[Closed] Quoted for new cables and bar tape

4 cables £4 each = £16
Outer depending on how they sell it between £2-£4 so £8 to £16
Minor service to cover labour and adjust gears and brakes £30-£40
£15 for some decent tape
Between £5-£12 to fit the tape

I'd say £65 is a bargain.

What poddy said.

Would probably sell it as a silver service for £50 which covers the cost of cables and labor and then add the cost of the bar tape on top. So £65 is not far off the mark give or take a quid.

Where I used to work.
£30 for the cables
£10 for fitting the brake ones...per end
£20 for fitting the gear ones...per end
£15 for bar tape
£15 for fitting the bar tape
So £120 all in (+ £3.50 for 'lubes and cleaners' which got added to all jobs regardless).
So I'd call 65 a bargain 🙂

Can only agree, seems a very reasonable price.

Neil, you silver service is a bargain!

For balance, I'd say it's a bit steep/bordering on rip off*

*i am talking nonsense, but there's too much agreement for a STW thread!

Also have to cover the cost of the customer coming in and complaining about their shifting a few weeks later once the cable's stretched a bit.

Do people really pay £120 for 4 cables and some tape?
Not a dig but surprising as, I assume, it is less than two hours work and possibly even one.
I dont get my bike serviced but I am surprised folk will pay that for a minor service

If you judge it against CRC prices and your own free DIY labour then yeah it seems expensive. But in the context of a bricks and mortar shop, with overheads and staff to pay it's pretty reasonable I guess...

Sounds ok to me. The cables is where the cost is, not just for buying them but, unless you state otherwise, they'd also need to set your gears and brakes up and that takes time. I gues if you told them not to set them up and just leave the cables loose you might save a couple of quid.

Neil, you silver service is a bargain!

Technically we should add labor for the re-tape but some would argue that in order to change the outers properly then the tape would have to be removed.

Set of jagwire racer cables of eBay £16.99(brake and gear)
Deda tape £7
Spend £10 on decent quality wire cutters

Take pleasure in doing it yourself and saving money 🙂

Take pleasure in doing it yourself and saving money

But then he wouldn't have anything to whine about on here! 🙂

As above, though. Do it yourself, or pay someone else to do it. If the latter, don't gripe that they want to earn a crust for doing it properly for you!

At ours...

Inner Cables £4ea (£16)
Outer Cables £3per metre (say £12 possibly less)
Decent Bar Tape £15
Labour £30 per hour (conservatively sounds like 40-60mins work to me so £20-30)

I'd say £65 is a pretty good price as long as it's a job well done.

£120 😯 !! I can buy a bike for that much 😆

Fair price IMO . Snap their hand off.

Sounds pretty reasonable to me.

Where I work

4 cables £12
3ish metres outer £9
Bar tape £15
45 mins labour (est) £36

You don't need cable cutters to cut and fit cables, by the way. Cut the inners with sidecutters, just twist the ends back up neatly before threading. Cut the outers with a junior hacksaw.

Chisel (everyone has a chisel right)
Hammer

Junkyard. Yes yes they do

I briefly worked as a robot at a big chain store where these sort of occurances were the norm...i lasted 8 weeks having come from being workshop manager in a mom and pop shop.

For me, a workshop manager, thats a fair price.

From us, £25 inner and outer,brake and gear.
£15 labour fitting snd indexing etc

£15 Spesh Roubaix bar tape, £7.50 labour.

Depends what bar tape and cables are used but £65 is about right.

Thnks, fair enuff suspected as much! 😳

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£120 !! I can buy a bike for that much

I bought this one for less! < good reason for me to stop whining about £60 to get it sweet.

Its a push bike, not rocket science. By the bits and tools and do it yourself. It may cost you £60 this time round, but the next time you wont need cable cutters, so will be £25.

30 quid an hour for swapping some cables??? Is that really what people pay??

Its a push bike, not rocket science. By the bits and tools and do it yourself. It may cost you £60 this time round, but the next time you wont need cable cutters, so will be £25.

Not rocket science to you maybe, but not everyone is as awesome as you, remember that sunshine. 🙂
One of the most important lessons any mechanic can learn IMO is WHY people want someone else to work on their bikes. Some don't have the time. Some don't have the space. Some have loads of spare cash. But most customers simply don't have the aptitude to work on bikes. Once you understand that, it gets easier. Trust me.

