Stretched@Birth Posted January 28, 2011 Posted January 28, 2011 I recently undertook to "clean" 3 relatively low end MTB's as a favour for a neighbour. What should have been a quick wash and lube turned into a major overhaul, as the bikes were in a sorry state. So, after replacing cables, 1 derailleur hanger, a new rear derailleur on one of the bikes, stripping hubs, BB, headset's, etc. I've come to the conclusion that the LBS actually undercharges, as I now know how much time and effort goes into poorly maintained bikes... I spent about 4 hours per bike - assuming a low(ish) charge out rate of R350 an hour, that's R1400 per bike, or R4200 for the job, excluding parts and sundries. I have no idea what the LBS charges for a complete service, as I do my own servicing, but I'm sure very few people would pay R1400. Therefore, they employ cheap labour, therefore, we get substandard service... I was paid in biltong Any opinions out there...?
CAAD4 Posted January 28, 2011 Posted January 28, 2011 I reckon the going rate is R400 plus parts. In other words maybe 3kg's of biltong, if you are lucky.
Tumbleweed Posted January 28, 2011 Posted January 28, 2011 I reckon the going rate is R400 plus parts. In other words maybe 3kg's of biltong, if you are lucky.Ja, Stretched, how much biltong did you get?
Stretched@Birth Posted January 28, 2011 Author Posted January 28, 2011 Ja, Stretched, how much biltong did you get?About half a kilo of biltong plus a half a kilo of dry wors, plus some Ferrero Rocher's (had to give those to the wife...). Not complaining that I was underpaid, just think that people sometimes baulk at the price of a bike service, without understanding the time involved...
Top Fuel Posted January 28, 2011 Posted January 28, 2011 Good point you have here. Do they charge more $$ for a guy with say a Specialized S-Works than a guy with an old Peugeot? This would be great input fromt he bike shops here. I feel though that they are not going to be to forth coming with this kind of knowledge. Be interesting to see how this post goes.
Eldron Posted January 28, 2011 Posted January 28, 2011 I recently undertook to "clean" 3 relatively low end MTB's as a favour for a neighbour. What should have been a quick wash and lube turned into a major overhaul, as the bikes were in a sorry state. So, after replacing cables, 1 derailleur hanger, a new rear derailleur on one of the bikes, stripping hubs, BB, headset's, etc. I've come to the conclusion that the LBS actually undercharges, as I now know how much time and effort goes into poorly maintained bikes... I spent about 4 hours per bike - assuming a low(ish) charge out rate of R350 an hour, that's R1400 per bike, or R4200 for the job, excluding parts and sundries. I have no idea what the LBS charges for a complete service, as I do my own servicing, but I'm sure very few people would pay R1400. Therefore, they employ cheap labour, therefore, we get substandard service... I was paid in biltong Any opinions out there...? I get caught like this on a monthly basis - friends/my gardenener/my builder/the poor white kids that live down the street/random people ask me to have a quick look at their bike. Hours and RRRRRR's later the problem is solved. My charity bit I suppose. In my opinion a major service on a hyperama special should be R5,000 and a top end road bike R400 - expensive bikes are easy to work on - hyperama specials are so badly made and the parts are so smashed together that fixing anything is a 3 hour slogfest.
Moolz Posted January 28, 2011 Posted January 28, 2011 Just confirms that we need to learn to service our own bikes...
bikemonster Posted January 28, 2011 Posted January 28, 2011 i get biltong at R90 a kg and its amazing. 1997 called. They say they want their biltong back.
Tumbleweed Posted January 28, 2011 Posted January 28, 2011 About half a kilo of biltong plus a half a kilo of dry wors, plus some Ferrero Rocher's (had to give those to the wife...). Not complaining that I was underpaid, just think that people sometimes baulk at the price of a bike service, without understanding the time involved... Just pulling your socks! I agree about the price of the service.
mix Posted January 28, 2011 Posted January 28, 2011 1997 called. They say they want their biltong back. hahahaha, honestly tho, JAY JAY's butchery on the edge of lombardy East close to Edenvale, its amazing and cheap. nom nom nom
Eldron Posted January 28, 2011 Posted January 28, 2011 1997 called. They say they want their biltong back. Bwaaaahahahahahahaha.
Edge_Design Posted January 28, 2011 Posted January 28, 2011 (edited) I recently undertook to "clean" 3 relatively low end MTB's as a favour for a neighbour. What should have been a quick wash and lube turned into a major overhaul, as the bikes were in a sorry state. So, after replacing cables, 1 derailleur hanger, a new rear derailleur on one of the bikes, stripping hubs, BB, headset's, etc. I've come to the conclusion that the LBS actually undercharges, as I now know how much time and effort goes into poorly maintained bikes... I spent about 4 hours per bike - assuming a low(ish) charge out rate of R350 an hour, that's R1400 per bike, or R4200 for the job, excluding parts and sundries. I have no idea what the LBS charges for a complete service, as I do my own servicing, but I'm sure very few people would pay R1400. Therefore, they employ cheap labour, therefore, we get substandard service... I was paid in biltong Any opinions out there...?R350/h @ 8 hrs/day @ 22 days/month (most shops work on saturdays so actually more!) = R61,600 per month... not sure who works on your bike for you, but I'm keen to start tomorrow if you want to send them my way! IMO, R150/h is more reasonable considering I doubt many mechanics in SA earn more than R10k/month and most probably half of that. That's still more than 100% markup which is plenty. That leaves you at R450 for a major overhaul (and I assume they should be a bit quicker with all the right tools and experience than you are). Edited January 28, 2011 by Edge_Design
Stretched@Birth Posted January 28, 2011 Author Posted January 28, 2011 In my opinion a major service on a hyperama special should be R5,000 and a top end road bike R400 - expensive bikes are easy to work on - hyperama specials are so badly made and the parts are so smashed together that fixing anything is a 3 hour slog[/b]fest.Agreed, these were Mongoose Tyax's, not bad bikes, but not great either. They came from a school where they'd been used (abused) for adventure racing, the state of the bb and hubs was not pretty... It's much simpler working on a well maintained bike with quality parts.
Stretched@Birth Posted January 28, 2011 Author Posted January 28, 2011 R350/h @ 8 hrs/day @ 22 days/month (most shops work on saturdays so actually more!) = R61,600 per month... not sure who works on your bike for you, but I'm keen to start tomorrow if you want to send them my way! IMO, R150/h is more reasonable considering I doubt many mechanics in SA earn more than R10k/month and most probably half of that. That's still more than 100% markup which is plenty. That leaves you at R450 for a major overhaul (and I assume they should be a bit quicker with all the right tools and experience than you are).Get a desktop support guy out to come and fix your PC... He's paid about 10k a month, but is charged out at R350. The point being that we pay for the R10k a month mechanic (I even doubt that a bike shop mech earns that), but we expect the R61 600 service. Bottom line is, learn to do your own wrenching. I enjoy the time spent, in my garage, tinkering...
Danger Dassie Posted January 28, 2011 Posted January 28, 2011 You could be creating setting a whole new value for measuring economics, the "biltong index"
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