you have to be kidding

On Tue, 1 Mar 2005 23:18:50 -0500, "Mary" wrote:

I am the original poster. The shop wants $300 to replace the chainring,
chain and cassette. That's all folks. As I stated in a second post. I
took this bike to the shop for a full tune-up every year. I have had
general maintenance and some components replaced as needed. The kicker to
my conversation with the mechanic was that it would be more cost effective
to buy a new bike than fix the one I had. That is what really threw me for
a loop. I can't believe that a 7 year old bike is obsolete but he said it
was and that bikes are now built to become obsolete after a few years. He
said in 6 months there would be no parts available for the bike
I think he saw a middle aged woman and figured I was an easy mark. Will
pick my bike up tomorrow. Have found a shop who is sure they have the parts
and can do the work for a resonable price.


Okay, If that's it, no other maintenance involved then pick it up unrepaired.
That's a "go to hell" price from someone who doesn't want to be in the repair
business.

I expect a bike that goes as far as yours to need a fair amount of work done and
a $300 bill every couple or three years is reasonable. That would be a lot more
work than what you describe.

The fashions now change faster than ever before, but the need to replace a bike
hasn't changed much.

Ron


Thanks to all for the help.
.
"RonSonic" wrote in message
.. .
On Wed, 02 Mar 2005 02:45:17 +0000, Ken wrote:

RonSonic wrote in
:
One of the shops in my area is advertising their overhaul which they
recommend for any bike over two years old at $192.

An overhaul includes replacing and repacking all your bearings. This is a
fairly labor intensive operation, so $200 isn't totally out-of-line.
The original poster was talking about 3 easy-to-replace parts, so labor
should
be a lot less.

Add those three easy to replace parts to the $200 and what do you get?

The original post says: "He said that the front ring is worn out and that
total
cost of replacing everything that needs to be replaced will be about
$300."

I don't know enough to say this is a rip off. Yet.

Ron

On Tue, 1 Mar 2005 23:43:43 -0500, "Mary" wrote:


"RonSonic" wrote in message
.. .
On Tue, 1 Mar 2005 20:37:41 -0500, "Mary" wrote:

I took the bike in once a year for a full tune-up to the shop in question.
They also did all of the maintenance and repairs on the bike over the last
6
years.

Okay, we know it's been maintained. Let's look at this a little deeper
then.
What are your typical annual repair needs and bills like? Has the bike had
a
complete overhaul, all bearings replaced and repacked, cables, pads, tuned
and
tightened recently? Or is that all part of this $300 service package? If
so,
then this is not a bad thing or a bad deal. Especially if it's been a few
years
since a full overhaul.

Bikes do last pretty well forever and the replacement parts are not
usually real
expensive but can add up. Labor is fairly extensive and increasingly
expensive
for them. I wouldn't worry about anything on that bike becoming obsolete.
In the
future those part might not be under the counter, but they will be
available. I
just overhauled my bikes, one from 1988 the other a 1990 with no parts
problems.
I do not like that guy's line about impending obsolescence but don't know
what
it's based on, sales spiffs, his sense that this bike might be needing a
lot
soon, something his boss tells him to say, or and as likely as anything
else a
tendency toward trendiness that afflicts this hobby. A lot of people are
happy
to have an excuse to buy a new bike, not disappointed at the need.

The more involved you are in the maintenance and repair of your bike the
less it
will cost. That's the one thing I'm sure of. That's true of everything.
The most
expensive maintenance program for any object is to make it someone else's
problem and just sign the checks. It is also among the surest ways of
ensuring
reliability as well.

Anyway, let's see what he's proposing to do to the bike and what's been
done in
the last couple years and see if it adds up.

Ron


"RonSonic" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 1 Mar 2005 18:18:59 -0500, "psycholist"
wrote:

When I spoke with the mechanic he said the bearings were fine and I had the
pads and cables replaced end of last year. He said it was just the
cassette, chain and chainring. Everything else looked fine. I also planed
to buy 2 new tires but that was not in the price.

