fietsbob

Cash Prizes?

one4smoke

$547.60

SpeshulEd 

Since it's a Fuji, I'm guessing you're going to Performance, so Performance pricing...

Ultegra crank: $200ish
Ultegra BB: $17ish
Ultegra cassette: $50ish
Ultegra chain: $25ish
Wheel truing, tune up, labor: $150ish
Gatorskins: $45ish each
Tubes: $6 each

Around $525ish plus tax.

Which to me, is waaaaaaaay overpriced, but I'm sure your LBS will thank you.

OldTryGuy

Come On Down!!!!!!!.............. $547.61!!! Did I WIN!!!!

Dave Cutter

I'll guess $575.00

coupster

A lot depends on your relationship with the LBS. I'll go with a low of $550 to a high of $750. Either end is way more than the bike is worth.

What do you hope to gain? Settle at a chain, tires and a tuneup and maybe a cassette but only if its needed and then certainly not at Ultegra level. Put the difference away in a new bike fund.

SpeshulEd 

Oh sure, criticize the guy for spending $600 in upgrades to his $300 bike, lol.

RonH

$687.35
What did I win?

ltxi

Fwiw, I just ordered, out of the UK, a set of 6800 levers, BB, chain, crankset, RD, and cassette to upgrade my '13 Cannondale Synapse to full Ultegra....I'd already done the brakes and FD last winter. Total parts cost about $460. (Full groupset would have been about $570.) Crank, BB, cassette, and chain would have been about $230 or so. No real idea how that would translate into US LBS parts costs, tho.

Flip Flop Rider

Don't have a quote yet, and you guys saying do it yourself I hear you, maybe I will do that to my older trek.

I like hybrid bikes, and my LBS sells Fuji. The owner is a great guy and has always treated me fairly.

What I hope to gain is a more powerful crank, with long term reliability. The current one has approximately 12k miles of hard riding on it. There is a fair amount of flex in it.

Have 1 kid in college and 1 on the way to it, so buying new now is not an option. Have some cash saved from selling some things and am putting that into the bike.

I ride everyday pretty much. 1.5 hours on days I work, and 3-4 hours on days I do not (that's all summer too)

So yeah, maybe not the smartest move but hopefully it will make my time on the bike more enjoyable and efficient.

I know that there is real debate on whether or not to use your local LBS, and I've read pretty much every argument about. Thought it might be fun to guess the mark up.

I fully expect to get overcharged from what I could do this on my own, but I don't have the tools or knowledge to do this

I'll post the final price soon, so keep guessing

Xherion

$627

SkyDog75

A crank, on its own, doesn't generate any power; you do. You could mean taller gearing, but the swap you described only takes your big chanring up from 48 teeth to 50. It's a small change. At a 100 RPM pedal cadence, with your stock crankset and cassette, in your highest gear, you'd be riding 35.3 MPH. After the crankset swap, your tallest gear would have you at 36.7 MPH. It's not much of a difference, and if you can push those speeds, you should be racing.

At the other end of your gear range, you're going to lose climbing ability. Your stock crankset has a 28 tooth small ring. An Ultegra compact has a small ring of either 34 or 36 teeth. I don't know about your particular neck o' the woods, but South Carolina's not flat and this crankset swap would cost you about 25% of your climbing gearing.

Then consider what you're going to do about shifting. Your stock shifter is for a triple. Are you just going to lock out the low position on your shifter, or are you going to install new shifters for a double?

As for long term reliability, I don't know that you'd be gaining that, either. It's not that an Ultegra crankset and bottom bracket wouldn't be reliable, although some have suggested that external bearing bottom brackets tend to be shorter-lived. But square taper cranks aren't a common failure item. Your bottom bracket may eventually wear out, but you can replace the OEM unit with a cheap Shimano UN-55 and ride it for many thousands of miles worry-free.

