Originally Posted by
cyccommute
Twelve and a half hours of work? How do you do 12.5 hours of work and not do a brake bleed, rear pivots, and shock overhaul? I am currently doing prep work on donated bikes at my co-op for 4 hours each week. In that 4 hours, I can often do 2 bikes which includes replacing parts as well as tuning wheels. And that includes finding the replacement parts. It also includes greasing those “greasy-turney thingies on the inside” of the wheels. We don’t get many bikes with hydraulic brakes nor with serviceable suspensions, but I’m fairly certain that I could do those inside of a 12.5 hour window.
Not too many bikes get "over-serviced" in my experience. ****, I can't even keep on top of MY bikes - and I have ZERO excuses! (It's the mechanic's car that's in the worst shape...!)
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Easily. That's how. I've been doing this for years, having worked at the retail and manufacturer level. Trained staff to assemble the Ti product. People know my expertise and pay me to do a job well. I don't hurry, but I don't slack either. I'm not under any time constraints. I'm looking out for my clients. Instead of just assuming a cassette needs to be replaced, I'll be sure it does. Cleaning bikes thoroughly is something many LBS cannot do. (In fact, the LBS I had to visit was telling a customer just that as I waited to purchase something.) I enjoy presenting my clients with a bike as clean as it was off the showroom floor. And when a crank bolt fails after chainring replacement on a test ride, it takes time to source another and replace it. Checking and evening spoke tension takes time. Pulling DT ratchets, cleaning & relubricating them takes time. If I failed to mention it originally, the client came to me after the LBS handed him a $1,500 repair bill without even looking at it. He came to me for an honest appraisal of the bike's needs. I proceeded to take care of anything that came up. Bottom headset sealed bearing packed with mud was just one of the many things I discovered during the repair.
Amazing that you would feel you could judge how much time a bike would take, knowing nothing about it. You must be clairvoyant!
And a ten year old bike will often have shifters with hardened, dried grease in the internals, preventing the ratchets from engaging properly. Yes, an old bike may have perfectly smooth cables. Or perhaps a quick lubricating of the cables would refresh it to like-new condition. But an old bike may just as well have fouled cable housing that needs replacement, where lube does nothing to improve the situation. A knowledgeable mechanic can determine which is the case. The OP may be completely unaware of the possibilities.