7 Month old bike needs £300 worth of parts and labour

In 10,000km I've worn out one bottom bracket (BB30 at about 7,000km) one pair of headset bearings, three chains and one cassette. That's about £150 in parts (Ultegra, Dura Ace and FSA). Probably spent about 1.5 hours buggering around with it and £50 buying tools (because I was stupid and didn't borrow them). At my hourly rate that's £300 in total. Allowing for the brake (if they aren't BS'ing you) that doesn't sound too far off but it'd still be much cheaper to do it yourself if you value your time substantially less then theirs.

If you're going to ride a bike so much you're going to have expenses

It sounds as though Evans aren't really interested in doing a little job (i.e., just the BB) but they are too polite to say as much.

Nothing in that invoice looks outrageous own its own.

Is 4p a mile really a ridiculous  amount to pay to get your bike back to first class order.  

Evans don't stock the KCNC BB converter, but they come in at about £30 and in my opinion are at least as good a solution.  With either the Praxis (which they have priced reasonably) or the KCNC adapter, this should be a one-off cost as the bearings on both of these are the only thing that should need replaced in the future.

They appear to have effectively price matched the price of your rear caliper and the cassette is now listed at £33 rather than the £50 on the invoice.

In total, you are being charged (with the cheaper price of the cassette)  £86 for components that they believe are worn beyond their useful life.  Personally, I would have the rear brake dismantled, cleaned in an ultrasonic cleaner and polished with a dremmel before reassembly and refitting, but that would take me about three hours of my own time and it isn't a commercially viable option (it's more a therapeutic exercise for me).  

If you are not fastidious in your maintenance, and you don't want to do it yourself,  then I would suggest that these are reasonable prices for a workhorse bike covering the mileage you describe. 

It certainly doesn't sound like a rip off to me.

Wrong bike choice for commuting right?

But loads of top advice here. Crowdsourcing — ye cannae wack it!

It's probably been intimated but once you get beyond buying a basic serviceable bike, spending more up front doesn't necessarily mean things last longer. Some stuff will, some stuff won't. That's why people often have cheaper "winter" bikes where replacing lower grade parts is cheaper. Riding a bike through winter with all the road salt and muck, gradually destroys bikes.

That said, I'd be a bit annoyed if a bike shop wouldn't just do the single task I had asked them however.

Things like the headset, they should be able to demonstrate the play to you. Or with just a suitable Allen key and a check on how to do it on the web you would be able check for yourself if it needs replacing or not.

If you're happy with the function of gears and brakes then don't get the cables changed but whilst you can adjust gunky cables and worn shifting, as a bike shop I could understand if they said they'd adjusted the gears and you were straight back there the next day saying they hadn't - purely because worn/stretched/gunky cables are the problem, not just adjustment.

Other than the BB, you should more or less be able to adjust/check everything mentioned yourself with just a well featured multi tool and then decide for yourself if you want to pay for the parts needed to get smooth fresh gears and brakes or are happy as they are.

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I don't see how the cables can be worn out after 7 months...

Because they're cables, and they corrode and all kinds of dirt gets caught up in them. Replacing cables after six months is quite normal, especially with your mileage.

And it's no joy indexing a bike with dodgy cables.

Doesn't sound like a good experience.

A couple of generic thoughts.

• Although lots of replies talk about how easy it is to do yourself (and I don't doubt they are right) if you don't have the time, inclination and don't get the satidfaction some do by taking on BB replacements and the like you may not want to.
• Find a mechanic or LBS you can really talk to.  I don't particularly like bike fetling (I know others do). I prefer spending my limited free time riding the bike not working on it.  After a bit of searching and trial and error I now have a place I can go to where they know my name, know I am repeat custom and and I can discuss how much work is really needed and exactly when I need I need it done by.

I know that I could save a few pounds taking on more myself, but I value the opinion of someone who has much more experience than me and the fact that I don't need to spend Saturday afternoon replacing bearings.

Different models work for different people.  Find one that fits with your own inclinations.

Yaaayyy, I got the shop right! On another note, the offer stands if you want a hand with the B/B. I work in Manchester and don't live too far away.

