I’ve been looking at getting a gravel bike to replace my ancient Kinesis cx and found a nice Open Upper in my LBS that they’d built up with 1×11 Integra. Not cheap, but unfortunately, the one in the shop is a medium and I need a large and they have quoted £120 build charge to order in a large frame and build it to the same spec. I’m a bit shocked tbh. I’ve had a few bikes from them over the years and it’s always been gratis. I can understand if I was just buying the frame and asking them to build it with my components, but everything would be purchased through them. Has something changed in the bike industry? Is this normal nowadays?

Would you work extra for free?

Normal format would be if you’re buying frame and all components through them, they’d build it as part of the service.

If you walked in with a frame and a pile of bits you’d bought off CRC, then yes, £120 would be perfectly reasonable.

IME.

Could be they are feeling the pinch?

Lbs near me are few and far between these days.

No, but if I was selling a £5k build I’d be prepared to swallow the Labour charge. I mean, they’ve already built one up and not included the Labour cost in the shop price. To build another specifically for me (to order remember, they don’t have to invest in stock) it is more expensive. I don’t see the logic

Depends on the bike they have, was it bought in as a bike? Are you asking them to build up a frame and groupset?

Edit – cross.reply.

I agree, seems.odd.

Have you raised this with them?

So shop elsewhere and see if you can get it cheaper.

Would you work extra for free?

My LBS always fits parts bought from there for free.

If I bought a frame and all the parts from there, obviously they would build it for free.

I mean, they’ve already built one up and not included the Labour cost in the shop price.

How do you know?

Are all parts at RRP, or are they giving you a bit of a discount, and then adding the £120 on top.

The price sounds ok for the time it’ll take to build. But as others have said, my LBS wraps up the build cost in the parts – but I pay more than I would online, which I don’t mind at all.

Yes, I raised it with them. The guy I normally deal with is on holiday,so guess I will wait until he is back. Just thought it was odd. On the contrary, I’ve just bought a custom build mtb from Brink and they could not have been more helpful (including ordering parts in from distributors they don’t normally deal with) and there was never a mention of a build cost.

So shop elsewhere and see if you can get it cheaper.

I don’t want it cheaper, just the same price as the one they’ve already built.

”I don’t want it cheaper, just the same price as the one they’ve already built.”

That’s what you need to tell them, and if they say no, shop elsewhere.

I’m stubborn, so that would have left a sour taste in my mouth and I wouldn’t buy it from then regardless.

Me too.

I would have asked “is the large frame more expensive than the medium ? That seems the only logical reason to charge £125 more for exactly the same bike in a different size”

(Then I would left, and very soon after wished I had just bought it, because I really want it 👍)

£150 for frame builds/swaps here

In line with everything I’ve seen. My local wanted £120 to put a crash replacement front triangle in.

How long has the medium been in the shop? Has the price increased since then? (If its the same 5k frame I just googled £120 is sod all of a change in the exchange since they got the medium in, its actually pretty much bang on the dollar shift between mid march at 1.33 and today at 1.3)

That’s ridiculous.

My LBS quoted me £100 labour to build a bike if I sourced the frame and parts but it would be free if I bought everything through them. They were more expensive for the frame (RRP) but they could get some of the parts cheaper than I could so it was swings and roundabouts. A couple of online shops offered to build the bike for between £100 and £200 on top of the component costs so the LBS worked out to be pretty competitive plus I was supporting my local shop and you get aftersales and fitting.

Seems unusual that you’re being charged if you’re buying the complete build from them.
I’d think again

I would just say to them “throw in the cost of the build for free and I will buy it”. Pretty sure they would.

they don’t have to invest in stock

What happens to the unwanted medium frame?

At the end of the day, they don’t want to work for free, however you feel your loyalty and spending level means they should consider a discount or free work.

There’s a deal to be done, but perhaps a halfway house.

The elephant in the room is that you’re prepared to drop in the region of £5k on a bike, and yet are getting the hump over £120. With LBSs going bump all over the place, my irony meter is going nuts. Guess it tells its own tale.

