Wheelbuilder question - Larry Mettler?

"Jonathan Bond" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

<<snip..>>

Quoted message said:

I am working at a shop this summer, and finishing building my bike up then. I'm not sure how soon
I can get discounts on stuff though, and I don't want to be too pushy. Plus, 350 seems like a damn
good price, I'm not sure if I could beat that with an employee discount (could I?)

Thanks!

Jon Bond

Employee discount can mean different things. Generally, on accessories and parts, like hubs and
rims, dealer cost is 50% of the suggested retail. I usually got parts for the dealer cost. So you
could conceivably save something like 50% on those parts. If you have anything like a half-decent
wheelbuilder in your shop, you can probably get him/her to build the wheels for you for free and
you'll learn a thing or two in the process. I suggest purchasing Jobst Brandt's book The Bicycle
Wheel (your shop can get it..) and having a read. I read it 20 years ago and I've built hundreds of
wheels with great success. With a half-decent wheel-builder and reading The Book, you can probably
do just as good a job as most good wheelbuilders. As far as when you can expect employee discount,
it's a given for most shops I know of. Especially if you're a mechanic there. I've never been denied
it and at this point in my life, I'd refuse to work if they didn't offer it to me. Course, I'd only
be working as a hobby and can afford to turn down part-time work!! ;-)

Cheers,

Scott..

S. Anderson said:

"Jonathan Bond" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

<<snip..>>

Quoted message said:

I am working at a shop this summer, and finishing building my bike up then. I'm not sure how soon
I can get discounts on stuff though, and I don't want to be too pushy. Plus, 350 seems like a damn
good price, I'm not sure if I could beat that with an employee discount (could I?)

Thanks!

Jon Bond

Employee discount can mean different things. Generally, on accessories and parts, like hubs and
rims, dealer cost is 50% of the suggested retail. I usually got parts for the dealer cost. So you
could conceivably save something like 50% on those parts. If you have anything like a half-decent
wheelbuilder in your shop, you can probably get him/her to build the wheels for you for free and
you'll learn a thing or two in the process. I suggest purchasing Jobst Brandt's book The Bicycle
Wheel (your shop can get it..) and having a read. I read it 20 years ago and I've built hundreds
of wheels with great success. With a half-decent wheel-builder and reading The Book, you can
probably do just as good a job as most good wheelbuilders. As far as when you can expect employee
discount, it's a given for most shops I know of. Especially if you're a mechanic there. I've never
been denied it and at this point in my life, I'd refuse to work if they didn't offer it to me.
Course, I'd only be working as a hobby and can afford to turn down part-time work!! ;-)

Cheers,

Scott..

Thanks. I just looked again at the outrageously low shimano sponsorship prices, so I think I'm just
going ot build up some cheap disc wheels (like XT), race them for a season, then switch 'em out with
some brand spanking new XTR race wheels.

Hopefully they'll give me a discount straight off, since I'm building my bike up as soon as I get
home (if Shimano ever gets their act together and ships out my XT stuff)! I'm sales, not a mechanic,
because thats where he put me. He asked, I said either way, and he said I appear to be good with
people, so sales it is.

Thanks again!

Jon Bond

"Jonathan Bond" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

S. Anderson said:

"Jonathan Bond" <[email hidden]> wrote in

message

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

"]news:[email hidden]...

<<snip..>>

Quoted message said:

I am working at a shop this summer, and finishing building my bike up then. I'm not sure how
soon I can get discounts on stuff though, and I don't want to be too pushy. Plus, 350 seems like
a damn good price, I'm not sure if I could beat that with an employee discount (could I?)

Thanks!

Jon Bond

Employee discount can mean different things. Generally, on accessories

and

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

parts, like hubs and rims, dealer cost is 50% of the suggested retail.

I

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

usually got parts for the dealer cost. So you could conceivably save something like 50% on those
parts. If you have anything like a

half-decent

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

wheelbuilder in your shop, you can probably get him/her to build the

wheels

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

for you for free and you'll learn a thing or two in the process. I

suggest

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

purchasing Jobst Brandt's book The Bicycle Wheel (your shop can get

it..)

