[Closed] Shop mechanics/good mechanics - how long would this take you?

Not pro but done some bike shop days with the tools
Remove?
Ditch, tape, cut cables remove drivetrain cranks and brake? 45mins?

Fit?
External route - 1hr to fit then time to set up and bleed brakes - do you have all the right tools to hand?

All the write tools, none of the skills.....

It took me a good 15 minutes to get the welded-on-and-then-disintegrating bar tape off 🙁

1-2 hours for removal and refitting of components and possibly another hour for the brake bleeding (both ends).

I took off most of the drivetrain from one bike and fit it to another, and fitted brakes to the latter in about three to four hours. The front mech hasn't yet been properly installed (had a bottom pull one, needed a top pull one) and the gears therefore haven't been properly indexed but it's about 90% sorted.

If you have the right tools it shouldn't take more than an hour tops to strip the bike into its constituent parts. Putting it all back together and indexing gears etc is usually a bit more of a fiddle. Also having a bike stand is a massive help.

It took me 30 minutes to get the sodding bar tape on right.

And another 30 minutes to get the front mech to shift onto the top ring (partly because I was turning the wrong adjuster FFS).

I also covered my face in brake fluid, that was cool.

On a shiny new road bike a swap like that would be (give or take) billed at 3 maybe 4 hours (due to hose bleeding, bar tape etc), depends on the shop. I've done it in under 2 hours at home. Excluding tea stops. But it was a brand new bike and all the bits were familiar to me (and came off another bike, so sort of "pre set up")

As soon as you've got any "awkward" bits, or a well used bike, it's a matter of how long is a piece of string, and how well was the bike looked after.

Had one bike where quite literally every bolt on it was either seized, stripped or a non-standard thread that had been bodged or forced in. That took almost a full day. And the customer was billed accordingly. And sold a set of decent allen keys when they picked the bike up. Without ball ends.

I think this would make a great you tube channel

All the write tools,

In this case the pen isn't mightier than the spanner! 😉

Assuming that:

a) you've a decent work stand
b) not internal cable routing.

Then the above figures sound about right. Like most I'm not stripping down and rebuilding bikes on a daily basis so there tends to be a bit of "Hmm, does this lug go in front or behind that nubbin?" type pondering. The two hardest, or most time consuming if you want to look at things that way, tasks are indexing gears and bleeding brakes*. The latter does depend on the brakes being used. Putting bar tape on is tricky the first couple of times, after that it tends to be muscle memory.

* For me.

probably 4-5 hours, depending on how long it takes me to find all the tools* 😀

*thats because my garage is a tip and im not a mechanic

and for simplicity having an internal rear brake to fit and bleed I dropped it in with the LBS who had it back the same day and sorted very reasonably. at home without all the right tools and tricks to hand it would have wasted too much of my time.

Decent enough stand - but internally routed cables. I did also have to cut the brake hoses and put the nipples in (sans vice - that would have helped quite a bit). Amazingly - and I surprised myself at this - I managed not to cut the hoses too short. Go me.

And maybe I should have been using spanners rather than a pen...

TBH, i find a lot of the time and headaches as a home mechanic can be saved by doing a bit of digging and checking first, it's not like you can go and grab another mech of the shelf if the one you've got is 3/8ths thrudge compatible instead of the 5/16ths wurble compatible one you need.......

Well, obviously i can as i have a shelving unit full of assorted bike bits, but most home mechanics can't.

Same with internal routings, half an hour of checking the week before i.e. when you order the bits, can save a load of hassle (i.e. buying bare hose and making up connectors *after* you've run the hose saves a fair bit of swearing and oil on the floor.)

Without ball ends.

This. They have their place but like adjustable spanners, they aren’t a tool that should be the first thing to hand. The value of a good set of Allen’s can’t be overstated. They don’t need to be fancy or particularly expensive, just sharp, accurate and not made of cheese.

That job? Probably four hours all in strip and build if nothing was seized, maybe quicker if I’d already fitted the parts so knew the quirks.

