Replacing bottom-bracket mounted front derailleur: is this bike shop being fair?
#27
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#28
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Ha, xtr even! Cool.
so these must be on bikes with non standard seat tubes then?
interesting, thanks for the photos.
so these must be on bikes with non standard seat tubes then?
interesting, thanks for the photos.
#29
Senior Member
Velo s'acoche on St Laurent near Bellechasse just closed. They changed a bottom bracket for me on another bike for $25 last year. Just a year or two ago they had moved into a bigger space on the other side of the street, I was surprised to see they closed too. But last week there were dozens of boxes of frames and parts on the sidewalk and the store had been cleared out. Maybe it was a lease thing.
Even lived near there a long time ago, probably before it was there.
I second buying tools and learning to do stuff yourself, it's enjoyable and nice to be able to do it.
but you have to have the interest.
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It was always my opinion that the only advantage was easy assembly for the bike manufacturers. Mounting the FD this way requires no position adjustments. It's automatically aligned to the proper height and orientation. I've only worked on low-end bikes with these, but all of them had seat tubes that would work with clamp-ons.
#31
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It was always my opinion that the only advantage was easy assembly for the bike manufacturers. Mounting the FD this way requires no position adjustments. It's automatically aligned to the proper height and orientation. I've only worked on low-end bikes with these, but all of them had seat tubes that would work with clamp-ons.
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oh, it's rare that I ride up that area of st Laurent Blvd, so didn't even know there was a bike store there. Guess when I riding there Im watching out for cars and such and have never noticed it.
Even lived near there a long time ago, probably before it was there.
Even lived near there a long time ago, probably before it was there.
So I went to C & L Cycles on Villeneuve (it's their second location after Rachel), they seem good. [EDIT to add on topic]: And they replaced the BB-mounted derailleur with a regular one clamped to the seat tube.
I second buying tools and learning to do stuff yourself, it's enjoyable and nice to be able to do it.
but you have to have the interest.
but you have to have the interest.
Last edited by uncleMonty; 11-07-20 at 10:19 AM.
#38
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I think a lot of labor is quite cheap, it is a lot of work to do this stuff and you have to learn and get tools and all of that. It is not just a simple throw a part on and done. A bell with one screw being put on a handlebar of the correct size with space to mount is super easy but having to remove a lot of parts and reinstall them and adjust them and all of that takes time and skill. Yes you could learn it yourself and that is not bad thing but sometimes it is easier to just have someone do it.
Each job takes time and without charging for that time, a bike shop cannot exist sustainably.
I like the idea of calling them Cheapo-Schmepo bikes.
Each job takes time and without charging for that time, a bike shop cannot exist sustainably.
I like the idea of calling them Cheapo-Schmepo bikes.
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Velo s'acoche on St Laurent near Bellechasse just closed. They changed a bottom bracket for me on another bike for $25 last year. Just a year or two ago they had moved into a bigger space on the other side of the street, I was surprised to see they closed too. But last week there were dozens of boxes of frames and parts on the sidewalk and the store had been cleared out. Maybe it was a lease thing.
When you ask a forum, many members of which are expert mechanics, what the fair price is, the question is not posed to the right crowd. You'll get a bunch of guys that say "Golly, I could do that repair in ten minutes - that's $300/hr in shop time - outrageous! Without ever having had to run a business, pay for rent, lights, water, insurance, advertising, payroll, taxes....
A fair price is one that allows a shop to survive. Not saying that some shops don't gouge, but if 25 bucks isn't sustainable I hardly think that 47 is too much. So either pay the shop its asking price, or figure out all the tools you'll need and do the job yourself. But keep in mind that the price you have in mind that's "fair" may not be enough to sustain a shop.
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#40
Senior Member
Been in the bike biz since 82. It has taken the industry the same amount of effort it takes to move a mountain to charge appropriately for their time and knowledge for repair work. I can safely say an experienced mechanic will take 30 minutes to do this job, most mechanics will take around 40 minutes. Compare that with changing front struts on a car. It is often a 60 minute job for an experienced mechanic (book rate is 2.5 hours for many light ft wheel drives). Paying 1500-2500 bucks is not uncommon. The parts costs more, sure, but not even close to the tune of 1000 dollars, but more like 500 bucks (quick struts). The labor is significantly more than the bike shop. I'd say the bike shop is a bargain at 50 bucks labor.
Full disclosure, I worked in the car biz as well, and do all my own auto repairs.
Full disclosure, I worked in the car biz as well, and do all my own auto repairs.
#41
Senior Member
Now (since maybe 5 years ago) that there's a bike path on St Laurent for the railway underpass near Bellechasse, it's a well-travelled area for bikes. On good riding days during rush hour, there's a line of cyclists waiting at the light on Bellechasse to turn south on St Laurent, a line so long that you don't all have time to get through the light when it changes (and it's a long light). So it was a good place for a bike shop. Vélo s'a coche started just north of the Canadian Tire store on the corner, then last year or the year before they moved into a bigger place on the west side of the street. It had a pretty punk vibe, like they had a huge "F*ck les chars" decal on their front window and the store was always pretty grungy even for a bike shop, and even before the pandemic their hours were unpredictable and seemed to depend on whether the owner got out of bed before noon.
So I went to C & L Cycles on Villeneuve (it's their second location after Rachel), they seem good. [EDIT to add on topic]: And they replaced the BB-mounted derailleur with a regular one clamped to the seat tube.
I know, it's shameful I've been biking and preaching biking so long, and yet not learned more mechanical stuff (my oldest bike and my usual summer ride is a Velosport Alpin I bought as a teenager from La Porte à bicyclette on Ste Famille in 1987. Now that was a great bike shop!).
So I went to C & L Cycles on Villeneuve (it's their second location after Rachel), they seem good. [EDIT to add on topic]: And they replaced the BB-mounted derailleur with a regular one clamped to the seat tube.
I know, it's shameful I've been biking and preaching biking so long, and yet not learned more mechanical stuff (my oldest bike and my usual summer ride is a Velosport Alpin I bought as a teenager from La Porte à bicyclette on Ste Famille in 1987. Now that was a great bike shop!).
la Porte a bicyclette, boy haven't thought of that narrow little place in years.
I must admit, I really miss ABC on park, went there for decades, great store. Bought my first nice bike, a touring bike, in 90 or 91. Got to know the employees well. Too bad but I understand the owners decision.