Well... its not the shops fault that you have a bike with press fit bearings. Its not their fault you don't have the tools or knowledge to change yourself. 

Headset sounds a bit dodge... it looks like a standard set up to me... so should be tightenable... that may not solve the problem though, if you've been riding it around with play all winter the chances are the bearings will be knackered. 

The calliper is the calliper... this is absolutely serviceable, however there are two things to bear in mind... 1. the bearing surface will probably be compromised, so the brake will always feel a bit crunchy moving forward... 2. it will take best part of an hour to service, which based on my understanding of labour charges is going to be close to the cost of a new calliper. 

Would you be happy paying £30 to service the calliper and not have a perfect calliper at the end of it? 

Cassette - you can't argue with that as you mentioned

Cables - Good, clean cables are the back bone of a pleasant cycling experience. Well worth changing if undertaking this service. Again, going back to the brake, if you spent £30 replacing or servicing the rear brake, you won't be happy if it feels rubbish because the cable is stiff.

Brake Pads - Not sure about this... probably standard fair for the shop when changing cables... Hardly the end of the world. 

Basing costs around RRP I reckon you're being asked to pay for 2.5 hours labour, which is hardly excessive.

In short, apart from the quetion around the headset, I think you have been given a fair quote. 

You may not like what that quote is, but really the total cost of the bike (which is very competively priced by the way), nor the age of the bike is a factor. What is needed to get the bike back up and running is what you are paying for. 

as touched on, if you could do it yourself, then you would, but you can't, why should a shop fund your cycling?

Sorry to be negative, but I believe that as consumers we are all too often blinded by super cheap pricing found online... things cost money, labour costs money.. .  neither the brilliance of the deal you got on the bike, nor the small amount of time it has taken you to batter your bike makes any difference to the time and cost it will take a bikeshop to profitably service your bike. 

> The cabling is particularly egregious; it can't be stretched by now; it is like they can't index
> the gears incase they jab their little fingers.

If I was a shop mechanic sighing at the sight of another transmission bristling with frayed cables, and the frayed ends are pretty painful if you get a jab, I'd be holding out for new cables too.

>. I am sure the bike will be smashing if I pay for all this.

Yes it will. Just pay the money then go riding. Maybe look at keeping the bike tidier too, no-one on the clubrun will enjoy the sight of your bartape flapping in the breeze, lol.

I imagine the shop have given you a menu that you can choose from rather than saying that they wont replace your BB unless they are also retained to do everything on the not very surprising list of things that you might want done to restore your bike to as new-ness. If this assumption is correct, you should stop complaining. It's a shop, they don't have to work on your bike. Maybe they've decided they couldn't be arsed dealing with a customer with such a well developed a sense of entitlement so they've given you a daunting list of stuff that they recommend (and a correspondingly high price tag) to encourage you to find another shop. 

Good news though, you can save a fortune doing it yourself. (This will also allow you to feel superior/stick it to the man.) Taking the bits you need in order:

• New press fit BB - these are essentially disposable. The Shimano ones go for around £23.
• New cassette  and chain - you can get a new 105 cassette and chain bundle for £47.
• Brake caliper - I'd start by taking off the bike and washing/flushing with GT85/WD40 as recommended above. If that doesn't work or you can't be bothered you can get a new 105 caliper for £27 (i.e., essentially free). 
• New headset bearings - I imagine you only need the lower bearing. Cost depends on what type of headset you have but these are often surprisingly expensive. 45 ACB £14 (steel) or £22 (stainless) from Tweeks. This is replacement I would definitely do, but only because I find that vague steering feel you get from a worn headset to be shit scary. Your experience may differ.
• Need new brake pads - "though I have more at home and put new ones on a month ago". So this sounds like a complaint for the sake of it? You have necessary spares already knocking around and you know how to fit them.
• Need new bar tape - £8.00. Obviously optional (unless you have self respect, in which case probably not optional).
• New cabling - if hypothetically you enjoyed crisp shifting and responsive braking, you can get a Shimano (Tiagra - fetching yellow outers) box set of inners, outers, ferrules and cable ends for £18. Or you can scrounge around in your shed for some previously unused outer cable and just buy new inners for c.£9.00, althought that seems like a false economy.

