NomadDNA

Touche'. Did your wife's wheel show any symptoms? Griding noise/ binding/ etc?

Sometimes the doctor treats the symptoms, sometimes at the request of the radiologist.

bellweatherman

I don't trust bike shops with a full overhaul. way too many shorcuts they can take. And there really is no way for you to know if they are completely taking the bearings out an repacking them with grease, unless of course, you open up the thing and check it yourself. And if you do that, you might as well repack the grease yourself.

Panthers007

That's what happened to me. My tools had been stolen. So I took it to the LBS and told them what I needed. They charged me $190 - up front. Couple days later they called me to say 'come 'an git it.'

My new tools had just arrived. My front wheel made a bad sound. I opened everything - they hadn't touched anything. Never mind what happened later...

on the path

How much does my local shop get for a tune up? I'll never know. They did a less than stellar job setting up my new bike. They actually put the front wheel on backwards (the original tires are directional). May seem like a small thing, and it is, but if you can't get the easy stuff right...

I'll be adjusting the brakes and derailleurs myself, thank you. It'll get done right and I'll save time and money.

OTP

lookinforlinks

I know that this thread is from 2009 but I thought that I would update you on the costs of a tune up in Rockville MD. Since I just bot an early 80's Peugeot, I called around for some prices. 3 shops: $80 at two of them and $100 at the other. I agree with the posters that are doing it themselves. You know what was done and how it was done if you do it yourself. I had to change my back tire and tube and found out that I am missing the bolt for my derailleur hanger through these postings. Thanks for your help!

links.

mconlonx

We're still at $65, 6 years later.

Although if you brought in an early 80s Peugeot and said "Hey, I got this for free! Found it by the side of the road/in a dumpster/at the freecycle shed at the dump -- how much just to get it going, I don't need it in top-notch shape..." I would immedately quote you "$200, maybe more"... I consider it my part in encouraging people to learn how to do their own work. Yes, I am a humanitarian that way.

Sixty Fiver

My shop rate needed to get bumped up to $45.00 hr since people told me I wasn't charging enough and because materials and expenses have increased.

Everything else has stayed the same, it seems that the average tune has been running $70.00 this spring as nobody has been bringing in bicycles that just need a little work which still makes my rate lower than the major shops and in line with the smaller single man shops that have opened here over the past six years.

I know most of these guys and they do awesome work... as a small shop owner you have to provide that extra level of service.

The customers that were coming to me six years ago are still coming back to my shop as they have been more than pleased with the work.

corrado33

Shops around me don't charge much I believe it's $30-35 for a basic tune (more than just cable adjustments.) I'm in Bozeman where anything bike costs a premium.

The $65 tune is a bit of a... farce. Any non-walmart bike shouldn't really need it's BB or headset or wheel bearings adjusted. Possibly if it's a 30 year old bike that hasn't been taken care of. Even then, the entirety of the $65 "tune" probably takes a half hour to complete, and that's with 10 minutes of cleaning... Sure, you COULD get caught up if the person has a particularly bad wheel or let their bike sit in the rain for a few days, but still, hour tops provided nothing needs replaced.

Heck, all of those prices are a bit nuts for the amount of time spent doing it. And the 125 and 225 ones would be easy because only well-off people with REALLY nice bikes (worth significantly more than the amount they're paying for the tune) would pay for those, and their bikes are likely to be very easy to disassemble, clean, grease, then assemble as nothing should be rusted that badly.

Cleaning shouldn't even be on there. It takes all of 3 minutes to wipe down a bike with a wet rag. If it's extremely dirty (mountain bike mud/etc.) that's a different story.

deacon mark

I do my own I am my own mechanic a wheel builder, but I can tell you if I was doing it for someone else it would cost at least $100 just for labor. To do it right means new cables, housing, adjust gears, clean and lube chain, finally true the wheels. If the bike has internal cables and all the stuff is buried under the bar tape, then frankly I would need $150 and you probably should get new tape. That includes cleaning the bike, frankly now that I think of that is a lot of work for $150.

rydabent

I would think it would depend on the bike. Newer bikes with all sealed bearings should take far less time and should cost less.

justMatthew

how about the cost of rent, insurance, taxes, electricity, heat, stocked parts storage area (warehouse space). cost of tools, another employee to take appointments/deal with customers.. if i had to do that stuff i would never get through a tune-up.. i'm sure I missing more costs involved in running a business, besides paying the mechanic $12/hour..

