Hi there. I posted some of this on another thread yesterday, and am re-posting because it is time-sensitive and I hope someone can help me before I go to pick up my bike in a few hours.
I am in the midst of a bar conversion that has taken far too long. I posted this at the end of the thread I started with a question about my bar-end shifters and how to mount them on my new butterfly bar. That thread started because my mechanic didn't know how to fit the thumb adapters, and spent an hour messing about. I found a solution here, went into the shop and showed him how they went on. This enabled him to get the job done. He has made a couple of mistakes besides this, which meant he has had to undo some things, fix them, and re-do them.
Now I am concerned that he might overcharge me. Here is my post outlining the work:
Originally Posted by Lolly Pop
Am having some concerns here. How many hours' work do y'all think this handlebar conversion should be?
Basically, it's switching over drop bars with bar-end shifters to butterfly bars and thumb shifters. This is what I see having been done: Remove old bars very simply: as one piece by lifting out stem. Cut cables. Remove bar-end shifters. Attach new front-loading stem and then attach handlebars. Slide on aero bars. Install velo grips. Attach thumbies and new brake levers. Route cable. Tape bars. Replace computer mount and bell. Forget to install gel pads prior to taping. Untape bars. Order new tape. Retape bars but install gel pads first this time. . .
I also asked him to install one of those fancy links so I can take off the chain to clean it.
My mechanic said something about "6 hours" today, which really seems *way* too long to me. Just because it was the first time he's done this particular task (thumb adapters) I don't think it would be fair for me to finance that very steep learning curve.
What do y'all think would be fair? I don't want to alienate him but I don't want to pay over the odds either.
I should add that I dropped off the bike last Friday and the parts arrived Saturday. It was supposed to be finished on Saturday and I made a special trip to pick it up. I have since been back Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and still don't have the bike.
Saturday he hit a brick wall attaching the thumb shifters. Monday I went in and showed him how they should be oriented. I went back Tuesday and the bars were bare, to confirm that I wanted them upside-down (that is, fitted so the outside of the bars curved up instead of down). At that point -- since the bars were bare and it was timely -- I also said I'd like to add aero bars, so we fitted a short set together while I was there. Yesterday (Wednesday) I went in to pick it up, having asked him not to tape the bars until I had had some time to see how I liked the layout. I got there and the bars were taped, but without the gel pads. I re-ordered a set of Fizik bar tap and gel pads at his behest, which I hope arrive today. He is going to pay for them and fit them. Today he is going to untape the bars and apply the gel pads, and then re-tape the bars. I really hope I leave with my bike today. But I don't want to leave feeling ripped off, particularly as I am a woman and I think we get ripped off a bit more often in this area!
Bottom line: is this a two-hour job? A four hour job? A six hour job?