[Closed] £27 to fit a childs rear brake cable Rip Off Mugdock Country Cycles Glasgow

Was in earlier and alerted Keith to this thread. He may not have a login here yet, but will get one and give his side of events.

He is an honest hardness working guy and I'm sure there is a perfectly reasonable explanation.

The toilets are currently mid refurbishment, in the quite season, and temporary arrangements are in use.

The unmarked trails were riding great this morning 🙂

I made the mistake of fixing a colleague's kids brake cables a couple of years back. By the time I got done with it I'd spent 15e on parts and an hour to fix the other stuff that was dangerously wrong with it. Now, I'm not a pro nor even that enthusiastic an amateur but I'd rather replace the brake cable on an extremely picky roadie's pride and joy than a 50 quid BSO for a 6 year old.

To me it seems a trifle steep. But I can see walk up repair at a weekend is going to cost more than booking it in mid week

I'm wrong. I think Peter made the key point. In reality a bike shop can't just change a cable. The bike has to be returned to the owner with that brake in a fully working

Clearly Keith missed the part in his rental agreement with the site that stated not only did he have to pay rent, he also had to install trail signage and fix the toilets. It's shocking how much these bike shops are trying to get away with.

😆

Glad some common sense came to the thread towards the end.

Surely your BiL said
"How much to fix this now?"
Shop "£27"

Then BiL agreed to have it done. He could have said "no thanks" I'm sure they didn't force him to have it fixed.

Oh and

in my exprience "kids brake cable" usually equates to
rusted solid inner and outer, adjuster on the end of the lever crushed,bent or missing, noodle broken or missing, pads down to backing or totally misaligned possibly both.
and that before the trying to get them to even remotely work as they are on a bag of shit from a supermarket.

Now, I'm not a pro nor even that enthusiastic an amateur but I'd rather replace the brake cable on an extremely picky roadie's pride and joy than a 50 quid BSO for a 6 year old.

Yup. It's often said anyone can work on expensive bikes, fit XTR and Di2, that's easy-peasy... It's the old, cheap stuff where a mechanic earns his keep.
Most bikes I see are sub-£500 commuter bikes, ridden until something's gone wrong. I like to relax by fitting XT on my own bikes. 🙂

Yeah the five minute jobs are never that, hey mate my gears aren't working. Bike needs new cables, new chain, new chainrings, new cassette and the bb is worn out.

akira - Member
Yeah the five minute jobs are never that, hey mate my gears aren't working. Bike needs new cables, new chain, new chainrings, new cassette and the bb is worn out.

And the hangers bent.

You forgot that on of the threads is seized - and some numpty rounded the bolt last time they did it up...

Very interesting my post has generated such a difference in responses.
For info the bike was in perfect order and yes I should have had a cable with me but I did not and was 40 miles from home with a tearful nine year old

Yes I could have easily fitted it myself in 5 mins ( I am 54 have been building and restoring cycles and motorcycles for over 40 years and am a qualified engineer)
I should have asked for the cost however assumed it would be about £15.

I have checked with a number of cycle shops who ALL agree it is grossly over priced

The only part fitted was an inner cable and cable end cap , I was told that this was £7.50 and the hourly rate was £30 how we got to £27 dumbfounded me as the bike was returned in less than 15 minutes ( the shop also had other customers)

No receipt was given

I suspect that a number of the posts have came from friends of the owner which is fair enough.
The post I think has served its purpose

The post I think has served its purpose

which was?

I have been in the shop a few times, and bought a jacket. Didn't ask for a discount nor would I say I was a loyal customer. They are obviously passionate about cycling and I would imagine would have no problem giving you a breakdown of cost, or indeed double checking the amount if you had queried it. I would suggest that would be the way forward rather than posting on here or elsewhere but I can appreciate the price may have been a bit of a shock.

I also believe they have kids bike for hire at a lower/similar cost so that could have been a viable alternative..

For info the bike was in perfect order

Yes I could have easily fitted it myself in 5 mins ( I am 54 have been building and restoring cycles and motorcycles for over 40 years and am a qualified engineer)

So, when were the cables last replaced before they broke?

All I'm saying is that on a bike that's reasonably well looked after and otherwise in "perfect order" brake cables tend not to just let go suddenly unless something else has gone wrong. They should get changed as part of maintenance - not every week, but not never either.