Regardless, we need to hear in mind that it isn’t just the build cost. Someone has to dismantle the medium build as well. May well need new cables and outers due to greater lengths required. Certainly there is some justifiable additional labour required that wouldn’t be the case if all was new. Maybe as Matt says above, offer to meet them halfway..

Certainly there is some justifiable additional labour required that wouldn’t be the case if all was new

Then, erm, couldn’t they just build a large frame up with new parts and keep their current medium one all built up and ready to sell…? I wouldn’t mind having a bike built from parts taken off an unused other build, but I wouldn’t expect to pay extra for the privilege!

I assume they won’t be dismantling the medium to build the large? Just doing a custom build to the same spec as the one already in the shop, but with a large frame.

As to them adding the build cost or not. For the medium they’ve built it up as a marketing piece, to earn them money (you’ve seen it an wanted a large, others may have seen it and wanted a small etc) so the profit they get from those builds is used to offset the time and cost they sucked up to build the medium in the first place.

Also assuming the ‘bike’ is only available as a frame only, so by having a custom build done to a spec someone has already dictated seems a bit of a wasted opportunity, especially if there is a build cost. You say they’ve gone above and beyond in the past, setting up accounts just to get stuff you want. Do you not feel this is a service worth paying for?

The elephant in the room is that you’re prepared to drop in the region of £5k on a bike, and yet…

they are willing to lose the sale over a couple of hours labour

… With LBSs going bump all over the place, my irony meter is going nuts. Guess it tells its own tale.

Just an alternative view.

I guess my take on this is someone’s labour has a value. I bought new compressionless sheaths and cable for my (crappy) cable discs from my LBS for £25 & paid £15 for them to fit it. Would have been £20 if not bought from them. Seems reasonable to me. If its a custom build then either build it yourself or pay them for their labour seems reasonable to me, though maybe a reduction in the labour charge isn’t unreasonable. As an aside I’m struggling to think of a scenario whereby a garage would fit a part to your car (let alone build one from scratch (joke)) free of charge, regardless of whether you had sourced it from them or not..

If I buy a tyre from my local garage, they fit it for free.

If I buy a tyre from my local garage, they fit it for free.

Cool I’m off to the builders merchants I have a house extension that needs doing and if I buy the stuff from them.

The difference here is the expectation of free labour because someone else does it.

If I buy a tyre from my local garage, they fit it for free.

And if you buy an alternator, a fuel pump and an ECU? Still free labour to fit them and set them up? How about an engine and rear axle?

If I buy a tyre from my local garage, they fit it for free

No they don’t, the fitting price is all built into the cost given to you.

I never charged for custom built bikes if the parts were all bought from us. As above it’s all built into the price on a £5-6k bike.

The car anology is silly because if you buy a new car and spec the interior/wheels etc you are charged for the parts but not extra for fitting, if you get new parts fitted to a old car/bike you are charged labour but spending£££ on something new it’s different

You said you couldn’t think of a garage example I gave one. I’ve bought a tyre to put on a refurbed alloy, to be fitted by the wheel repairer and it was the same price as one they fitted on my current alloy so yes it was fitted, balanced and a new valve for free. Anyway I’m not getting in an argument over it, it’s simple if you’re happy with the price pay it, if you’re not, don’t.
ETA I don’t expect anyone to work for free and have no problem paying for services.

I’m bowing out of this one, it’s quite subjective and I can see the arguments on both sides. I guess from the OP’s point of view, the question is can you source same bike/spec, fully built, for the same, or cheaper, elsewhere? If so then you have a choice. If not then you have to decide whether an additional 2.4% on £5k is worth paying..

Yep, spot on.

Agreeing with most of the above, I think:

£120 seems a reasonable labour charge to build a bike from components.

Charging labour to assemble a bike with all parts bought through them at the same time seems odd. Especially if there’s the same model and spec in the showroom in a different size for the price you’ve been quoted without labour…

Last new bike I bought (that was built by LBS) had a parts retail price of £3800, I paid £3370 all told (ie built up) If they’d said ‘we’ll knock 10% off the parts & charge £120 to build it I still would’ve bought it.
I wouldn’t have liked to have paid full list price of the parts then £120 labour though!

I reckon I got a decent deal anyway.