The two things that an Ultegra crankset and bottom bracket will get you are weight reduction and eye candy. But paying an Ultegra price tag to shave a few grams off a hybrid is like putting a carbon fiber hood on a minivan to save weight.

12,000 miles might wear out a bottom bracket or chainring, but your crankset ought to be fine. I'm surprised that you can feel flex, and if you do, then feel free to change your crankset. You don't need to spend Ultegra money, though. Deore FC-M590 triples sell for under $80 online and since it's a triple, you wouldn't have to worry about reconfiguring your shifters. (That was just the first crankset option that turned up for me on Google.)

All the more reason to explore alternative upgrade options. "Plan A" isn't the cheap route.

Agreed. Here's hoping whatever option you choose results in happy riding!

corrado33

Even $25 BBs and cranks last for thousands and thousands of miles. In fact I'd wager the more expensive "lighter" parts don't last as long if both parts are equally upkept. (Obviously exceptions to this.)

GravelMN

I agree with Skydog. If your stock crankset is very low end and badly worn, a new BB and a crank upgrade may be in order, but Ultegra is big time overkill. Deore or Tiagra (or FSA for that matter) would have worked just fine at half or less of the cost.

I've got a Deore crankset on my MTB. I'm 230# and fairly strong, ride some good hills, and have never felt crank flex. Once you get out of the bargain basement stuff, any of the popular cranksets and BBs will perform well and last a long time.

I understand the kid in college thing and ride exclusively mid-level bikes and components because of budgetary considerations. To each his own. It's your bike and your money, but if you were going for the most bang for the buck, you overshot.

Phil_gretz

$340 at retail

jefnvk

So, um, I can guess all day long, but my real question is who doesn't get a quote before having things worked on, and what sort of LBS doesn't have prices pretty accessible to immediately give out

indyfabz

That left me scratching my head as well. I would at least get a quote on parts and a general idea on labor, with the understanding that if problems arise it labor might be more than the estimate.

NYMXer

This was in the OP's opening post:

"Owner said he would call me when he had everything priced out, including labor."

Maybe it was busy at the shop, with the weekend and all, so the shop is going to get back to him maybe today with a quote, IDK? Of course, a quote and the final bill are never similar, close or relevant!

jefnvk

Yeah, I guess I read that as the owner was getting back to him when the work was done, when he also mentioned waiting to see the damages. Doesn't seem that difficult to price out on the spot and get the go-ahead when (or before) the bike was dropped off, though! At least then you don't have to deal with the customer coming back for the bike with no work done when they hear the bombshell

ltxi

I'm one of the odd ones that doesn't need a firm quote. I'm good with an off the cuff estimate. Have a good, trusted LBS.

Same thing with my vet...'cept I don't even want a verbal guestimate from them. They used to "insist" on giving me a detailed estimate but about five years ago finally gave up/in and don't do that no more.

GamblerGORD53

$498.13

DorkDisk

Under rated post. It seems like many people start out with an A group, want something better and go straight to high end. Deore/Tiagra is economical, durable, and modern. SLX/105 is even better at a bit more price but still less than the top two. IMO its better to upgrade all parts to Deore than keeping an A front derailleur+shifter and an Ultegra crankset.

FWIW I used to compete and used M900+M950 XTR and could appreciate the minute differences over XT, which I also used extensively in the same period. 20 years later, my bikes are kitted out with mostly Deore, SLX, and a few XT bits here and there.

Nachoman

I'm like that too. Surrounding yourself with honest people just makes life so much easier.

rmfnla

His old parts...

canklecat

I've been pondering this thread for days, agonizing over the price. It's keeping me from sleeping.

So I went for a long ride this morning. Calculated prices in my head, but to no avail. Exhausted, I collapsed on a bench by the duck pond, wondering how long I'd been riding, what time it was... my watch battery died last week... my phone was in the handlebar bag and I was too exhausted to retrieve it... and in my agony I moaned "What time is it anyway?"

And dat loch ness monster pops up outta the duck pond and sez "About tree fiddy."