OP, don’t get too wound up, I’ve strung builds over weeks before now due to snags, and I’m pretty sure anyone else who’s honest has, too.

See [url= http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/bike-maintenance-fun-pastime-or-necessary-evil ] thread here[/url] larrydavid.
I could probably do all that in a day, but man, I'd be pissed off! 😆

Thing I remember about RS685s is trying to get the little long-ended ferrule into the right position in the shifter. And bending it. And having to order a new one. 😕

ghostlymachine - Member
TBH, i find a lot of the time and headaches as a home mechanic can be saved by doing a bit of digging and checking first, it's not like you can go and grab another mech of the shelf if the one you've got is 3/8ths thrudge compatible instead of the 5/16ths wurble compatible one you need.......

I actually bought a Hollowtech BB tool before I realised I'd actually already got one, which is strange because to my knowledge until recently I've never actually installed a HTBB (the last one was already on the bike when I bought it).

I find there's stuff I can technically do and have done in 15 mins, an hour etc, but it will more likely take me most the day. Because I procrastinate and faff 😀 . I also get OCD about getting it right so I'll double and triple check before doing things, looking online at guides that I've watched/read a dozen times already and know what I'm doing but need to convince myself I've not messed it up.

Crazy the amount of times I have to double check the thread direction on BB and pedals yet I know it.

And of course any checking up on the Internet leads to a STW thread for advice and next thing you're on the chat forum and getting distracted by all kinds of stuff for the next few hours 😀

Currently got brakes to fit and putting it off due to having to shorten the hose. Done it before and it's theoretically a quick job if it doesn't end up needing bleeding.

To get my bike tech qualification I had to completely strip a mid range mtb and rebuild it. Stripping included headset, bb, mech hanger and cable guides off, bearings out of the wheels, tyres, tubes and rim tape out, cassette off, (rim) brakes disassembled etc.

Then it was rebuilt with new cables, and on completion all the torque settings were checked etc.

I had 90 minutes. 7 out of the 11 candidates failed. I scraped in with 2 minutes to spare.

For the work you describe is be looking at 45min to 1hr tops.

I was going to suggest 3 hours. When you pay an expert to do it you're not just paying for their time on that job. You're paying for their accumulated training and knowledge.

larrydavid - Member
It took me 30 minutes to get the sodding bar tape on right.

I wouldn't have done that until everyrthing else was done and working properly.

boriselbrus - Member
To get my bike tech qualification I had to completely strip a mid range mtb and rebuild it. Stripping included headset, bb, mech hanger and cable guides off, bearings out of the wheels, tyres, tubes and rim tape out, cassette off, (rim) brakes disassembled etc.

Must have been ages ago if you got to work on a mid range MTB with rim brakes .

TBH, an MTB with rim brakes and suchlike would be a doddle compared to a road bike with internally routed hydraulics.
Just routing hoses and getting the brake hoses trimmed, bled and set up is ~40 minutes (if there are no issues and every thing just drops into place).

Think the 90 minute target would be met by exactly no one with a current mid range disc road bike.

And 45 minutes to an hour? Hmmmmm.

I wouldn't have done that until everyrthing else was done and working properly

It was the last thing and everything was ok. Or so I thought. The front lever seems to have gone a bit mushy/long after a few hours riding so I'll need to bleed it again. On the plus side, the gears are spot on.

90 minutes to do that is unreal!

For the work you describe is be looking at 45min to 1hr tops.

To strip a bike and fully rebuild with a hydraulic road groupset? I *really* wouldn't want to ride a bike that you'd built.

I will pay to see that.

I must admit I was wondering if the timed training was a halfords school.

I was thinking 45mins to strip it.

2 hours to rebuild it and size hoses/bleed.

The above assuming it was a set up id done a few times.....the first time I'd seen it might take double that understanding how it all works rather than just throwing it at the bike.... Worth taking the time to understand how it works for trouble shooting in the future.

Don't be a parts fitter.