So I'd estimate the DIY cost to a bike that works like new is approx £130 - £135. And none of this stuff is that difficult to do.

I'd never buy a bike with a press fit BB. It's gonna creak after a while. Not keen on carbon fibre bikes either. Love my Genesis Equalibrium 10 now 7 years old. My Planet X spitfire TI bike is great too. Threaded BB everytime 

Let's separate this down:
First, I hope you haven't left your bike at this place? If you have, go get it back, sharpish.

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I have a Ribble Sportive Racer purchased in July last year and done 6250kms.

Good going, mun. Nice mileage. Problem is, some LBS will see 'Ribble' and think 'twat who doesn't support LBS'. That's one strike (from the mechanic's point of view) against you from the start. If he's being a cockwomble, of course.

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In recent months the bottom bracket has become rather crunchy. I looked at replacing it and am familiar with replacing Hollowtech BBs and have the tools, however this one is Pressfit. I neither have the tools or knowledge to replace it. I am rather disappointed with the quality of this design; though to be honest BB type was not an issue in my decision to buy.

Precisely why I avoid press fit. I was so chuffed my new build wasn't press fit.
OK. Plan of action:
- either buy the tools to do it yourself from now until forever. You'll need a bearing press (~£30) and a removal tool (~£20) and an online video or two ( https://youtu.be/yOJAKBQOU9U ).
 - or find a LBS to remove the press fit and replace with a Praxis converter and go back to Hollowtech. Plus, you'll need a new crankset, etc, but if you're doing that much mileage, replacing the chainrings won't be far off anyway, and that can cost just as much. 

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So I've taken it into a well know high street chain of bike shops for a service.
The service quote is £298.91 when the bike itself cost about £1100 just last summer.

Ouchy. I’m guessing it’s this one – carbon with 105, PF30 BB?
http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/ribble-sportive-racing/

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Apparently I need a new cassette (maybe fair, third chain)…

After that mileage. Yeah.
Say £50 for the cassette & chain. Work of a few minutes if you want to do it yourself.

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…need a brake caliper (as the rear one is a little stiff from a muddy winter, I often put tape over the gaps as I've had issues like this before, but this happens every winter)…

Mudguards. Full length buggers. Think about them. They'll protect your calipers and headset and cables. And your arse. And the face of anyone on your wheel.
Apart from that, if there's play, I'd contact Ribble. If it's stiff, I'd take it off and give it a damn good clean.
New caliper: £30 - piss easy to replace yourself.

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…need new headset bearings because there is about half a mm of play in the fork, apparently tightening this one up is not possible,) …

*blinks*
Right. If you've not been using mudguards and the original fitter didn't use enough grease or tighten it correctly, this isn't entirely surprising (assuming it's the lower bearing). Has it been creaking?
Headsets are easy. Just remember to take pics as you take it apart. (https://youtu.be/pARonM0tFpM)
£15 for new bearings. Use a shitload of grease around them.

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…need new brake pads …(though I have more at home and put new ones on a month ago,)

A month for a set of pads??? Either, you fucked up on installation and didn't get them square, or you're heavy-handed as fuck with your braking. Or, they haven’t really looked at them.
Sidenote: new calipers come with new pads, btw. Not that you want to use them as the Shimano ones are generally shit. BUT I don't know why they're charging you for these.
£8-15
(Get Kool Stop Salmon next time, btw. They're better, and last longer, and don’t pick up as much shit.)

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...and need new cabling (though again the bike is only a few months old.)...

After a mucky winter, I'm not surprised at this. You should be changing your cabling every six months. And you'll want a full change, not just the inners, as the outers are probably corroded and full of shit off the road due to your non-mudguardy habits.
~£25 for a set of new cables. Takes a while if you haven’t done it before, and a decent pair of cable cutters.

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…need new bar tape (though I don't really give an eff about a few frayed tape ends)…

As someone else mentions, bar tape is usually replaced if you change the cables. If it's fraying and dirty and yucky, they probably don't want to try to rewrap. Some of it’s not worth rewrapping anyway.
£20-30
(Fork out for Lizard Skins if you can.)

