I work in a shop, and the owner is 5-6 years younger than me. To him anything older than 6-7 years is "old". I keep them based in reality though, and their jaws drop when I guess the year of some bikes, point out a "death stem", etc. I started dong my own work years ago, like 03 or so? I took a brand new coaster brake beach cruiser in to a good shop in Houston, with a racket in the rear hub while coasting. Not only did they not fix it, but I don't think they even worked on it at all? I found the problem and fixed it in minutes. The outer bearing on the drive side had a bent cage. which is the first thing you see upon tearing down a CB hub. Of course I was charged $25 plus tax for the labor. After that the only thing I would get done at a bike shop was freewheel removal. Once I got a collection of those going, I only went in for parts. Now that I work in a shop, I just pick the stuff out of a catalog, and order it myself
.,,,,BD
Just a secret though? Most bike parts cost half of what you pay over the counter.....