LoriRose

My LBS charges $50 for a "basic" tune-up which includes:

adjustment of the brakes, gears, wheel hubs,
BB, headsets and accessories
wheel alignment
chain lubrication
check tire pressure
and the condition of the bike / Security

I think this is a pretty good deal though I intend on learning how to do all these things myself.

JonathanGennick 

You probably still aren't charging enough.

I'd be thinking at least a buck-a-minute were I to go into bike repair as a business.

There is always going to be a large spread between the cost of doing-it-yourself and paying an expert. That's the nature of the game, and it's as true in cycling as it is in archery and golf and auto- and home-repair.

fietsbob

a more expensive labor flat rate includes a lot of time cleaning the bike , and installing any parts.. lesser, is adustment, tuning,
wheel truing.

there is also receiving a touring rider's bike, and prepping it to ride or boxing it to ship.

TakingMyTime

I'm paying $25 for a wheel truing. I've inquired about other services but the place I bought my bike seems to want a fortune for just about everything. I would really only take something to an LBS that I couldn't do myself (BB replacement, Wheel truing & headset replacement).

Sixty Fiver

I still get the "you don't charge enough" but my shop overhead is very low, I only do repairs, and don't have to sit on a lot of inventory.

$1.00 / minute is pretty standard in the US for a lot of shops and this is what they need to stay in business as they do have to cover more overhead, higher utilities, rents, etc.

I have hit a point where I have a few people I can call when I need to hire part time help... I know some really competent mechanics who are more than happy to make a good rate of pay on a casual basis.

Bike Gremlin

Used to do it myself - saves time, money and there's only one mechanic in my city I would leave my bicycle to. Then all the relatives and friends started bringing their bicycles to me.

Now I'm working part time (2nd job, the first one is computers) at a very good bicycle shop, but am starting to do my own business. Still believe there is no expensive mechanic - just a bad one.

Here's the list of prices of bike-repair services in Serbia. This is my price list, but 99% of shops work by those rates:

https://www.bike.bikegremlin.com/wp-c...ke_Gremlin.pdf

I believe we're cheaper than the Chinese now.

TheManShow

Honesly the cost of anything where there is labor involved I am sure will vary a lot by where you live. Be prepared if say you live in NYC, or San Francisco to pay the highest prices, simple because the cost of living, and cost of doing business.

mconlonx

You're certainly welcome to think what you want about the price of tunes, but that $65 gets charged whether the tune takes 30min or 2hrs. I'm not quite sure you comprehend the variances of repair encountered on a regular basis in a bike shop. "Hour tops"? Yes, that would be $65, and is probably the average time spent on the $65 tune. And we are far from the most expensive shop in our area...

The $225 tune includes stripping a bike down to the frame, de- and re-greasing/lubing everything, new shift and brake cables, new handlebar tape. Well-ff people with really nice bikes don't like to spend money, and I can't tell you how wrong you are about the clientele, the kind of bikes they ride, and the condition they come in when we suggest such a tune.

It might be that your standard of "clean" and my standard is different...

lbs

How much does a new bike tune cost these days? Doesn't seem like a new bike would require much of an overhaul.

cxwrench

I work in Marin County, a very well off area.
Basic Tune: $120.00 (includes labor for tires/chain if needed)
Yearly 'full' Tune: $260.00 (includes labor for above plus cables/housing/brake pads and discounted fork/shock work)
It goes up from there.

Koyote

Why would a new bike need a tuneup?

curbtender

Interesting, 2009 to now. You are lucky to even get in a shop now.

ARider2

My LBS on Cape Cod charges $65 for a tune-up on a bike with front and rear derailleurs (less for single speed) which includes adjustments to headset, BB, hubs, front and rear derailleurs and brakes. It also includes a check using a torque wrench on fasteners/bolts/screws for the stem, handlebar clamp, crank arms and pedals. Finally, the frame and rims are wiped down. Bike shops in larger cities (like Boston or New York) seem to charge higher prices than this.

Gresp15C

A new bike might need a tune-up if it were purchased online or at a discount retailer and had not been brought up to full working order before being sold. A bike might need some attention after a few months of use to ensure that nothing has slipped out of adjustment, but AFAIK the retailers in my locale offer to do that for free as part of the new bike sale. The tune-up is also a good time to get the customer back into the shop for any accessories that they might need.