Peterpoddy to the forum - I know he’s worked in a few show, worked on hundreds (probably thousands now) of bikes from bog standard £150 efforts to multi thousand superbikes.

.

I am a very fast worker on bikes but you can easily find yourself wasting a lot of time on something that doesn't go to plan. The bar tape removal is a good example. Took me a lot of effort to remove the stuck on bit of tape a few months back. A job that can take a minute if the tape comes straight off to 30 minutes if you have to start picking off bit by bit, using solvents etc,.

[quote="Trail Rat"]I was thinking 45mins to strip it.

2 hours to rebuild it and size hoses/bleed.Almost exactly what i'd be working to.

To strip a bike and fully rebuild with a hydraulic road groupset? I *really* wouldn't want to ride a bike that you'd built.

Well I service maybe 1200 bikes a year and we get maybe 5 complaints a year so my customers seem happy.

The thing is, if you do something all day, every day you get good at it. Over the years I've built a few garden walls and I can lay around 50 bricks a day. The brickie who did my extension lays 500 bricks a day. I can't comprehend being able to do that and I'd be very sceptical if I hadn't seen it.

When I fit new cables to a bike I pull the cable through and clamp it. Usually I don't even have to touch the barrel adjuster because I've put the right tension in it straight away. You use tricks such as using feeler gauges to mount brake callipers so you screw them on and they are perfectly centred. That's just a couple of things which save time which comes from years of experience which a home mechanic will never get.

@boriselbrus - It's the same for most mechanical/manual jobs. The first time you do something it takes ages because you aren't sure about the exact sequence to use, how much to tighten a bolt, etc. The second time (if it's within a short period of the first) will be quicker, the third quicker still.

Your brickie example: years of doing it means he knows just how much mortar to have on his trowel so that when he applies it to the end face of the brick it will create the correct gap and not spill into the cavity when pushed up to its predecessor. He'll also have laid the bed on top of the previous course so that it's an even depth and he doesn't have to do much adjusting to the new course of bricks. He's quick because he isn't making repetitive small mistakes that he has to continually correct.

I don't see how one could give an exact time for something like this. We don't even know what bike it is. Can you use the old housing to guide the new housing through? Or do you have to start from scratch? Is the internal routing well thought (generally no....)? Will the brakes even need a bleed once the hoses are cut and fitted? Often not, sometimes a lever bleed, from time to time a full bleed depending on scenario. Is anything seized in the frame (bottom bracket...), yes bar tape as already mentioned, blah blah blah.
I also wouldn't want to work in a shop where one is expected to do 45 minute overhauls.

I don't see how one could give an exact time for something like this. We don't even know what bike it is. Can you use the old housing to guide the new housing through? Or do you have to start from scratch? Is the internal routing well thought (generally no....)? Will the brakes even need a bleed once the hoses are cut and fitted? Often not, sometimes a lever bleed, from time to time a full bleed depending on scenario. Is anything seized in the frame (bottom bracket...), yes bar tape as already mentioned, blah blah blah.
I also wouldn't want to work in a shop where one is expected to do 45 minute overhauls.

It was really just to get an idea - as it couldn't possibly take a shop as long as I have taken.

I must say, every time I take ages over a job or break something doing it, I more and more appreciate the skill of proper mechanics.

Anyway to answer your questions:

- Cannondale CAAD 12 disc (all internal, but relatively easy as the openings are pretty big)
- Brakes supplied empty, not fluid in them, no cables connected
- Nothing was seized
- Couldn't use the old gear outers as a guide because they were the old style 'clothes line' ones that were being replaced

^it was more directed at the people giving pretty accurate times. So yeah more than 45 minutes if the brakes are totally dry and having to set up the internal routing from scatch, plus stuck down bar tape and the like. A long job for sure if you are not doing this sort of thing every day 🙂

Oh sweet Jesus.

Tried to bleed the brakes and reduce the lever through by using an 8mm allen key rather than the 10mm bleed block.

