Sandspider

This seems to be the best forum for this post, but correct me if I am wrong as I am new here. I do most of my own repairs and work if I can but I am curious as to what fair labor prices are. For example today I went to a shop and asked what it would cost to install a new threadless fork on my mountain bike. What about a "tune-up," are those worth the money? and if so what should they cost?

RT

Where is the line that you cross when you stop doing your own work and rely on the shop? For me it is when I don't have a specialized tool for a job and the price of the tool exceeds the cost of the work. You can tune your own bike - the work they do on tune-ups is easily learned, and if you study enough, will not create a self-imposed safety hazard.

Raiden

Does the threadless fork need to be cut? Do you already own it, or are you buying the fork there?

Also, tune-up costs depend on exactly what's offered- the biggest difference I've seen is the inclusion or omission of wheel truing.

In my experience, expect any labor to add up to no less than $50 an hour.

reptilezs

36-80 an hr usualy around 60. i have seen tuneups range from 40-80

cnnrmccloskey

+1

operator

Fork install will run you about $20-$30. Lesser for a brand new install on frame, and more for a replacement.

wrk101

+1 $60 per hour, +/-.

Sandspider

[QUOTE=Toddorado;10803396]Where is the line that you cross when you stop doing your own work and rely on the shop? For me it is when I don't have a specialized tool for a job and the price of the tool exceeds the cost of the work. QUOTE]

Yeah, I agree with that. It seems to me that replacing my fork and possibly cutting it wrong isnt worth the risk. I bought the fork all gung ho that I could do it myself but am backing out. I got a quote of $20 (american) to do the whole thing and I am more than happy to pay.

RT

That is more than fair for the many miles of enjoyment you will have with your fork.

oldroads

Labor rates vary greatly by city and season.

phoebeisis

$20 is a spectacular bargain.
Where are you and what is the name of the shop?
They have to cut it-probably-remove the lower race on your old fork, remove the brakes from the old fork-reinstall everything-adj the brakes.
I can't see it taking less then 30 minutes, and I would expect to be charged for a full hour.
$50 would have been fair in most of the USA.
I have never used a shop, but $20 is very very reasonable.
Most folks on the forum are very frugel-and mechanically inclined-so they do their own work.
Shops have lots of overhead.They have to charge a fair price-especially when they aren't making anything on the sale of a part.
Bargain!

JonathanGennick 

That's what I was thinking. I'd have to really hustle and slam-bang through the job to get 'er done fast enough for $20 to make it worth my while.

cny-bikeman

The $20 rate is suspiciously low, and points out the fallacy of trying to decide a fair rate. If I needed a shop to do work for me I would pay more if I knew they had a reputation for quality, guaranteed work and that they alloted jobs according to the skill of the worker. Paying $15 for a bike assembly person to true a wheel is no bargain compared to $20 or even $25 for it to be done by someone experienced with building wheels as well as bringing bent ones back from near death.

sonatageek

In building up my new Nashbar touring frame I decided to have a shop install the headset, cut the fork and do the bottom bracket install.

Total for all of that was about $30 -- Seemed worth it to me.

joblue

Here in NYC, many shops have spring tune-up specials that range from $50-$75...as far as pure labor rates, my experiences have seen a range from $35-$50 recently. I totally concur with Toddorado in this thread, its all learn-able...thats how I started my shop.