Hell no. Just "Hell" and "No."

Go ahead and rack him in the yarbles with the front tire on the way out the
door. It's a guy thing we're never supposed to recommend that sort of behavior
except in extreme cases of a schmuck making the rest of us look bad. This guy
qualifies.

Good luck and just for grins let us know what your new shop finds and charges.

Ron

Mary wrote:
"RonSonic" wrote

Anyway, let's see what he's proposing to do to the bike and what's
been done in
the last couple years and see if it adds up.

When I spoke with the mechanic he said the bearings were fine and I
had the pads and cables replaced end of last year. He said it was
just the cassette, chain and chainring. Everything else looked fine.
I also planed to buy 2 new tires but that was not in the price.

OK, that /definitely/ doesn't add up. Even a DA/Record chainring, chain and
cassette wouldn't... well... hmmm.

What level components are we talking about here?

You sure it's just ONE chainring? Whole new crankset perhaps? Bottom
bracket OK?

Something's either missing or fishy here.

Bill S.

I am the original poster. The shop wants $300 to replace the chainring,
chain and cassette. That's all folks. As I stated in a second post. I
took this bike to the shop for a full tune-up every year. I have had
general maintenance and some components replaced as needed. The kicker to
my conversation with the mechanic was that it would be more cost effective
to buy a new bike than fix the one I had. That is what really threw me for
a loop. I can't believe that a 7 year old bike is obsolete but he said it
was and that bikes are now built to become obsolete after a few years. He
said in 6 months there would be no parts available for the bike
I think he saw a middle aged woman and figured I was an easy mark. Will
pick my bike up tomorrow. Have found a shop who is sure they have the
parts and can do the work for a resonable price.

Thanks to all for the help.

Something really doesn't add up here. I think you need to have a
conversation with the owner of the shop, rather than spend time going over
things here. $300 for just a chain, chainrings and cassette defies logic. On
the other hand, at 27,000 miles, quite a number of parts on your bike must
be nearing the end of their lifespan; indeed, it would be difficult to
imagine an early Sora or RSX shifter lasting that long, and a pair of those
alone runs to $200. That's why, even though you've stated very clearly that
the $300 is just for chain, chainrings and cassette, some of us wonder if
there might be a communications problem.

In any event, sounds like you've been happy with the service there before,
but most certainly aren't now. Your choices boil down to just two- either
talk with the owner of the store and find out what's really going on, or
take it to another shop. There's no point debating anything else. I, for
one, would very much like to know the result of talking with the owner (if
you do so).

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

On Tue, 01 Mar 2005 23:28:23 -0500, Mary wrote:

I am the original poster. The shop wants $300 to replace the chainring,
chain and cassette. That's all folks.

That is too high, if that is it.

The kicker to my conversation with the mechanic was that it would be more
cost effective
to buy a new bike than fix the one I had. That is what really threw me for
a loop. I can't believe that a 7 year old bike is obsolete but he said it
was and that bikes are now built to become obsolete after a few years.

Well, on the one hand a Trek 1200, costing originally ??, has certainly
done more than most to have racked up the mileage you have.

He
said in 6 months there would be no parts available for the bike I think
he saw a middle aged woman and figured I was an easy mark.

Probably.

Will pick my
bike up tomorrow. Have found a shop who is sure they have the parts and
can do the work for a resonable price.

Good. You are right to walk away from that shop. There are other places
to spend your money.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | If all economists were laid end to end, they would not reach a
_`\(,_ | conclusion. -- George Bernard Shaw
(_)/ (_) |

Wed, 02 Mar 2005 04:30:08 GMT,
scud jockey, RonSonic
wrote, in part:

likely as anything else a
tendency toward trendiness that afflicts this hobby.

Shove you "hobby" deeply into the darkest recesses of your posterior!

Cycling is LIFE!

