Commuting - How much does your LBS charge for fork cutting?

I went in the other day to have my fork--specifically, my steering column--cut so there wouldn't be a couple of inches sticking out, since I've lowered the handlebars and there are now two spacers above them. The shop price is $33, which seemed quite high to me. The guy said they'd have to remove the entire fork or something, and that it wasn't just a matter of cutting off the part of the column that sticks out. I didn't see why he couldn't just cut the top off, but I'm not a bike mechanic.

What does it cost where you go?

The steer tube has to be a few mm below the top of the stem so that the top cap pushes down on the stem and sets the tension correctly. So, the fork has to be pulled out and measured carefully before they put it in the cutting guide.

I'm going to have to do the same thing; personally, I'd be glad to pay only $33 for a procedure that might mean not losing some teeth.

I was building up my salsa casserole and brought it in to have it cut. Mind you it was not installed. I had my stem where I wanted it with the spacers so it made it pretty easy. $10 was the charge.
For some odd reason trying to cut your stearer with a broken arm does not work out so well.

I didn't get charged for fork cutting but I was buying a new headset at the time. Still it took about 10 minutes to do (I watched the whole procedure). $30 for the install.

I have never paid to have a fork cut, but for $33 you could buy a Park Tool SG-6 and cut all the forks you want to.

I was building up my salsa casserole and brought it in to have it cut. Mind you it was not installed. I had my stem where I wanted it with the spacers so it made it pretty easy. $10 was the charge.
For some odd reason trying to cut your stearer with a broken arm does not work out so well.

Did you try sharpening your arm first?

Did you try sharpening your arm first?
Hey, bada bing!

I have never paid to have a fork cut, but for $33 you could buy a Park Tool SG-6 and cut all the forks you want to.

Have you cut your forks yourself? If so, how did things turn out?

I wouldn't charge anything for a fork cut. You bring me the fork and tell me how long you want the steerer. If you want me to take it off the bike, figure out how long it needs to be and re-install it, it will cost you 30 bucks.

Have you cut your forks yourself? If so, how did things turn out?

I have the Park saw guide, which comes in handy for cf tubes. But for a steel steerer, I just use a pipe cutter (any hardware store sells them). About 5-10 minutes of work.

You usually have to measure where the top of your stem is - then make the cut 3mm below that, in order to be able to tighten the top cap allen bolt into the star nut (use the Park star nut setting tool to get it into the steerer tube).

I have the Park saw guide, which comes in handy for cf tubes. But for a steel steerer, I just use a pipe cutter (any hardware store sells them). About 5-10 minutes of work.

You usually have to measure where the top of your stem is - then make the cut 3mm below that, in order to be able to tighten the top cap allen bolt into the star nut (use the Park star nut setting tool to get it into the steerer tube).

I see. From what you're saying, and from the directions here (http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=115) and here (http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=67), it looks like I could have done this myself with the right tools (a pipe cutter and the star nut setter). I wish I'd planned this out before sinking more money into the bike store. I get the feeling they overcharge a lot.

Have you cut your forks yourself? If so, how did things turn out?

I used the park saw guide that my bicycle co-op had. It was very easy. Measure twice, cut once.

I see. From what you're saying, and from the directions here (http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=115) and here (http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=67), it looks like I could have done this myself with the right tools (a pipe cutter and the star nut setter). I wish I'd planned this out before sinking more money into the bike store. I get the feeling they overcharge a lot.

33 bucks is cheap once you've ruined a fork by cutting it too short - knowledge/experience does have a value....

if you cut with a pipe cutter, you have to file away some metal after cutting (especially on steel, not much on Al).

the pipe cutter enlarges the steerer outer diameter next to the cut, you won't be able to fit spacers/stem until you file away some material

hack saw with guide is a little easier in this respect, you only have to file off burrs and sharp edge.

The shop price is $33, which seemed quite high to me. The guy said they'd have to remove the entire fork or something, and that it wasn't just a matter of cutting off the part of the column that sticks out. I didn't see why he couldn't just cut the top off, but I'm not a bike mechanic.



With respect, the fact that you didn't see why he couldn't just cut the top off is exactly why it's worth it for you to pay someone who knows why to do this job for you. To properly cut your fork, your mechanic had to remove the wheel and stem, mark the steer tube, disconnect the brake, remove the fork and headset bearings, drive the star nut further down the steer tube, then cut the steer tube (which can be a pain in the ass), debur and file the cut and put everthing back together again.

It's not rocket science but it does take some special tools and an understanding of the process and it's not a five minute job. I can't sew or weld, so I'm happy to pay people who havethe skills when I need to. Many skilled tradespeople wouldn't pick up their tools for $33 so I don't think it's that out of line.

If you can do it yourself, i.e. have the tools, skills, and time then paying $33 to have it done is a ripoff. If you can't do it yourself then it's a fair price.