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

and having a read. I read it 20 years ago and I've built hundreds of

wheels

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

with great success. With a half-decent wheel-builder and reading The

Book,

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

you can probably do just as good a job as most good wheelbuilders. As

far

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

as when you can expect employee discount, it's a given for most shops I

know

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

of. Especially if you're a mechanic there. I've never been denied it

and

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

at this point in my life, I'd refuse to work if they didn't offer it to

iu.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Course, I'd only be working as a hobby and can afford to turn down

part-time

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

work!! ;-)

Cheers,

Scott..

Thanks. I just looked again at the outrageously low shimano sponsorship prices, so I think I'm
just going ot build up some cheap disc wheels (like XT), race them for a season, then switch 'em
out with some brand spanking new XTR race wheels.

That sounds like a perfect waste of money. If you want the XTR's, you ought to get them now, unless
you're just dying to have two sets of wheel. Then again, I think the XT's are good enough, and XTR
offers no significant advantage.

Quoted message said:

Hopefully they'll give me a discount straight off, since I'm building my bike up as soon as I get
home (if Shimano ever gets their act together and ships out my XT stuff)! I'm sales, not a
mechanic, because thats where he put me. He asked, I said either way, and he said I appear to be
good with people, so sales it is.

It's a great way to get bike stuff cheap but don't make a career out of it. ;-)

Robin Hubert said:

"Jonathan Bond" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

S. Anderson said:

"Jonathan Bond" <[email hidden]> wrote in

message

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

"]news:[email hidden]...

<<snip..>>

>I am working at a shop this summer, and finishing building my bike up then. I'm not sure how
>soon I can get discounts on stuff though, and I don't want to be too pushy. Plus, 350 seems like
>a damn good price, I'm not sure if I could beat that with an employee discount (could I?)
>
>Thanks!
>
>Jon Bond
>

Employee discount can mean different things. Generally, on accessories

and

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

parts, like hubs and rims, dealer cost is 50% of the suggested retail.

I

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

usually got parts for the dealer cost. So you could conceivably save something like 50% on those
parts. If you have anything like a

half-decent

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

wheelbuilder in your shop, you can probably get him/her to build the

wheels

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

for you for free and you'll learn a thing or two in the process. I

suggest

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

purchasing Jobst Brandt's book The Bicycle Wheel (your shop can get

it..)

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

and having a read. I read it 20 years ago and I've built hundreds of

wheels

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

with great success. With a half-decent wheel-builder and reading The

Book,

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

you can probably do just as good a job as most good wheelbuilders. As

far

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

as when you can expect employee discount, it's a given for most shops I

know

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

of. Especially if you're a mechanic there. I've never been denied it

and

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

at this point in my life, I'd refuse to work if they didn't offer it to

me.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Course, I'd only be working as a hobby and can afford to turn down

part-time

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

work!! ;-)

Cheers,

Scott..

Thanks. I just looked again at the outrageously low shimano sponsorship prices, so I think I'm
just going ot build up some cheap disc wheels (like XT), race them for a season, then switch 'em
out with some brand spanking new XTR race wheels.

That sounds like a perfect waste of money. If you want the XTR's, you ought to get them now,
unless you're just dying to have two sets of wheel. Then again, I think the XT's are good enough,
and XTR offers no significant advantage.

The XT disc hubs are heavy. The XT-level disc wheels are actually freeride wheels, so they're
heavy too.

Lemme put it this way: I can get these wheels:
performancebike.comProfile.htmlOpen ↗

For just over the price of the wheels I was planning on getting. I missed my chance this year
because shimano only does one sponsorship deal a year, but those are some sweet wheels...

The only question is if I spend like $200 or less now and get some XT disc wheels that will be a
little heavy, and use those for racing this fall, then get the XTR disc wheelset for next spring...
I'm planning on getting the XTR groupset for the bike the year after, so everything will end up XTR
on that bike (sweeeeeeet).