I'm sorry for [s]your[/s] your BiL's £27 but yes, [s]you[/s] your BiL should definitely have asked what they'd take for it, and then weighed up the cost against taking said disappointed child somewhere else to get it fixed or [s]sucking it up and making a mental note to check things more often[/s] get it done there and then.

For info the bike was in perfect order

Apart from the brake cable that just fell to bits..

Yes I could have easily fitted it myself in 5 mins...

Ooh, LBS customer Bingo!! Dibber at the ready 😀 *dib*

...and am a qualified engineer

*dib*

I should have asked for the cost however assumed it would be about £15.

*dib* one more for a line..

The post I think has served its purpose.

No fair 🙁

I suspect that a number of the posts have came from friends of the owner which is fair enough.

Never been there, let alone met any of the staff!

I suspect that a number of the posts have came from friends of the owner which is fair enough.

DISCLAIMER : I have worked in sports shops quite a bit (skiing was my game) when younger, and have little sympathy for people who know more about everything than you, and could do it for a lot less, or a lot quicker or a lot better but, basically, haven't or won't.

am a qualified engineer

If no other work was carried out such aligning pads, adjusting tension springs then £27 to fit a single inner cable & cable end cap takes the piss in my opinion.

Is this guy for real? This must be a troll.

Wasting seconds of his life over a £5-10 deviation in pricing for an on the spot repair that would have ruined family day out had it not been done? WTAF? Suck it up FFS - don't use the bike shop next time if you don't like it and go home, or bring your mobile workshop!

I work on my own bikes but I wouldn't classify myself as a shop competent mechanic - these guys are amazing, know all the tricks etc. A 15 minute job for them is probably 30-40 minutes for me.

I'd *hate* to be an LBS owner and have to deal with this sh it.

I think the comparisons with other shops isn't necessarily fair. There's no doubt that on a cold, mid January Tuesday afternoon, the footfall there is going to be pretty light compared to Evans on the high street. I'd suggest it's more of a destination shop and in these sorts of circumstances, I don't think normal rules apply. Labour costs for this sort of thing will be worked out to make sure the business is profitable and sustainable. The market will then decide if those prices are too high or not. That's how capitalism works and that's what this is.

Is the labour cost higher than the Evans on the High Street? Probably, maybe. But it's not on the High Street, it's right there in the location that your brake cable snapped.

Fast forward a year when that shop has to move because they can't afford to pay the bills because they've not been charging enough labour. Who fixes the kids brake cable then? No one does.

and was 40 miles from home with a tearful nine year old

Luckily there was a shop on hand to save the day eh? Nah, let's get on the internet and bash them. Plonker.

Never been there.
Never met the guy.

scotroutes - Member
Never been there.
Never met the guy.

Guess that might have been the OPs intention. To alert the rest of us who never go near the courtyard that there is a bike shop there, kind enough to do on the spot repairs? 😆

ronnierush - Member
For info the bike was in perfect order

I'm not doubting your abilities(well seems I am 😆 ) but that you never spotted the dodgy cable doesn't really tally with the rest of your assessment that the bike was in fine working order.

[quote=seosamh77 ]

scotroutes - Member
Never been there.

The only part fitted was an inner cable and cable end cap , I was told that this was £7.50 and the hourly rate was £30 how we got to £27 dumbfounded me as the bike was returned in less than 15 minutes ( the shop also had other customers)

No receipt was given

No one asked these questions at the time? Has anyone contacted the shop asked for a break down. If I ran I business I'd rather be asked for comment before i was complained about to the world

Did the sad 9 year old get you ahead of those other customers?

I'd love to have seen the posts if the OP had started a post thanking the amazing Mugdock cycles who saved his day out by only taking the princely sum of £27 for a brake cable and ferrule.... 😆

I'd love to have seen the posts if the OP had started a post thanking the amazing Mugdock cycles who saved his day out by only taking the princely sum of £27 for a brake cable and ferrule....

Conundrum solved. The shop has a crack team of internet wizards to shut down [s]insane[/s] reasonable customer feedback, this additional overhead means they have to charge £27 for a five minute repair that any qualified engineer could do in his [s]dreams[/s] sleep.