30 quid an hour for swapping some cables??? Is that really what people pay??

30 quid an hour for [s]swapping some cables[/s] a properly trained mechanic, with a fully equipped workshop, knowledge and experience, as well as all the overheads of a bricks and mortar shop, insurance, health and safety coverage. Perhaps a kettle for some tea and coffee in the shop. And, ooooh, why not, making a bit of a profit on it as well.

Yes. Seems about right.

Yes. Seems about right.

£30/hour seems like a bargain.

£30/hour seems like a bargain.

Very true!

I've known some mechanics with experience alone worth more than that.

As mentioned by others, if you don't want to spend money for someone else to service your bike, do it yourself. Also, as PP says, there are many reasons why someone pays someone else to service their bike.

Not rocket science to you maybe, but not everyone is as awesome as you, remember that sunshine

At least some of us has the intelligence to carbon grease their C456 seatposts , rather than wave handbags here, sweety and you don't need common sense to know how to do that and I don't have Cytec this and a park apron 😉

Aren't gear inners a quid? That's what I always pay. Shimano ones out of a big box.

Aren't gear inners a quid? That's what I always pay. Shimano ones out of a big box.

£2.99 for workshop cables at my place, off the shelf in a packet are a quid or two more depending on the brand. Shop around online and they can be had on the cheap. It depends on the relationship you have with your LBC as well.

Depends if you want them to last or not.

Pukka stainless ones cost money.

Shity steel ones out of the moore large catalogue last about 5 minutes and shift like a elephand trod on the bike.

Psycorp how much you pay per hour to have your oil changed on the car ? Without doubt this is an easier job than changing the cables......

now bikes are starting to cost a shiteload, getting them serviced by a shop seems to be a sensible option from a '% of total cost to keep it running sweet' calculation.

I wouldn't pay for that job, personally (love wrapping bar tape 🙂 ), but as others who are charging have said, it's a good price.That said, I wouldn't be upset at all by a bill for that amount in return for sweet-shifting and well turned our semi-serviced bike.

Mate had his bike re cabled and taped by a shop, internal routing so fiddly, 2 1/2 hours labour, total bill £140.

Initially thought it sounded steep but breaking it down it's not unreasonable.

He is kicking himself for leaving it too late to get it to me to do...

Labour rates always get people. Everyone see's 30/hr and think thats a lot to pay a mechanic. It covers all the other bits like walls, heating, lights and the rest.
Most people would be shocked to see what they get billed out as. 30 is about the lowest I've been sold at mid 2000's it was 90-120/hr got back up to the 100 mark. Wish I saw most of it....

plus one - Member
Set of jagwire racer cables of eBay £16.99(brake and gear)
Deda tape £7
Spend £10 on decent quality wire cutters

Having never paid a bike shop for labour ever, that strikes me as a bit steep. I'd DIY it every time.

They are charging you twice - as people have said, you can get cables significantly cheaper when you buy in bulk which the shop obviously will do. Both ends including inners and ferrules - I'd be surprised if that cost more than £10-15.

I suppose if you've got no idea how to do it then £65 isn't bad, but for people who have a modicum of mechanical nouse it's an easy job.

I suppose if you've got no idea how to do it then £65 isn't bad, but for people who have a modicum of mechanical nouse it's an easy job.

as someone who does all their own bike work (and for a fair few mates) isn't that the case with any "trade"? If you know how to do it yourself it's simple and you can save a fortune, if not you pay someone with the expertise and tools?

I did a full re-cable and tape for an internally routed bike for the partner of the guy I mentioned in my previous post, took me about 3 hours as had to remove all the old stuff, fiddly job feeding cable in frame (used magnets to get it through and out of chain stay). Never done an internal re-cable before so it was an interesting learning curve, she gave me the Fizik Arione that came on the bike as thank-you payment!

When she told me he'd paid £140 my initial response was shock, but decent cables and tape at rrp and a couple or three hours of labour at a semi meaningful rate soon adds up.

As someone who spent many years repairing peoples attempts after thinking it was easy if you have any mechanical nouance......

Then come back moaning the cables and stuff we sold him must be faulty only to find its all fitted horrendously....