Bike servicing

[Garfield2010]

I recently moved to Jo'burg and am truly shocked at the prices for servicing a bike. In the rural towns you pay R150 - R200 for a regular service and R300 - R350 for a major service.

 

Not here.

 

My question is now how do they justify the prices? If I pay R600 for a major service here, how is that calculated. Does it take an hours labour perhaps of which the real bike expert maybe spends 15minutes with my bike?

 

Also why is it that generally half of the time I service my bike, my gears are messed up afterwards?

 

Anyways, I dont want to sound stingy, I just want to open a debate because at these prices, I might just as well buy a new bike every 3rd year..............

 

I bought a book and will service my own bike from now on.

 

What do you guys think?

[Minion]

In general Joburg will be more expensive than a small town because the cost of living here is higher. Rent is more expensive, labour is more expensive, rates and taxes are more expensive, commuting is more expensive.

 

I won't make any comment about the work break down or quality since that varies from shop to shop.

[Garfield2010]

That does make sense. I think I will do my own thing in maintaining my bicycle as best I can and then maybe service the bike once a year at a professional dealer. I also guess that if people can pay up to R100,000 for a bike then R500 a service is justified...........

[jacostrydom]

Self service is the way to go. Then you can help yourself when you are in the bundus with your bike and something small goes wrong.

[Redbaobab]

What maintenance books do the DIY'rs out there suggest then? I've seen a couple but haven't really looked into the finer details yet.

[scotty]

What maintenance books do the DIY'rs out there suggest then? I've seen a couple but haven't really looked into the finer details yet.

Parks blue book and Zin Art of MTB maintenace book. Zin also do a DVD as well as bicycling. The internet is also good even youtube have clips on the various bike maintenance tasks.

[The Saint]

Exactly this reason that I have started to service my own bikes as well as those of my friends - also found every time I took my bike in I got it back in worse condition. I felt I had paid R400 to have it cleaned.

[Wil6]

My LBS asks R250 for a major service and never had any probs afterwords.Got to love Bloem!

I also would service my own bike if they asked me that(R600) price!

[DirtyFrank]

For the average rider that rides maybe 1500km/ year 1 major service at R600.00 is not bad but there are some riders out there who do that distance in a month....for them it would be an expensive hobby if every service was carried out by a bikeshop.....Most things are easily done if you have a bit of mechanical knowledge and the right tools. Servicing BB`S and Freehubs, changing cables, clusters, chains and brake pads are all reasonably simple ( Although I still struggle to get the perfect shifting setup that the bike shops manage) Having said that I like supporting my LBS (Linden) as they give me great service and would never rip anyone off.

[Johan Bornman]

I recently moved to Jo'burg and am truly shocked at the prices for servicing a bike. In the rural towns you pay R150 - R200 for a regular service and R300 - R350 for a major service.

 

Not here.

 

 

Well, we don't subscribe to slave labour here. Lets say you paid R170 for labour in your dorp. That's approximately R90 per hour. No skilled, dedicated, motivated individual is going to work for that.

 

If you want monkeys, pay peanuts.

 

Further, what is a major service and what is a minor service? It is a BS definition that means nothing and cannot be measured against any standard.

 

 

 

My question is now how do they justify the prices? If I pay R600 for a major service here, how is that calculated. Does it take an hours labour perhaps of which the real bike expert maybe spends 15minutes with my bike?\

 

 

 

Here's the old dilemma, you become an expert at what you do and hence get paid less 'cause you do it faster. Get real. Pay for skilled work and pay a reasonable fee that represents a living wage.

 

 

 

Also why is it that generally half of the time I service my bike, my gears are messed up afterwards?

 

 

 

Because you paid peanuts,

 

 

 

Anyways, I dont want to sound stingy, I just want to open a debate because at these prices, I might just as well buy a new bike every 3rd year..............

 

I bought a book and will service my own bike from now on.

 

What do you guys think?

 

I think books are good. DIY is good and knowledge is good. But I also think you should be prepared to pay R300 an hour or thereabouts for a skilled mechanic.

 

Last time I checked, cane cutters, trench diggers and dog walkers earned more than what you paid your rural mechanic.

[Moolz]

LOLOLOL!

gotta love your replies Johan!

[Nobody]

Do the smaller changes yourself. You cant justify buying tools to change a headset when you do it once every 3 years.

 

I drop my bike off at the lbs and shoot the breeze. Gain some good insight and then know that I will cringe when i see the bill but I know 100% that my bike has had a well deserved service. I can do the wheels myself but i HATE cone and cup bearings. I dont have the time and dont really have the space to do it all myself. The best you can do is make sure they give you everything back that they replaced. throw it away yourself if its useless but at least you can take it apart and see how it works.

It amazing how much junk you will collect after a year.

Edited November 9, 2010 by Nobody

[rudi-h]

I do agree that bike mechanics work at high rates in comparison to the general mechanical industry. Being an average bike mechanic is an easy skill in comparison to a qualified artisan, yet it compares in terms of hourly rates. I think part of the reason is that LBS's are mostly situated in shopping hotspots, as opposed to other types of workshops that are situated in industrial areas.

 

I don't mind too much paying it though. I ride to work at least once a week, thus saving roughly R80 per week on petrol / vehicle wear and tear. If I service twice a year, it still works out cheaper than driving (assuming that I would have done the training km's irrespective of commuting or not)

[kosmonooit]

There's loads of useful info on YouTube, and most of the manufacturers have documentation and videos on line for their components. They only hassle is getting the right tools.

 

I have a few books like 'Zinn & the art of.." but found I don't use them that much, however a beginner with no mechanical training might find them more useful.

[DJR]

Hi Johan

 

I hear what you have to say about paying peanuts etc.

 

Just so that you know, my wife has 2 degrees and several diplomas in nursing and she gets paid R65 per hour by our government to train new nurses. She is dedicated and love her work, but that is what I call peanuts especially as she gets no medical, no pension, no housing subsidy.

 

That's why things are the way they are in our state hospitals. If you need a new hip joint, talk to your LBS?

[Willehond]

Hi Johan

 

I hear what you have to say about paying peanuts etc.

 

Just so that you know, my wife has 2 degrees and several diplomas in nursing and she gets paid R65 per hour by our government to train new nurses. She is dedicated and love her work, but that is what I call peanuts especially as she gets no medical, no pension, no housing subsidy.

 

That's why things are the way they are in our state hospitals. If you need a new hip joint, talk to your LBS?

Great that she is dedicated and loves her work, but if she wants to make money she should move to the private sector where they will probably appreciate her two degrees (btw, nobody pays by the degree), but please, what has that got to do with bike mechanics??? Absolutely buggerall if you ask me