Wait now,
If your handlebars were already at the correct height, and you were merely cutting the forks down to remove the spacers that were Above the stem.
Then was it really necessary to take everything apart?
The stem is already clamped on and holding tension on it's own, so at this point the top cap and star nut aren't actually needed. Couldn't you just take those out, saw off the protruding tube, then stick a cap on it?
No adjustment (and long service charge) needed, just a simple 5 min job with a hacksaw and file in your own garage?

I mean, the top cap and star nut are only for pre-tensioning, but once thats done and the stem is clamped down you can take them out and toss them if you want, so who cares if by doing it the simple-cut-off way you might someday need to reinstall those items. Likely when that happens you're on a new fork anyway.

Wait now,
If your handlebars were already at the correct height, and you were merely cutting the forks down to remove the spacers that were Above the stem.
Then was it really necessary to take everything apart?
The stem is already clamped on and holding tension on it's own, so at this point the top cap and star nut aren't actually needed. Couldn't you just take those out, saw off the protruding tube, then stick a cap on it?
No adjustment (and long service charge) needed, just a simple 5 min job with a hacksaw and file in your own garage?

I mean, the top cap and star nut are only for pre-tensioning, but once thats done and the stem is clamped down you can take them out and toss them if you want, so who cares if by doing it the simple-cut-off way you might someday need to reinstall those items. Likely when that happens you're on a new fork anyway.

Service your headset much?

Wait now,
If your handlebars were already at the correct height, and you were merely cutting the forks down to remove the spacers that were Above the stem.
Then was it really necessary to take everything apart?
The stem is already clamped on and holding tension on it's own, so at this point the top cap and star nut aren't actually needed. Couldn't you just take those out, saw off the protruding tube, then stick a cap on it?
No adjustment (and long service charge) needed, just a simple 5 min job with a hacksaw and file in your own garage?

I mean, the top cap and star nut are only for pre-tensioning, but once thats done and the stem is clamped down you can take them out and toss them if you want, so who cares if by doing it the simple-cut-off way you might someday need to reinstall those items. Likely when that happens you're on a new fork anyway.

Wow. That's gotta be the most uninformed comment I've ever seen on a bike forum.

Are you REALLY going to take a hacksaw - without a guide - to your steerer tube, right above your possibly expensive stem, hacking away at it while metal shavings fall all over your stem, headset, brake pads, etc? Are you ever going to take your stem off? Well, no....you're not. The ridge left from cutting off the steerer tube would either prevent it or destroy your stem when you did.
How are you going to service your headset with no top cap or star nut? How are you going to adjust your headset - because they DO get loose over time?

Anyway... we're cheap. We charge $20 for doing it properly, unless you bought the bike, fork, or headset from us.

Wow. That's gotta be the most uninformed comment I've ever seen on a bike forum.

Thanks, I try.



Are you REALLY going to take a hacksaw - without a guide - to your steerer tube, right above your possibly expensive stem, hacking away at it while metal shavings fall all over your stem, headset, brake pads, etc?

Yep, I'm good with a hacksaw, plus the edge of the stem is a decent guide itself. (what?? you're worried about scratching the stem with it??, who cares, half the stems I dig out of the co-op bins look like crap already.)
Metal shavings never hurt anyone, just go over with the shop vac after if you really want to make sure its clean. If you get one stuck in your pads, pick it out when you hear the brakes screech.


Are you ever going to take your stem off? Well, no....you're not. The ridge left from cutting off the steerer tube would either prevent it or destroy your stem when you did.

A little bit of burring on the edge of the cut is at most going to scratch the inside of the stem. This hardly 'destroys' it. Unless its carbon, but those are ridiculous.



How are you going to service your headset with no top cap or star nut? How are you going to adjust your headset - because they DO get loose over time?

There's the good ol' lean as with much weight as possible on the handlebars, then tighten the pinch bolts on the stem.
Alternatly, grab a set from the junk drawer, us it to pretension, then either leave it in or put it back.


I'm thinking that the main source of objection here is that you ride nice expensive bikes that you like to keep pristine and 'professionally' worked on. I don't, mine are beaters made from parts scavenged from other beaters.
Anyway I don't blame you for pushing that attitude, you have to, its how you make a living as a mechanic.

Thanks, I try.


Yep, I'm good with a hacksaw, plus the edge of the stem is a decent guide itself. (what?? you're worried about scratching the stem with it??, who cares, half the stems I dig out of the co-op bins look like crap already.)
Metal shavings never hurt anyone, just go over with the shop vac after if you really want to make sure its clean. If you get one stuck in your pads, pick it out when you hear the brakes screech.


A little bit of burring on the edge of the cut is at most going to scratch the inside of the stem. This hardly 'destroys' it. Unless its carbon, but those are ridiculous.