The best part is, I'm not a fast rider, I just happened to get onto (and somehow be mountain bike
captain of) a well sponsored team.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Hopefully they'll give me a discount straight off, since I'm building my bike up as soon as I get
home (if Shimano ever gets their act together and ships out my XT stuff)! I'm sales, not a
mechanic, because thats where he put me. He asked, I said either way, and he said I appear to be
good with people, so sales it is.

It's a great way to get bike stuff cheap but don't make a career out of it. ;-)

Its paying 8.50 an hour, which is only .50 less than I made busting my ass off banquet waiting,
plus its normal hours (not 7pm-4AM, then 7AM the next morning), more hours, and cooler people.
What's not to love?

Jon Bond

"Jonathan Bond" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

It's a great way to get bike stuff cheap but don't make a career out of

it.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

;-)

Its paying 8.50 an hour, which is only .50 less than I made busting my ass off banquet waiting,
plus its normal hours (not 7pm-4AM, then 7AM the next morning), more hours, and cooler people.
What's not to love?

Jon Bond

Yeah, I was a mechanic/shop manager/sales guy/food gopher for 10 years or so during the summer while
I was in high school and afterward a bit when I was in university. Honestly, it was the greatest
job. I really miss the people, the work, the atmosphere. I don't miss the low wages. I guess it's a
sliding scale of doing what I loved versus doing something that pays me 3 times as much that I may
not love. I hope to one day return to the bike shop life and make a go of it owning a shop.
Unfortunately, I love it so much I'd probably end up doing stuff for free and going bust in a year!

Good luck,

Scott..

scott-<< Generally, on accessories and parts, like hubs and rims, dealer cost is 50% of the
suggested retail.

Not exactly. Parts sold for a $1 retail cost the bike shop about 65-70 cents. That's just the cost
to buy, not including all the other expenses of running a shop. Few things are 'keystoned', that is
doubled to find the retail price.

Peter Chisholm Vecchio's Bicicletteria 1833 Pearl St. Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535 vecchios.comvecchios.comOpen ↗ "Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"

In support of what Peter is saying, I looked into the economics of a bicycle shop and it's not a
great business even if the everything in a well stocked shop cost the shop ½ price.

If you stock spokes and they cost you 25¢ each, how much do you think you make when you sell a spoke
for 50¢. If the customer comes in with a wheel with one broken spoke and wants to buy a replacement,
you'll probably loose money selling the spoke. If the customer comes in and wants a 293 mm, 14 ga
with nipple, you might make a penny if you run to the stock of spokes, get one out, and put the
nipple on. If you chat a minute, you loose. Assume you are paying yourself $20/hr and that the fixed
costs are similar to your wages.

That little box that takes your ATM or credit card costs $300/mo.

(Qui si parla Campagnolo) said:

scott-<< Generally, on accessories and parts, like hubs and rims, dealer cost is 50% of the
suggested retail.

Not exactly. Parts sold for a $1 retail cost the bike shop about 65-70 cents. That's just the cost
to buy, not including all the other expenses of running a shop. Few things are 'keystoned', that is
doubled to find the retail price.

"Qui si parla Campagnolo" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

scott-<< Generally, on accessories and parts, like hubs and rims, dealer cost is 50% of the
suggested retail.

Not exactly. Parts sold for a $1 retail cost the bike shop about 65-70

cents.

Quoted message said:

That's just the cost to buy, not including all the other expenses of

running a

Quoted message said:

shop. Few things are 'keystoned', that is doubled to find the retail

price.

Quoted message said:

Peter Chisholm Vecchio's Bicicletteria 1833 Pearl St. Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535 vecchios.comvecchios.comOpen ↗ "Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"

Oh, for sure. I wasn't trying to say shops gouge people. It sounds like a big mark-up, but it's
nothing compared to other industries, like the ski industry. I just remember that most stuff was 50%
off for employees, more or less. That's also affected somewhat by some mfgs that gave less than
dealer cost to employees. Parts were probably marked up less, but I'm pretty certain most
accessories (and that sometimes includes boutique parts..) were keystoned. That's here in
Canada...in the States it may be different because the season is more even, I'm really not sure.

Cheers!

Scott..