The front is now great, but I have knackered the piston at the back and oil is now dripping from it. That'll be a new caliper then. Well done.

3-4 hours I reckon. Maybe a bit less (I hate the thought of bar tape, but if you have a new roll waiting to go on, it's not actually that bad).

Of course it can take longer when it's "oh I'll take this bit off, then I'll clean that bit up a bit as it looks mucky and I can't normally get at it..." etc. - that only happens when working on my own bike.

How long? Depends on how much tea I'd drink. 🙂
It also depends on how many times you've done it before, if you've got a decent stand and the correct tools, and if its internal routing of cables and hoses.
No tea, assuming it all goes well, and with my arse in gear I'd say about an hour - hour and a half.
I love bar taping. It's my second favourite job after wheel building. 🙂

The front is now great, but I have knackered the piston at the back and oil is now dripping from it. That'll be a new caliper then. Well done

Remind my why bike shops are bad value again..?

Did exactly that last year with di2 .

took ages .

Peter, I wish I took it to a shop.

I wanted to learn how to do it myself but really I've just taken ages, ballsed it up and it's probably cost me more *sob*

I wanted to learn how to do it myself but really I've just taken ages, ballsed it up and it's probably cost me more *sob*

That's how you get good at something! By being a bit shit at it and carrying on anyway until you get better at it.

I'm pretty good at fixing bikes nowadays as a rule, but it wasn't always that way, and there's a long history of mangled parts and silly mistakes that I got through to get here. Anyone, shop spannermonkeys included, who claims that they've never knackered the odd bit of a bike whilst learning something occasionally is flat out lying. The only difference with shop lads is that they get paid to make their mistakes on other people's bikes... 😉

I’ve just finished replacing the groupset on the wife’s winter bike. It took just under an hour to strip the old stuff off, another hour to thoroughly clean the stripped frame and then a total of 3-4 hours to rebuild including bar tape and mudguards (rim brakes though).

Issues were that wiggle didn’t seem to think that a 105 groupset should include a front mech, so I had to wait for them to send one, I had to pop out for outer cables as I didn’t have any I could use, the rear calliper didn’t fit the frame so I needed to bodge it a bit with part of the old brake and then I had to actually read the instructions for the new 105 front mech as things seem to have changed since my day - sticky bits for the frame, random, adjustment screws and a strange plastic tool for seeing which way the cable should go?!?

Anyway OP, music on, tea/beer to hand and just enjoy the process. Think how much better will you understand your bike now.

As an ex bike mechanic I would say about an hour for the drivetrain and then an hour for each brake including the bar tape.

Internal cabling is either easy or a right faff. The trick is to use the old cables to pull the news through. Hydraulics can be more of a challenge. Taping the hoses to the old cables can work. It helps if the plastic cable guides can be removed from the frame.

Now as a DIY mechanic I don't care as I enjoy it so much more. Unless my mate has just rolled up with a car full of bike bits he wants me to fit 10 minutes before a ride! Take your time and watch some youtube videos if you get stuck.

An hour if the hydraulic cabling is internal & all the parts were at hand/rotors & wheels straight & i didn't have to stop to serve customers/answer the phone etc

I love bar taping

Answering a different question, for me the key to getting RS685s bled was some sharp pushes of the syringe attached to the caliper. I could push fluid back and forth through the system all day long with no bubbles, but a sharp push on the syringe dislodged lots of trapped air.

Taping the hoses to the old cables can work

See you come to about the right tools? Park Tool have an internal cable routing kit. Makes things a lot easier.

hour for each brake

Really? Again, the right tools make it so much easer. SRAM make a hose cutter and a tool to push the barb/insert in, and the proper Shimano bleed funnel is indespensible but it’s not hard to bleed them from empty. Usually takes two goes. If they arrive fully bled then you shouldn’t have to rebleed after cutting the hoses.

Thanks for the moral support and practical advice on bleeding and front mechs.

No wonder I couldn't get the fd to work quickly... I too didn't bother to read the manual either.