There's the good ol' lean as with much weight as possible on the handlebars, then tighten the pinch bolts on the stem.
Alternatly, grab a set from the junk drawer, us it to pretension, then either leave it in or put it back.


I'm thinking that the main source of objection here is that you ride nice expensive bikes that you like to keep pristine and 'professionally' worked on. I don't, mine are beaters made from parts scavenged from other beaters.
Anyway I don't blame you for pushing that attitude, you have to, its how you make a living as a mechanic.

My brother has this exact attitude towards pretty much everything. He's always showing up on my doorstep wanting me to repair stuff he's 'fixed', more often than not what would have been a quick and easy job had he done it right turns out to be a writeoff or a major repair in addition to the original job.

haha. A hacksaw sounds like the perfect tool for you! I'm wondering why you even bother to cut off the excess steerer at all! It gives you another place to mount some extra bar ends or possibly a handlebar radio.

haha. A hacksaw sounds like the perfect tool for you! I'm wondering why you even bother to cut off the excess steerer at all! it gives you another place to mount some extra bar ends or possibly a handlebar radio.

roflmfao!!!!!!11

Wait now,
If your handlebars were already at the correct height, and you were merely cutting the forks down to remove the spacers that were Above the stem.
Then was it really necessary to take everything apart?
The stem is already clamped on and holding tension on it's own, so at this point the top cap and star nut aren't actually needed. Couldn't you just take those out, saw off the protruding tube, then stick a cap on it?
No adjustment (and long service charge) needed, just a simple 5 min job with a hacksaw and file in your own garage?

I mean, the top cap and star nut are only for pre-tensioning, but once thats done and the stem is clamped down you can take them out and toss them if you want, so who cares if by doing it the simple-cut-off way you might someday need to reinstall those items. Likely when that happens you're on a new fork anyway.

If you're throwing away the starnut, then how will you stick a cap back on it?

It's not a difficult job to do it right, but if you're going to do a hack job like described above, why bother cutting it off at all. Just leave the excess.


I have never paid to have a fork cut, but for $33 you could buy a Park Tool SG-6 and cut all the forks you want to.

BTW...I love park tools. But here's a case where the no name brand version works just as good for alot less.

nashbar steerer tube cutting guide (http://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product_10053_10052_127337_-1_200299_200276_200458)

I've cut several steerer tubes with a hacksaw. Just measure threee times, take your time cutting and debur afterwards. A pipe cutter would work as well, I just don't own one. Also a starnut is easy to set by threading a spare bolt into it and gently tapping it down to the proper depth.

Park makes great tools to do all this stuff, and if I worked in a bike shop and was doing multiple jobs/day, I would own these tools. But, if like me you only do this about once a year and if you are at all handy, it's really not that hard to use the tools you probably aready own.

In my case, it's not the money I save - it's just that I like doing it myself.

I just cut my steerer tube myself last weekend. At first I used a pipe cutter, but the cutting wheel was a POS and wasn't able to get all the way through the steel tube. I then had to use a hacksaw to cut through the tube, using the trench the pip cutter made as a guide. It wasn't straight enough to my liking, but a few swipes with a ******* file solved that. I left the fork in the frame, and metal shavings didn't seem to be a problem. I had the frame lying horizontal to ensure that shavings wouldn't fall into anywhere they shouldn't, just to be safe. To install the star nut I just screwed in the compression bolt and tapped it into the tube with a hammer. It went in easy as pie. I think that if you're even moderately handy with tools your $33 would be better spent on tools (and another star nut) to do it yourself, rather than paying someone else to do it. "If you give a man a fish..." as they say.

[edit] lulz @ the file name being censored. http://tinyurl.com/crhuvm

If you're throwing away the starnut, then how will you stick a cap back on it?



Cork it?

Throwing away the star nut and cap is a lousy idea. Someday you're gonna want to adjust the preload of your headset. It's super easy to do yourself or super cheap to get it done right. Why the heck would you rig it.

I always love these things - the same folks that advocate ditching the nut and cap to save a couple grams are the same folks saying how much better the Aheadset design is because it makes it so much easier to adjust the headset! LOL

I always do these myself, but I know what would happen if I had it done at my LBS: they'd embarrass me by doing it for free! They always do little jobs for me for free, and I just don't buy enough stuff from them to make it worthwhile. Then I always talk them down on parts (I don't mind paying a little more for parts at my LBS, I just can't justify paying double what I can get it for online which is about where most LBS prices are). I suck, they rule. The end.

Hacksaw and a piece of tape for a guide works fine. Finish it with a file or some corse sandpaper. Cutting a threadless steerer has got to be the most non-critical job on the whole bike! Already talked about leaving 2-3mm - that's an aweful lot of tolerance for a cut!

