wrk101

Surprised SF rates are not higher. Of course, in my town, the local one man shop charged me $5 to remove a BADLY stuck fixed cup on a bottom bracket, and apologized for charging so much. I bet he put an hour into the job....

Otto Rax

We just raised our rate from $40 to $60 to balance the the whole supply and demand thing. I'm still crazy busy and we re still cheaper than several other shops locally

ftwelder

Thankfully I trade hours with the LBS most of the time. My local shop has an amazing set of tools with everything one might need to complete a task. I feel blessed to have a great relationship with these folks and they are Campagnolo people.

Sixty Fiver

Rates her seem to run around $70.00 - $80.00 per hour at the bigger shops with some set prices that make you scratch your head as in some cases, it seems there is a one hour minimum so I have heard that the charge for changing one spoke is $70.00 plus the cost of the spoke and nipple.

unworthy1

Those SF rates are so high cause the shops know they are in competition with "Tech Firms" who will pay would-be bicycle mechanics at least $100/hr to wander around the streets in a group of 6 (always 6, not sure why but it's important!) looking for more coffee drinks or food trucks.
No other skills needed (certainly no mechanical skill), but jabbering at the other 5 about on-line gambling or cloud-based shooter games is a plus.
That much can be learned while "working"...

look171

I just didn't feel like dealing with yanking out the tools and the stand, so I had my local shop pull a seal BB out in less then three minutes. They ding me 22 bucks. I was happy to pay it, but it you factor that out to an hourly, it was a lot of money. In reality, they maybe at 50 -60 bucks per hour.

Ancient Mariner

There are a handful of bike shops within 10 miles of my home. They fall (generally) into two categories:
1. Big, modern stores with racks full of new bikes, and a service department that is 'off limits' to the general public. The mechanics are kept away from customers for fear that people might actually try to get some free advice. It's much the same feeling you get in the typical car dealership; mere mortals are not allowed outside the customer waiting room.
2. Smaller 'friendlier' shops where people will talk to you, but you get the feeling that the bike shop is only a front for some sort of illegal activity being conducted in the shed behind the store. No inventory, no full-time mechanics, and the opinions are of questionable value.

It's something of a Goldilocks/Three Bears situation. This shop is too big, this shop is too small. I finally found a shop that was 'just right'. Unfortunately, it's about 45 miles from here, so I can't just run over there when I need a new tube. He has two full-time mechanics, and they are both older gentlemen who know the business inside and out. They don't charge by the hour, and really only seem to bill by what they think the job is worth......there is no chart on the wall. I went in with a stuck shifter, and both mechanics worked on it for almost a half hour. They charged me only $15.00 because........ well, just because. I guess they like me.

The one sad reality for everyone in a retail/service business is that in places like San Francisco, the cost of doing business is exponentially higher than in most other smaller towns. My friend in the 'just right' bike shop probably pays 1/3 the rent the other guys do. I also suspect a lot of the income to his store is undocumented cash, and/or barter. It's just that kind of shop, and it's in that kind of area. The beauty of a small shop is absence of 'structure'. Structure = organization. Organization = policies/rules. Policies/rules = inability of employees to make a decision, even if it ultimately benefits the business by creating goodwill.