I have purchased all the parts for a new rigid mtb build. I have neither the skills nor the tools nor the space to build the bike myself. I asked a local mechanic (with no shop premises) for a quote and was told the following:
Bike Build - 80
Wheel Build - 60 plus spokes/ nipples cost (I am supplying hubs/ rims/ tyres only)
Tubeless Setup - 48 incl sealant kit supply by mechanic
That's 188 quid total. Does that seem.... erm..... excessive?
You want someone with some seriously specialist skill, armed with a full panoply of specialist tools, as well as the associated insurance/coverage etc, to build you a full bike from the bones and you think a few hours work is "erm...excessive"?
Do it yourself, or pay someone more capable. Or, shut up.
Exaggerate much?seriously specialist skill, armed with a full panoply of specialist tools
I'd never pay someone to do that but seems a decent price, however going tubeless is easy so you can save yourself a few quid there.Bike Build - 80
Wheel Build - 60 plus spokes/ nipples cost (I am supplying hubs/ rims/ tyres only)
Tubeless Setup - 48 incl sealant kit supply by mechanicThat's 188 quid total. Does that seem.... erm..... excessive?
Get him to build the wheels first, have a pop at setting them up tubeless yourself then go and give him the £80 to build the bike, it'll feel like great value.
The tubeless does sound a bit steep, but I've got a roll of gorilla tape in the garage, a bottle of stans and i'm happy enough chopping old tubes up for valves.
To get yourself set up for tubelessing a load more wheels you're looking at:
£15 sealant
£10 tubeless valves
£15 for a roll of tubeless tape
Of the three jobs i'd say that'd be the best one to learn to do yourself as you dont want to be forking out every time you want to change a tyre.
Bike build - 2 hours
Wheel build - 90 mins
Tubeless setup - well under an hour.
Still seem excessive?
How much would it cost to get the knowledge/tools/space that you don't currently have?
Oh my....... I was only asking Mr Flashy....... hence the question mark.
What was that recent post about the Singletrack Forum being a nasty place?
The build cost of £80 actually strikes me as very reasonable. I'd figure 3-4 hours on a build, especially if you're supplying the parts, as some things might not fit.
Though you say it's a rigid bike, so [i]should[/i] be a relatively simple build, so maybe only 2 hours or so.
Wheel build is maybe a little too much - but it depends on what he charges you for the spokes. I'd expect a cost of about £40 per wheel inc. spokes.
£48 tubeless set up.....Well the actual bits cost about £8-10 per wheel. It depends on the rims and tyres, I've been able to do a pair of wheels in 20 mins including taping before. But some setups have taken hours!
Personally, I'd give him a round £200 for the job + some nice biscuits. Just do he does a good job 😉
Well I wouldn't pay it, but I can do all those jobs myself so it's a moot point
£180 for, say, 4-5 hours work on a job you can't do? It's no so much a case of whether it's reasonable more a case of 'is it the going rate'? To which I'd say yes
CFH - can't disagree with your post - but a little harshly put if I may say.
...some seriously specialist skill...
Yeah... It is mainly just bolting stuff together though... Granted building a wheel takes a bit more thought and care but isn't the dark art some seem to think, if you have opposable thumbs, you can assemble a bike.
But honestly OP why did you buy a bikes worth of parts when you lack the inclination or ability to assemble them?
You do know you can buy pre-assembled bikes right? They're pretty widely available...
I'm also a little confused why you'd buy the parts,when you're not confident to build them up - cost/being fussy, I suppose.
However, if you have to depend on somebody else to do it, then you have to pay the (seemingly reasonable) price.
if you have opposable thumbs, you can assemble a bike.
If you can assemble a bike, you can strip down an aircraft carrier
Bike and wheel build seems fair. But £48 for tubeless setup is a joke!
+1 to what Ogden says - wheel build is reasonable - bike build is very reasonable, TL setup seems over priced.
As a serial bike assembler I will say that you are missing out on one of the great joys of bikes, aside from the riding. They are really pretty simple to put together if you are methodical and patient and its satisfying to ride your own assemblage.