I wish people would realise that everything they see in a shop has to be paid for.
Credit card terminal hire, transaction fees, even the bloody receipts. The new fee that they charge so that you can fill in a form promising not to be naughty with a credit card machine.
The electricity that magically costs more than twice the price of your home electricity.
The setting up of these bloody pensions, the cost of these bloody pensions.
The water bill for flushing a toilet and making a cup of tea that costs more than that of a family in a 3 bed house and no we can't have a water meter fitted,surprise surprise.
The £160 minimum to listen to the radio. It goes on and on. As could I.

As Sanny said Keith is not in the business of ripping customers off. It's tough going trying to keep a bike shop going but Keith is doing well purely because of the service he provides. Did you happen to notice all the bikes inside and outside the shop??? They're bikes that are waiting to be fixed, he did you a favor by fixing your kids bike on the spot and you paid £27 for the privilege, quit your moaning.

scotroutes - Member

In the entirety of this thread has anyone, on either side of the "argument", actually changed their opinion? Even the slightest bit?

Perhaps been persuaded by what they have read to do a U-turn in their mind?

Just curious...

Some think £27 is too much. Some that it is completely justified.

No-one will ever post on here that they now feel they were wrong and have changed their mind. Just won't happen.

Why? The cost and it's merit is based upon opinion and personal experience. Then a thousand other variables.

I'm trying to say that it's subjective and an un-winnable argument!

Anyway, crack on. Takes my mind off the real problems in the world I suppose! 🙂

Just off to send a harsh email to Trump anyway...

Poopscoop, I've read most of it and although stw threads occasionally cause a bit of soul searching, this is obviously a piss take of the first order.

"why didnt you just buy the cable and do it yourself if it is a "5 minute" job?". Because few of us ride around with a set of spanners, pliers, cable cutters and crimpers for the end cap ('coz it might be child's face).

Captive market.

Me, i'm in the group of "i don't care about the cost, if we'd had to go home it would have trashed the day"

In simple terms, unless you've got the right tools and parts with you, it's a game ender of a problem. It's pack your stuff and put it all in the car, waste of a day.

The fact it was done on the spot means it's worth the price... simple as that.

^ this, with added if you or your Significant Other didn't have the guts to query or negotiate the price at the time, then don't be a keyboard warrior.

i don't care about the cost

Everyone has a price for everything. What would yours have been? Useful to know for any bike shop owners at honeypots out there 😉

Significant Other

You have carnal relations with your brother in law 😯 ? I would have to have drunk more than I could 'perform' on before mine would look even a teansy bit attractive!

These sort of posts make me smile. You go into store and ask how much it costs to change a cable - if they say £27 you make your decision to pay and continue the ride or not pay and go home.
I don't think you should begrudgingly pay and then moan about it.

On the flip side. Do I think it's expensive - yes, it's a tad steep but I can understand they need to make the business money.
Would I pay it to continue a ride with my family - yes I would.

Everyone has a price for everything. What would yours have been? Useful to know for any bike shop owners at honeypots out there

It would have had to be £50+ for me to not bother... But then again if he'd said "the bike is scrap, you've cracked the frame" for example, then the price is whatever kids bike he has in stock 🙂
You can't put a price on your kids happiness... it costs what it costs.

It would have had to be £50+ for me to not bother

You can't put a price on your kids happiness... it costs what it costs.

You just did 😉

Just thought about it again. My multitool would do everything needed to get a brake cable replaced apart from the cable cutter but by winding the extra into a loop and a bit of duct tape (a few cms of duct tape and zip ties always in saddlebag/rucksack) to secure and you'd be golden for at least a day's ride. Plenty newly assembled bikes have left my shed for a shake down ride in that condition. In 40 years cycling I can't recall ever snapping a brake cable mind.

The post I think has served its purpose

which was?

Tight bloke so shocked at having to open his wallet that he had to share on internet, apparently.

Tight self satisfied 'engineer', apparently.

Hit return and sat back smugly; pleased with trashing a business transaction he could have dealt with at the time.

He must have rode around that day with steam coming out of his ears. All the way home and in front of the keyboard.

Or he could have said something at the time. Especially if he had an engineer membership card.

Brake cable for £3.99? Wiggle are knocking them out for 79p....

*walks away whistling*

I have checked with a number of cycle shops who ALL agree it is grossly over priced

No you haven't.

