike/day?? A wash (which is anyway included in your entry fee), some gears and brake adjustment, trueing a wheel and lets say 1 major technical which will keep them busy for 2hours after one of the stages?? That adds up to 7x0.5h sessions and 1x2h session which adds up to 5.5 hours (lets make it 6 hours). That gives you R5000/6 hours=R833/hour. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the mechanics don't have proper training or experience. I'm just wondering, am I paying too little for the massage therapist or too much for the maintenance contract?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skylark Posted October 27, 2015 Share Suppose it's a captive market and thrifty people generally don't do the Epic rather its the guys that have the money, know what they want and just pay whatever needs be. Suppose the mechanics have to lug some expensive tools with support vehicles and make sure they have lots of spares on hand but still it would appear on the surface that they are making quite a killing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DIPSLICK Posted October 27, 2015 Share I can't say if they ripping us or not what I can add are a few important costs you may have overlookedThe must pay "village entry fees" and site fees, it's not like they are just allowed to pitch up and start working on bikes , each staff member pays fees They must get their heavy vehicles to the next village, normally towing a heavy trailer, high petrol costs, A few villages offer power points some don't ,,,so they need generatorsSince you factoring in time spent on actual repairs you then need to factor in their time in set up,travelling breaking down camp sites and repeating its man hours someone must pay,Are they ripping the ring I don't know, would I go through all that crap for what they charge HELL NOTo be honest with my times I ride I would pay them their asking price just for the fact that I don't have to wash my bike when I'm broken in two Edited October 27, 2015 by DIPSLICK Danger Dassie, NelAndre, BenReaper and 3 others 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goodbadugly Posted October 28, 2015 Share The big question is: Do you need these packages? GaryvdM, Spez247 and Hairy 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raptor-22 Posted October 28, 2015 Share The packages are a rip off. Often just the bike is washed and lubed. Sram offer technical support and you can take it too their truck on your own book it in and pay after the event Skylark 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eldron Posted October 28, 2015 Share Before knocking anything - stop and think "would I do that for that ammount of money". Like Dips says there are a lot of hidden costs and loads of hard work involved before you pick up your first spanner. Personally I don't make use of stage race wrenching but for guys that can't self wrench its a (relatively) small cost to pay to help ensure you finish the race... rouxtjie, DIPSLICK, Danger Dassie and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rouxtjie Posted October 28, 2015 Share Some food for though....after securing and paying 7x1hour sessions to a qualified sport massage therapist for next year's epic, I realised how we are being ripped off by LBS for maintenance contracts for the epic, or for that matter, any other stage race. I am paying R360/hour to a sport massage therapist (with tertiary education and ample experience) which I think is quite fair. Maintenance packages at the Epic runs between 4 and 6K (5K average). That excludes any parts. How much time do they spend on your bike/day?? A wash (which is anyway included in your entry fee), some gears and brake adjustment, trueing a wheel and lets say 1 major technical which will keep them busy for 2hours after one of the stages?? That adds up to 7x0.5h sessions and 1x2h session which adds up to 5.5 hours (lets make it 6 hours). That gives you R5000/6 hours=R833/hour. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the mechanics don't have proper training or experience. I'm just wondering, am I paying too little for the massage therapist or too much for the maintenance contract??supply and demand...ye old chestnut. They can only maintain x amount of bikes over the course of the race. If you want to be one of them...hoes. Its a security blanked, guaranteed mechanic airtime if you will. See how much its worth when you rode into mordor and have a mech issue to sort out at the end of the day... Edited October 28, 2015 by rouxtjie Hackster and NelAndre 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilipV Posted October 28, 2015 Share The biggest advantage of the service agreement is that you pay for the piece of mind that someone will help you if you have an issue. If it is a muddy day and lot of people have issues, and you don't have a service agreement, then you're bike is going in line, and that line might be long. That being said, if you know how to fix a bike, you don't need the service package. If you don't have the basic knowledge, then you will need help. Fix it yourself, take the usual spares with and in the worst case scenario you go over to the sram or lbs guys and then pay for their time. Lastly, you'll only be able to gauge the value of their time, when it is 6pm on day 2 and you have a huge issue, and can't handle it yourself. Only then will you be able to say whether their help is too expensive or a bargain. rouxtjie, Rowber, Sydd and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VicanZA Posted October 28, 2015 Share Sorry buddy but dont get in the way of the cow on its way to get milked, when you have made the grass so green. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raptor-22 Posted October 28, 2015 Share Good point on major issues. Suspension issues can be a show stopper. Thing is most of most lbs don't have the suspension savy wrenches. What to do then. Been on the wrench side of the stage race support and yes it's hard work and we did charge appropriately but many packages are a rip off. Best to shop around and ask what you're getting for your money Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rudi-h Posted October 28, 2015 Share before the start... 1) buy new tyres and fill up with with sealant2) fit a new chain and cassette if needed3) fit new brake pads and bleed your brakes4) service your fork and shock5) Check headset and BB bearings6) Check your wheels and consider replacing spokes if your wheelset is older than say 3 years. Also get them to loosen up the spoke tension, some wheel builders tension spokes crazy stiff.7) test your bike properly and make sure everything is 100% two weekends or so before then go ride the epic, wash your bike, lube your chain, bushes pedals etc. every day and you will be fine... carry plugs, a tube, multi tool, derailleur hangar and throw a spare tyre, foot pump, leatherman etc. in your over-night bag. there, I've just saved you the need for a maintenance plan arendoog, bunkermonkey, raptor-22 and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtrider Posted October 28, 2015 Share If you feel it is a rip-off then you should not pay for such a service . I think it is a bargain because I am lazy and don't want to mess around with a bike after a hard days racing . I could not care less if he just dust off and lube my bike everyday , but that bike better be race ready the next day . Comparing a sport therapist with a bike mechanic is a bit unfair . BTW my plumbers hourly rate is R790ph . NelAndre, Danger Dassie and Skinnyone 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted October 28, 2015 Share I do agree that generally stage race maintenance packages aren't cheap, but it's all about the relative value for me. 1) How much is that time worth to you: Not having to spend an hour or two cleaning and potentially fixing my bike at a stage race allows me more time to catch up on a bit of work. Looking at it from this perspective paying an inflated hourly rate for a mechanic's time is money well spent if it means I can get some work done (over longer events in particular). Sure if I wasn't squeezing in work during the event I'd do it myself, but for some just having that hour or so to recover and relax (never mind work) might even be worth it.2) Peace of mind: As others have said, IF conditions are bad and you aren't pre-booked with someone be prepared to wait in line. It's really is a bit like insurance... it's a pain to pay when you don't need it, but for that one occasion you do it pays for itself 10 times over. It's not a must have for any race. Even while working & riding I've opted not to go for a service package in many events. Major issues aside anyone riding a stage race should be able to do the basic cleaning, tuning & brake pad replacements you might need, but it does make your stage race life a whole lot easier IF you're prepared to pay for that comfort. Skylark, dirtrider, NelAndre and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wannabe Posted October 28, 2015 Share We are 6 friends doing the W2W Race this year.Between us we have enough knowledge and skills to sort almost anything out, and each will take certain tools and spares with to cover almost any eventuality.And as said above, make sure your bike is serviced properly beforehand, and that everything is in topnotch condition, and you should be golden.It is, after all, only 3 x training rides. raptor-22 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Zone Posted October 28, 2015 Share When I did the epic some years ago I blew my front suspension out; without my maintenance support I would have been stuffed, or at least had a stressful time trying to get the bike fixed. It was worth every cent, my mechanic was also out on course and managed to McGyver something to get me to the end of the stage. Its a case of rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it. NelAndre 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arendoog Posted October 28, 2015 Share I have just completed the.Pioneer and for the first time i went all the way with massages (imho makes no difference to me ) and bike mechanic service (Nice to have ) .Previously i did all my own bike maintenance .We negotiated a better deal but it still cost me R500 a day for a bike wash and lube ? .Apart from the pre race service all these extra,s dubbled the entry fee .Next time i am back to tented village and selfservice EmptyB, raptor-22 and Oufy MTB (Roadie) 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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