Paul Nevai <
[email protected]> wrote:
> Location: Columbus, Ohio, USA
>
> How much would be fair to charge [I mean that I would have
> to pay to a shop] for the following services.
>
> Repacking the front and rear hubs and the bottom bracket.
> Is $80 fair?
Instructions off the internet, tube of grease, and a couple
of cone wrenches will cost you under $20.00. Add a few more
bucks if you need new bearings or cones.
>
> Installing a pair of new STI shifters and taping the
> handlebar [I provide the shifters and the tape]. Is
> $40 fair?
Park cable cutters are under $25.00. If you can't cut a
cable clean with those then you're not trying. Other than
that what do you need but a few allen wrenchs and a
steady hand?
>
> BTW, is the repacking job necessary? My bike is 12 years
> old and has never been repacked. I took good care of it,
> rode it only on roads.
I'm no expert, but 12 years is probably on the extreme end
for a hub overhaul. It really isn't hard to do.
On another note -- in my opinion there's no such thing as
"fair" pricing in a market economy. Unless Ohio has gone
communist recently, I would assert that what's fair isn't
the issue, but how to assess value. I suspect that if the
LBS were willing to do the whole job for $3 (as unplausible
as that sounds), "fairness" wouldn't be much of a concern.
If you are willing to shell out the money for the services
then, by definition, it's worth the money. Otherwise you'd
do without. No one's forcing you to part with your money, so
concepts of justice aren't all that relevent are they?
Something is worth whatever YOU are willing to pay for it.
That's a basic law of economics. Even the commies had to
admit that one after a fashion.
I figure you've got three options:
1) Pay the money -- you get the service, confidence of a job
well done, and savings of time and aggravation.
2) Buy the parts and tools and DIY. You save cash, learn the
process, and might find it personally rewarding. Cost is
time, aggravation, maybe a few trips to the LBS when you
can't find the bearings that roll of the table (hint --
do it over an old towel).
3) Do nothing. That saves you time, money, aggravation. It
costs you functional shifters, tape, and increasing risk
of failure in hubs and BB.
You're the only one who can assign the appropriate values.
Tom