£27 is you look at the part price is a lot but you're not just paying for that.

I've never been in the shop nor do I know the owner. £27 to fit the cable is expensive but not ridiculous. If the OP is an engineer he would know that its not a 5 min job for a shop ( or really for anyone)

So mr engineer - how much do you get paid an hour?

I just think it's funny.
a) that he didn't aske the price before hand.
b) that he didn't have the kit to fit a cable. How would he mend a bike out in the woods?
c) that he would expect sympathy here.

TJ it's not how much is he PAID by his company, but how much does he COST to get the comparison with the £27.

If I were the OP I'd be having a go at my bil for letting my neice's bike get into such a poor state of repair that the brake cable snapped - will no one think of the children?

Here's Evans' price list

No specific mention of replacing a brake cable however

"We will undertake any other stand-alone repair charged at £15 per 15 minutes (£15 minimum)."

So they'd be charging you £15 minimum plus parts therefore £27 is entirely possible

On the flipside, here's Willy Bain in the southside. He's a one man band operation working out of a shoebox sized shop in a shabby part of town.

http://www.bicyclerepair.co.uk/brake-service.htm

He'll charge you £7.50 an end and I'd assume parts are extra

£10 at Southwest Community Cycles: http://southwestcommunitycycles.co.uk/bike-maintenance-repair/#1483975044585-28666cfb-6650

£25 front and rear at Dales: https://www.dalescycles.com/servicing

"From" £20 to adjust gears at Cyclelane: https://www.cyclelane.co.uk/workshop.php

So in short, there's no right or wrong price for this. It varies

I'd expect those prices to differ if it's a walk-in and fix there and then job.

Tbh thats the bit I really don't get, it's not a chippy you normally stick a bike into bike shops for them to book in.

Walk-in and fix immediately, I'd expect to pay a premium.

correct BR - just trying to show him the comparison.

I can see both sides of it. £27 does seem very steep for a simple inner cable replacement, but I'm conscious that whenever friends have asked me to look at their kids' bikes, they're invariably trashed. Inner rusted and seized, brakes out of alignment, wheel out of true, etc... £27 to fix that lot would be very good value.

[quote=ransos ]I can see both sides of it. £27 does seem very steep for a simple inner cable replacement, but I'm conscious that whenever friends have asked me to look at their kids' bikes, they're invariably trashed. Inner rusted and seized, brakes out of alignment, wheel out of true, etc... £27 to fix that lot would be very good value.

Aye but he's an engineer! Who works for free!

Always amazes me when customer walks in with a 20 year old bike still with original parts, worn out shifters & expects them to work like they did the day they bought it after we've replaced the inner cable (they wouldn't stump up for an outer too)

Granted, you can buy the bits from CRC for about £3 and wait a week and fit them yourself, or pay lbs price of around £7, and fit it yourself, or you could pay the guy a not out of the way £20 for his Labour and not inconsiderable overheads.
So the op begrudges giving a twenty spot to someone digging him out the shit?
I'd drop some random a 10 or 20 spot if they fixed a mechanical at the trailside if I couldn't fix it myself - but I ain't a Tightwad!

I didn't realise he was an engineer, he'll have been charged the universal engineer tax then. Very common in bike shops 😀

http://singletrackworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/10-ways-to-be-a-dick-in-your-local-bike-shop/

(it's heavily ironic that the shop in question is the shop in the article and video 😆 )

Says a lot about the dude in the shop that he's not on here arguing about it, despite Iainc running to him like a 4 year old girl... 😆

No-one mentioned the cost of qualifications.

My Son has just completed his Cytech and I could say the cost is a bit steep! He is really keen to learn and all the local mums would bring no end of awful bikes around for him to fix. They would never offer him even a fiver for his troubles (he would often use all the bits from my spares box), but I got a bit annoyed when I had to fix a puncture only to find all the patches used up.
He politely says no now, and the kids ride around using their toe caps to stop.
I think people look at a kids bike and assume prices are somehow cheaper, they probably only paid £50 for it.
I once had a VW polo, that my wife removed the door mirror on a post, a replacement was nearly £250 the car was around £5000 new, I was shocked, that did not include fitting it!
Learn to do it yourself, I have often had my day ruined when I've managed to unseat the bead on a tubeless set up and failed to get it back on, had to go home early.