At home, I cut mine with a hacksaw. I always remove the fork and put it in a vice, though. (Unless it's a carbon steerer...then I take it to the shop). I use a file to smooth and round the cut area. At the shop, I put it on the grinder and bevel the edge, then on the wire wheel to buff it smooth.

There's nothing wrong with cutting it yourself at home. At home, I'm with those who screw in the bolt and then tap the star nut in the steerer. Until my starnut setter arrives, of course. I've been doing it that way for over 10 years, and it usually works fine. (Sometimes the "arms" on one side will collapse more than the other side, making the bolt off-center in the steerer....hence the reason for a star-nut setting tool's existence)

Leaving the star nut and cap off, though, is just f##king stupid.

what the heck is Fork Cutting?

what the heck is Fork Cutting?

It's what all of the Emo forks are doing these days.....

I had to insist on paying the shop something to cut the steerer on my full carbon fork. I would have done it myself but I don't have anywhere that really needs a coat of carbon-fiber dust.

So the owner ended up agreeing on $10. I had just bought the bike from him a few weeks prior though.

$33 seems high. IIRC, the last time I had a fork cut, the total was about $50 and that included 1) cutting the fork, 2) a threadless headset (~$25), and 3) installation of everything (headset, fork race, star nut, etc.)

What the heck is Fork Cutting?

It's something you will never have to do if you stick with stems/forks/headsets that were made before they switched to some newfangled design, like, a couple decades ago.

I dunno, all my bikes are old enough to have quill stems.

I like old bikes.

I just got my new Cross Check in the mail yesterday, and called the LBS today about cutting the fork and putting in the star nut. $65! The fork only costs $70 in the first place. You can see why I ordered my bike from another vendor, but I figured they could do something like that quick and cheap. Just going to go to Ace and pick up a stupid pipe cutter instead.

One word:

Sawzall

I have no problem with the OP and his question on how much. Cost for that repair sounds reasonable. The repair quote for over $60.00, that sounds unreasonable and would turn off most. What I do notice though is a certain level of entitlement/they owe/they should do it cheaper on this thread and many through out "Bike Forums". Sometimes I believe this forum should be called "Cheapscate Bike Forums".

Let me get to my point. The cutting guide tool alone costs as much as the repair along with the cost of a new star nut and the setting tool you are easily looking at another $25.00. If we are going by what the OP was asking....is the cutting of a steerer tube along with the proper removal and remounting work asked to be done reasonable than I would say yes. Unless you are getting a new bike every year it is just better to have the shop do it for you. If you are buying the bike from the shop or do a lot of business with them it should be included in the purchase or done at a discount.

What really gets me though is when folks post about getting gear elsewhere and than haggling the shop about the repair cost. If you get a high repair quote or "perceived" high quote it is probably a shop that does good business with their core customers and honestly may not want your business. Think about what your time is worth at your job? Now apply that to the LBS. While the mechanic/salesperson is working on your bike what sales or other repair jobs can they be working on instead? As for the post about negotiating parts prices and repairs....do it with your shop. They welcome the business and if you are a repeat customer they will also help you out with sales, clearance gear, specials from QBP etc... to keep you as a customer.

As far as doing repairs by yourself I am all for them though not recommending the directions by one of the posters not worrying about hacking up his front end. Can you spell metal fatigue at those spots if they get scored? It has happened to me and I have a broken stem and bar over the last 10 years to prove it.

Give your local shop the business, negotiate if you can where appropriate (no one likes someone that is constantly badgering them on the price of everything though), and in the long run that shop through its store or local connections will save you money, time, and frustration over time. I understand that if you get the "unbeatable deal" that will save you ridiculous money that your shop cannot match that, but give them the service work and the above statement will payoff.

Cheers!

I pay nothing for the steerer tube cutting.

But I buy a lot of stuff there.

My point exactly. Spend some money with them, build a rapport with them, and they will help you out. I bet they do other service as well for you for free too. Lastly, do they hook you up with deals on parts or give you a heads up on sales? My guess is "yes".

My point exactly. Spend some money with them, build a rapport with them, and they will help you out. I bet they do other service as well for you for free too. Lastly, do they hook you up with deals on parts or give you a heads up on sales? My guess is "yes".

I've spent more than $300 at my LBS in the last year or so (lock, pump, brooks saddle, tune ups, new pedals, new crank). They do a good job, but charge a lot and are complete bike snobs to the point where I don't even like dealing with them. If I wasn't car-less, I would drive to the next closest LBS, but since I am I depend on them for some stuff. If I know what I want and I can't wait a week to get it, I go to them. So when it came to buying my bike I wasn't about to toss them $1100.

I would bet most people in DC could verify this for me (City Bikes, adams morgan). Anyways, that was more of a rant about my LBS than your point, which is valid,haha.