LBS vs Online stores

Jeez, you're under the impression that they removed BB regularly a days.

Sometime they have little to do, sometime a lots.

Although I understand the arguments regarding the need to cover overheads, insurance, wear and tear on tools etc. I don't really need to know about this stuff as a customer. All I want to know about is the time it will take to do it and the cost of the parts. On that basis, I'm with Jeez that £15 minimum sounds steep for a job that requires no new parts and could take less than 5 minutes.

There may be some similarity to what seems to happen in the building trade, where some quotes are basically made up on the spot with no actual thought going into the various components, just "this feels like a £4000 job". A friend of mine got various quotes to have some roofing done and when he pushed the most expensive company to justify their quote the breakdown that he received included some labour costs that (on further questioning) worked out at about £1000/day for each of the guys carrying scaffolding poles to and fro.

Evans Cycles Service List;

• Bottom bracket _______________________ £27.50
(includes frame preparation)

£15 is fucking cheap.

Rule 58 is just boneheaded.

Although I agree bike shops can be awesome. But they should succeed precisely because they are awesome. Not because we are feeling charitable.

Probably one of the most sensible posts in this thread.

.... £15...

Dude!

I actually think you've made a lot of good points which have been skipped over by everyone because of this constant fifteen fucking pounds reference. £15 is a good price for removing a BB, stuck or not. There is nothing wrong with having a minimum price.

(Admittedly the last BB I had removed was stuck beyond my tools ability, but it cost more than that... and ended up taking no time at all with the screw-in BB tool thingy. )

To bring it back around to the original point of the thread (hours) it seems interesting that most people (from my reading) don't appear to be that bothered - although I do wish Condor had 2 late nights a week.

Service and knowledge seem to be king. And imo they really are exceptionally important. For eg I have now decide to start using Mosquito again after being forced to use them relatively recently and receiving amazingly good service. (/csb)

£15 minimum sounds steep for a job that requires no new parts and could take less than 5 minutes.

I defy anybody to remove a BB in 5 minutes, clocking the time properly from the time the previous job goes out of the door to the time the BB removal job does the same. Just go through all the stages of doing a job, from greeting the customer as he enters to waving goodbye to him on his way out, and you'll see that a job which needs 2 minutes of hands-on-tools action from a mechanic takes at least 15 minutes.

I reckon my estimate of 20 minutes is pretty close- and that's if it's a straightforward job not requiring a 3' scaffold pole etc.

This thread has lost the plot...

(/csb)

cool service bro

Rep!

Chainreaction Cycles/Spa Cycles/SJS cycles have all combined online retailing with an actual shop.

In the case of CRC, the have extended opening times but I still tend to use their online store, even though they are nearby. But as they are in walking distance and other shops aren't, and I don't have a car, when stuck I would go to them.

However, there's a local bike workshop too which is great fun unfortunately not open when I am out of work. Same with other bike shops and there's one that's excellent and built a wheel for me for price of rim. That's where the opening time issue comes into play for me.

Maybe more shops can combine online with actual shop, SJS has done so for years and while they aren't the cheapest you are guaranteed to find some obscure bike parts there and they have excellent service so people come back. The actual shop sells bikes (Thorn) and has been going for yoinks too.

Same with Spa Cycles. Hopefully more shops can do the best of both. A niche vintage part online business combined with essentials that can't wait and an actual shop, can that work?

I defy anybody to remove a BB in 5 minutes, clocking the time properly from the time the previous job goes out of the door to the time the BB removal job does the same. Just go through all the stages of doing a job, from greeting the customer as he enters to waving goodbye to him on his way out, and you'll see that a job which needs 2 minutes of hands-on-tools action from a mechanic takes at least 15 minutes.

Quite right. Jeez baulks at the 22.5 minutes to remove a BB, at £40 per hour. Even if it was removing a nearly new, super greased-up BB it'd only take just shy of that when you factor in all the other processes involved, but if it's a manky old thing that's all but welded in... Of course you'd gladly pay more than they quoted if it turned out to be like that? No, didn't think so.
And £40 p/h to cover staffing, overheads, upkeep of equipment, profit etc etc sounds pretty reasonable to me.

From the way you come across, yes it should

I charged people for being a cock at the shop.

csb.

I charged people for cock at the shop.

Nice to see you turning a hobby into a business.

I paid £20 for having a stuck BB cup removed along with cleaning threads. Seemed fair to me. This was CRC btw.

Even called the manfriend "sir" I was about to ask the guy did he get paid extra for calling people sir (very unusual in Norn Ire) but he gets enough shit from cheeky customers as it is no doubt ;)

By that logic they should be charging you £40 per hour for all the time you spending talking to an assistant before buying a bike.

They get that £40/h from the mark up on the bike.

makes £5 to £10 look about right for a non-stuck BB and no cleaning of threads.

If that's what you're prepared to pay, keep walking until you find a shop which will do it for that. You'll go through £10 of shoe leather while you're at it, but that will just mean you can talk cobblers some more.

^This.

Seriously, who on this thread works in a bike shop?

I do.

I do occasionally help customer with something that we should be charging them for (fixing inner tube at closing time despite not being allowed to), but if they're being a cock, I'll just do it by the book by insisting they should bring the bike in tomorrow so we can change the inner tube for them.

Thing about Evans, their latest CEO want to make it into* "The Tesco of bicycle industry".*

It's fifteen fucking pounds.

What's not to get that this is pretty cheap for London standard?

Why are you moaning about something that you failed to ask if they have a reduced service price?

It's cheaper than replacing the damn inner tube at Evans that's for sure.

They clearly neither want nor need my business. Giood on them.

Precisely, why would they for £5?

Yeah, good luck Jeez..

Is this not resolved yet?

Is this not resolved yet?

Jeez is still having trouble with the currency. For him, and anybody else new to England:

£5 = tip
£10 = drink
£20 = any job which has to go through the books