Looks like a classic example of Number 7 on the list with a bit of Number 4 too!

Man, that piece I wrote just keeps on giving, doesn't it? It was written with a good dose of tongue in cheek but threads like these help prove the point. Ha! Ha! 😆

(Sits back, smiles and contemplates the merits of dark v milk chocolate digestives).

Sorry OP but the inflammatory title of your thread and your subsequent "I am an engineer" statement have left you wide open to some good natured ridicule. Perhaps next time, your brother in law could ask for a quote or ask you to fix it for him and save you having to post your displeasure online thus incurring the ire of the STW hive mind? 😀

Nobeer - there were a few of us riding there yesterday morning and popped in as usual for a natter with Keith. He had seen the thread before we went in and asked for some 'special brake cables' 🙂

I reckon a cable inner on a kids bike is longer than 5 minutes to fit. £27 sounds steep. A lesson in life there I suppose. If you ask for a fix it now, it will cost you, if you want it cheap, DIY or leave the bike to be fixed to the shops time schedule.

Good morning everyone,
Can I firstly apologise to Ronnie's brother in law, we did over charge him. The charge should have been £17 not £27, unfortunately Ronnie's swearing and abuse put us on the backfoot and we didn't deal with the situation properly. If Ronnie can get his brother in law to get in touch we will gladly refund him the difference.
But what I won't put up with is any kind of abuse in my shop, whether that be verbal or any other kind, I'm sure Ronnie won't be returning anytime soon but if he does I for one do not want to hear that kind of language and attitude(especially in front of kids).
I can only apologise for our part in his day but hopefully when the toilet refurbishment is complete and we've had more success with getting the council to back more cycling trails up here, he'll come back and have a better experience.
All the best, Richard Turpin.

[img] [/img]

Call it a tenner t**t tax?

nice one Keith 😀

+1 mcc01

Maybe you need a 'folk on this list are barred' like they use to have in pubs? 🙂

Well - if nothing else this thread would warn one to avoid dealing with the OP in the classifieds section 😉

Of course they could have just continued riding with one brake, I used one brake for years as a kid (as did most people - having 2 brakes was not cool).

Also no legal aspect presumably as they were not on the road. Then just fix the cable when you get home.

Hi Richard
Many thanks for getting back regarding the brake cable.
I apologise unreservedly for my behaviour, I was extremely upset when i heard the the charge but should have been much more reasonable.

I will ask my brother in law to contact you.

I respect you for your honesty and candour and will be happy to come back to Mugdock with my niece and nephew.

regards
Ronnie

All the best, Richard Turpin.

Commendable effort to avoid being a Dick. 🙂

I'm still going for the Astroturfing angle.

Fair play OP. Good to read that things have worked out now that both sides of the story are out there. 😀

Well you can put your prices up now I suppose since there are so many [s]mugs[/s] on here who think £27 for a replacement brake cable fitted is reasonable.

Kicking off and swearing not cool !! But as it happens £27 for the job was overcharging, something that so many on this thread seem to have missed. Or maybe they didn't but just wanted to join the queue to put the boot in to the Op.

Kicking off and swearing not cool !! But as it happens £27 for the job was overcharging, something that so many on this thread seem to have missed. Or maybe they didn't but just wanted to join the queue to put the boot in to the Op

Just because he was over-charged, doesn't mean the price charged was unreasonable...

I apologise unreservedly for my behaviour, I was extremely upset when i heard the the charge but should have been much more reasonable.

Route of the 'problem' here is now clear. OP is tight, and acted like a dick about it. At least he has now apologised, which is more than I would expect from some on here.

Kudos to the shop owner (who I don't know, I've never been to that part of the world) for his measured response.

£17 is a bit of a bargain.

Pointing out the OP is actually a massive sweary asshat is priceless.

Jesus wept. Sounds like OP and his BILneeds to go on some anger management classes.

Well maintained child's bike breaks at the start of an unsigned 'non' official trail. LBS nearby helps out by fixing straight away, charges customer unfairly who then blows up over £10! Bloke the slams the shop, facilities and trail online. Largely because he was too aggressive in the shop to sort the issue out there and then....then to cap it all off plays the 'im and engineer card'

Perhaps a strongly worded letter to the Mail next time?

Made my coffee break entertaining thanks