That sounds completely fair, even the tubeless if he's supplying valves, tape and sealant, which you say he is. And although it's 'easy' in most cases, occasionally it will turn into a right faff, depending on the tyre/rim/tape combo you're using.
£30 a wheel for building is on the lower side, so it's swings and roundabouts too.
TL setup price includes the parts required remember chaps
Seems OK to me.
That seems very reasonable overall to me. The build price is cheap I'd say, as is the wheel build, tubeless set up is a bit high but I suspect that's pricing in some faffing time in case all does not go to plan first time. But yeah, under £200 for a bike build, and a wheel build with tubeless setup seems like a very good price to me.
Out of interest, what did you think it'd cost?
+1 give it a go yourself. It's not difficult, the info on how to do it is available online if you don't know anyone to talk you through, and the knowledge and satisfaction you acquire will be well worth the head scratching. Tools may cost a bob or two though
Or you could do all the easy bits yourself (putting seat onto seat post, brake levers onto bars, bars in stem etc,.) with the only tool required being a set of allen keys.
But £48 for tubeless setup is a joke!
Depends what's being done. If it needs rim strips, then a full Stan's kit is £47 at CRC prices.
If it's tubeless ready tyres and wheels, and just needs tape, valves and sealant then it seems a little steep, although if you were to do it yourself you'd probably pay nearly £40 in parts/fluids as you need to buy a whole reel of tape and bottle of sealant.
CFH - can't disagree with your post - but a little harshly put if I may say.
It was. Please accept my apologies, OP. Certainly didn't mean it to sound that harsh! Sorry.
Bike Build - 80
Reasonable - I paid £100 in 2007 for a bike built from a box of supplied bits (I done all my own since).
Wheel Build - 60 plus spokes/ nipples cost (I am supplying hubs/ rims/ tyres only)
Assumings that for the pair it's very reasonable. Currently about to pay £40 for one.
Tubeless Setup - 48 incl sealant kit supply by mechanic.
Really consider doing this yourself. Valves £12. Big bottle of Stans £15. Gorilla Tape / Stan's £6.
I have neither the skills nor the tools nor the space to build the bike myself.
Other than fitting a headset and cutting the fork (or a press fit BB) this is a trail tool (not optimally but you are only really screwing stuff on) If you don't have the tools to fit a chain or rear mech you'll be back at the mechanics all the time. Cost aside that's a real pain....
Like the tubeless how will you change tyres.. if you don't do it yourself how will you repair components???
Even if you pay the £80 it's still worth having the basic tools and ability to repair/maintain the bike.
I pay the local mechanic to pull bearings and stuff needs tools you use really rarely but the rest it's just quicker and easier (and obviously cheaper) to do stuff myself.
Other than fitting a headset and cutting the fork (or a press fit BB) this is a trail tool (not optimally but you are only really screwing stuff on) If you don't have the tools to fit a chain or rear mech you'll be back at the mechanics all the time. Cost aside that's a real pain....
Unless you want to do it properly using correct torques on all your components. Whatever BB you're fitting you'll need a tool of some description. Plus you'll need cable cutters etc. Presumably brake hoses may need shortening as well. Dropper post fitting and routing.
Plus at the hourly rates quoted, I reckon OP will be out on the trails before they turn to mush rather than spending a couple of dry weekends faffing with his multitool.
Not everyone has the patience, space or time to build a bike up, and not everyone will get the same level of satisfaction out of it. If you take the wheelbuilding out of it, it's not a massive amount of cash in the context of the overall price of a new bike.
Agree £80 is very cheap.
With regards to doing the easy bits yourself, whilst it is a good way to start learning, the mechanic will likely need to check it all, and can't see it saving much if any of their price quoted. If it's an easy job for you to put a seatpost in, it's going to be even easier for the mechanic etc.
If you have no sealent, valves or flashpump/compressor/airshot I dont think the tubeless cost is that bad either.
The only thing the mechanic will be buying for the tubeless setup is valves though, he will have a bottle of stans and a roll of tape already.
The only thing the mechanic will be buying for the tubeless setup is valves though, he will have a bottle of stans and a roll of tape already.