Hobbyists are pretend bikers. Go, get back on your FMUP where
hobbyists belong.
--
zk

Tue, 01 Mar 2005 22:03:21 -0500,
, "David L. Johnson"
concluded:

If you had a 1994 Honda Civic which needed $1000 worth of transmission work,
would it be worth it?* Similar call here.

If you found a two-hundred dollar 70's era Swiss built ten-speed in
the trash would you spend $120 on pedals, $30 on tires, $40 for a
saddle and $30 for a cog so you could turn it into a single speed?

I would.

Bicycles are a whole different animal.

Cars suck - Bikes rule.
--
zk

"Mike Jacoubowsky" wrote:

Something really doesn't add up here. I think you need to have a
conversation with the owner of the shop, rather than spend time going over
things here. $300 for just a chain, chainrings and cassette defies logic.

I did some "shopping" and found one scenario where he'd be getting a
(relative) bargain...

Wipperman ConneX hollow pin chain
Campy 10 speed 13-26 titanium cassette
Campy Record Compact 50T ring

At $300, he'd be getting them at (believe it or not) about $60 below
wholesale. That's kinda in the "defies logic" category as well, I
think. The scary thing is, there are probably quite a few folks
running the above as their everyday drive train components - hope
they're budgeting for replacements!

Mark Hickey
Habanero Cycles
http://www.habcycles.com
Home of the $695 ti frame

On Wed, 02 Mar 2005 06:41:09 -0700, Mark Hickey wrote:

"Mike Jacoubowsky" wrote:

Something really doesn't add up here. I think you need to have a
conversation with the owner of the shop, rather than spend time going over
things here. $300 for just a chain, chainrings and cassette defies logic.

I did some "shopping" and found one scenario where he'd be getting a
(relative) bargain...

Wipperman ConneX hollow pin chain
Campy 10 speed 13-26 titanium cassette
Campy Record Compact 50T ring

At $300, he'd be getting them at (believe it or not) about $60 below
wholesale. That's kinda in the "defies logic" category as well, I
think.

Not too much chance of these components being found on a Trek 1200, is
there?

The scary thing is, there are probably quite a few folks
running the above as their everyday drive train components - hope
they're budgeting for replacements!

Well, either they have enough money so that they don't have to ask, or
they don't ride enough to ever wear out the parts.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | It is a scientifically proven fact that a mid life crisis can
_`\(,_ | only be cured by something racy and Italian. Bianchis and
(_)/ (_) | Colnagos are a lot cheaper than Maserattis and Ferraris. --
Glenn Davies

Mary wrote:

The kicker to my conversation with the mechanic was that it would be
more
cost effective
to buy a new bike than fix the one I had. That is what really threw
me for
a loop. I can't believe that a 7 year old bike is obsolete...

It's not.

The shop guy is claiming that what you have is no good any more.
Likewise, some responses here have hinted that your bike is somehow low
grade and shouldn't be expected to survive as many miles as it has.

I think both ideas are silly at best. I can still replace anything I
need to on my 1986 touring bike. In fact, my 1972 commuting bike has
had essentially everything replaced at one time or other. Only the
frame and fork remain - and if my crankset somehow caught fire
tomorrow, I could replace it in two days for much less than $300.

Regarding the quality of your bike versus its expected lifetime: The
life of a road bike is essentially infinite. The quick-wear items are
tires & tubes, chain, rear cogs and perhaps brake pads. Wearing much
more slowly are the ball beearings, the cables, the occasional spoke, a
much-used chainring and the handlebar tape. Beyond that, _someday_ you
may need to replace a wheel rim, your saddle and the cleats on your
shoes. Everything else lasts essentially forever - and th parts that
do wear can all be replaced at reasonable cost, perhaps on your own.

I subscribe to Vintage Bicycle Quarterly. People who write for that
magazine have entered Paris-Brest-Paris on 1950s bikes and finished
very well indeed. Your bike is arguably as good.

Bikes are not Kleenex. They should be maintained and used forever.