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Thoughts gentlemen and dottigirls**? Does this sound reasonable?

BB – £20-50 (plus £50 of tools)
Cassette & chain - £50
Caliper - £30
Pads - £10-15
Headset bearings - £15
Cables - £15-25 (plus £20 for cutters if you don’t have them)
Tape - £20
So, estimate £180-200 for DIY parts. That quote doesn’t look too unreasonable now, does it? Maybe high on the labour side, if you think of it per hour, but they may have standard charges per job.
Mechanic friends assure me that trade for many of these parts is sometimes above what you can find them for yourself online. It’s not a case of the shops adding stuff on – one friend even orders retail parts as it’s cheaper.
Now, at Casa Dotti, I’d do it all myself. Due to being laid up, I have the time and inclination to watch a load of videos and search online for the best part price and how to do it. I’d probably get it down to about £150 for parts, or more if I decided to convert the BB. However, others aren’t so lucky/unlucky* with the time/financial* constraints (delete as applicable – can’t walk atm so it’s the latter). 
It may be worth going to another LBS to get another quote. I would. As others have pointed out, some of these items may just need a clean/grease.

But you have to think, how much do you value your time? Either to DIY or find another shop/quote.

Oh, and get some bloody decent 'guards.

**

At the very least, I would get a second opinion from another bike shop.

I removed my BB30 with one of these. I was more comfortable using this than a hammer (on a carbon frame), worked a treat.

I found removing the circlips a bit tricky, but in the end just used two spectacle/ jewellery screwdrivers, small enough to fit in the circlip holes was the easiest way to remove them.

I bought a cheapo bearing press (like this) to put back together.

Eventually, I had an off which dinged the 50t chainring, and at that point I replaced the BB30 and FSA crankset with a Praxis BB30 to Hollowtech II converter and an Ultegra crank. BB is now silky smooth, with no creaking.

I've replaced my headset bearings recently also, the hardest part of that was finding out the right part number, when the Cannondale shop gave me the wrong bearings. But I researched, learned a fair amount about headsets and showed the old parts, and the web link of the correct parts to the store, who searched, but eventually just stripped down a bike on their shop floor to give me the right bits.

Good luck.

I think that when the bike was brought is surely less relevant to how many miles it's done and 6250km's since july through winter, with little ongoing maintenence done yourself, is a lot!

What is a service anyway? I'd expect a basic service would cover a clean, thourough checking  alignment and condition of all the parts, cables replaced as defacto although I don't begrudge the three quid for cables my LBS charges, and torquing of all bolts.

I think you've also thrown up another issue here.. I think the ribble you've brought may not be the best bike for your needs. Surely you're a candidate for a steel is real, threaded BB, made to last bike running on a set of built for British weather Royce hubs and a set of canti's (or discs) may be better. 

I've got the tool shown above but made a redneck press using bits from B&Q, this is my blog post showing how to do it. As unconstituted said, dead easy job.

Replacing a press-fit bottom bracket.

Getting pressfit bbs out is simplicity itself - use a tool like that or just tap on them with a blunt rod - not a screwdriver in case you damage the BB shell.

I made my own BB press with a length of threaded rod and two short lengths of wood. Worked for me. Total cost: about £20 including the cups.

I doubt the cables need replacing, You can usually wind up the frayed cable and stick a ferrule on it. They don't come off if you squeeze them properly.

Walk away.

Was scared about touching pressfit BB's but in the past two months have had to have a go a number of times. (Removing shitty internal batteries from downtubes, swapping cranksets etc).

Dead simple. They're all the same, GXP, 4130 etc, don't matter. Just get a tool from wiggle:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/lifeline-press-fit-bottom-bracket-installer/

and squeeze it in. People make a big deal on the internet about these BB's, which put me of it at first. Lets face it, people make a big deal of everything. 