I'm guessing he probably had to pay money for the Stans and tape at some point, even if it was cheaper than the full kit. If he's using 8oz of Stans in two tyres then that's getting close to half of a pint bottle, which will be six quid's worth.
48 quid for all that stuff the OP would have had to buy separately plus an hour of the mechanic's time looks decent value to me.
Doesn't seem that bad to me all in - the tubeless looks a bot steep, but not outrageous if he's popping in decent valves etc.
I'd take the time to learn, but I like fiddling with bikes and have collected most tools over the years (aside from facing tools).
Or, shut up.
I was gonna get all up in your grill, but then...
Please accept my apologies, OP. Certainly didn't mean it to sound that harsh! Sorry.
I love a nice bit of humility. Good man!
🙂
If you get to keep a big pot of sealant then the tubeless bit is not ridiculous either.
Pint of Stans = £22
Tape & valves = £15 to £20
Thanks for the input gentleman - I think it was the total cost and tubeless setup that made me think it seemed excessive.
Some of the parts are coming off my old bike, hence why I just bought a frame and the additional parts required and didn't buy a complete build.
To be honest I probably cold do some of the build myself but I wasn't about to start saying 'Right I'll bolt the bars on if you put the stem on the steerer etc'. Plus if I am going 40mph down a hill I like to know someone who knows what they are doing has built it! I will do the maintenance though... or at least try. I wonder if he will align the valves with the tyre logos or if that is extra?
Apology accepted Mr Flashheart. Thank you. I thought maybe you were a poor bike mechanic having a bad day so was restrained in my initial response 😮 Good use of the word 'panoply' though, I hadn't heard that yet this month.
I thought maybe you were a poor.....
😆
As discussed the cost looks reasonable. I did a frame swap a couple of years ago, the only parts that didn't move where rear shock and headset, cost £70 at the LBS (I really wanted to take the bike to BPW that weekend and was busy with work so it was quicker to get them to do it than myself over a few evenings).
That said a rigid MTB is definitely the build to learn how to build a bike and it's not actually that difficult. Are you sure you can't find a corner to build it in? The Park Tools Blue Book is a good starting point and if you're lucky all you'll just need some decent allen keys, cable cutters, and the right tool for your bottom bracket. Hydraulic brakes need a bleed kit really, and hopefully the frame has a headset pressed in. My first build started with my LBS installing the headset and bottom bracket, then I attached everything else as at that point it really is screwing stuff on.
LOL! That advert winds me up every time.If you can assemble a bike, you can strip down an aircraft carrier
With regards to doing the easy bits yourself, whilst it is a good way to start learning, the mechanic will likely need to check it all, and can't see it saving much if any of their price quoted. If it's an easy job for you to put a seatpost in, it's going to be even easier for the mechanic etc.If you have no sealent, valves or flashpump/compressor/airshot I dont think the tubeless cost is that bad either.
But other than the one off's it's not really just about cost but being able to repair and maintain the bike.
If you don't have the tools or knowledge to change a chain or BB then how will you do it when you need to change one? Ideally you'd do this WITH a trained mechanic...
Otherwise each time you need to change a tyre, tighten the headset or bleed brakes (or reverb etc. our just take the fork off to send for a service) you need to add the mechanic's availability in...
If someone has successfully managed to get the correct headset, BB etc. the hardest part is done.
You don't need to set a crown race all that often or cut down forks or set the star nut.... etc. but changing a chain/cassette etc. it's pretty regular ...even decking what angle the brakes are and type / rotation of bars and stem height.. if not then why not just buy a bike from a shop/factory ???
Some of the parts are coming off my old bike, hence why I just bought a frame and the additional parts required and didn't buy a complete build.
That may account for some additional cost too. Fitting box fresh, brand new parts is easy as they're clean and will work. Parts of a bike will almost always take a bit more effort and so the mechanic may, quite understandably, have added a couple of quid to account for that.
[b]stevextc[/b]
Don't disagree with any of what you say at all. Was merely referencing cost.
Everyone should be able to swap bars and stems and do those sort of simple things I 100% agree.
I think the prices are fair. Even the tubeless set up considering it is approx £25 for materials, use of pump/compressor and 15-20mins of time.
