Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 4,624
Bikes: iele Latina, Miele Suprema, Miele Uno LS, Miele Miele Beta, MMTB, Bianchi Model Unknown, Fiori Venezia, Fiori Napoli, VeloSport Adamas AX
Mentioned: 16 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1324 Post(s)
I think that bicycle shops have changed a lot from the 1980s. At least the ones I see around here have. Most have only one line of bicycle make, have few parts or components in stock and charge a fairly high rate for labour and can't tell you how long something will take to do.
If I need a component or a part and the shop tells me they have to order it and that it'll take upwards of two weeks for the item to arrive, I figure I might as well order the item myself and have it delivered right to me rather than having to make another trip to the shop to pick it up.
The closest shop to me charges $40.00 per hour for labour but couldn't estimate the time a job would take. No thanks.
I like fixing my own bicycles most of the time.
Oh, another thing. A lot of shops do not know how to work on vintage components.
There are still some good shops out there as well as terrible ones. the trick is to find the good ones without getting something on your bike ruined.
Cheers