Taking them out is easy. Get a metal hammer (not rubber one for sure) and a flat head screwdriver, and tap them out from any groves inside. Work your way round. I've even reused them after. Work great, no creaks or anything. Just don't go ape. I did buy a tool to remove them, but it was shit. Looks cool though, may use for anal foreplay. 

Looks like that but mine's from Amazon for a tenner. Avoid.

eBay a caliper or whatever you need and do yourself. £300 is proper cash. I could just about buy a full set of high end bikepacking bags with that 

My winter bike gets used for ~4 months of the year, though not for commuting.  It's got 7000km over three winters on it.  In that time it's on its third chain, second cassette, second set of cables (and bar tape) and second rear brake caliper (can't bring myself to ride a bike with mudguards!).

All of those I replaced myself, none was a big job nor expensive (even including the tools)

I'd say all of those items were replaced as they got worn out/beaten up by the conditions.  The only parts I'd be worried over replacing are the BB and headset as I've never done it.  I tend to take a youtube approach though - I don't mind buying tools and researching/doing things myself.  Worst case I have three bikes so if it takes me a while to sort something I can ride one of the others.

Sounds fair enough to me. 

You don't have to accept all of the work - but it does sound like your bike has been neglected. It's kind of useful to have working brakes. 

It does sound like you have ridden through the winter on it so some expenditure is inevitable after that mileage.And a rear brake caliper WILL seize up eventually if you have no rear mudguard protecting it from muck and road spray.

Tbh your circumstances are precisely the reason why so many people, who do none of their own maintenanace, buy new bikes all the time- because the cost of servicing by a shop against the price of a new bike doesn't represent economic sense a lot of the time .

Cost of parts is less than £100 and yes the brake caliper can almost certainly be restored to serviceable condition.But if you want a shop to do it for you then £200+ is the mimimum you are going to pay for this kind of work.

For a reality check, take a studied look at the staff who work in these 'large chain' bike shops- and ask youreslf  the question do they fill you with awe at the thought of  their dazzling bike servicing skills. Or,as is more likely, do you not think in all honesty that what these 20 something year old lads are going to do to your bike you could just as easily do for yourself?

Is this not just a 'duty of care'?

If you have no end on your cable for starters, that WILL fray and is easy to sort and the cable end should stay on. The fact that you haven't sorted it would lead someone to assume that you can't or won't maintain your bike. It's then their duty of care to do it for you, or at least tell you what needs attention or you mght go away and then phone up complaining that your gears won't change now they've replaced the BB and blame it on them rather than the fact that your cassette was overdue a change and just being moved about or degreased was enough to tip it over the edge. A chainstore mechanic won't be keen on stripping, cleaning and trying to adjust things that may well need replacing as it takes time and they have targets to meet so I guess they'll want to replace with new as it's easier and they know it will work.

I see this as just someone covering their arse tbh. Not a necessary question, but out of curiosity, was the bike clean/ish when you took it in?

Depends on the abuse it sees and how it's been finished to begin with... And also how much you're prepared to do yourself.

I use my CX bike for commuting, sometimes through mud and over trails and is left at work during the day, uncleared, in that state. It also does the odd CX race and winter weekend blast and it doesn't always get cleaned or looked after as it should. It's a workhorse and it unfortunately is treated as such.

Also cost about a grand, does about 4,000 miles per year, replacement parts tend to be 105-ish spec. I expect to go through a chain and cassette per year, I also got new headset bearings and bb in the first year and expect a full yearly service with a local (shit-hot, trusted and not a rip-off) mobile mechanic to cost £2-300. I don't know whether your bike needs all that stuff replacing, but if it does and it's part of a full service and clean, it seems to be in the normal ballpark for me.

I could do everything that I've had done to that bike myself (although I've never played with headset bearings before so that's an 'unknown' for me). But it would take me ages.. I'm not an experienced mechanic, so my methodical means S L O W. I've got a young family, I'm busy, it would be the odd stolen hour or two here and there so I reckon my bike would be out of action for a few weeks while I did it all. So that amount of money per year is a pittance when I consider what I'm saving in time and commuting costs for a different mode of transport.

I figure on spending about £150 a year to keep my commuting bike in good serviceable condition. Chains, pads, tyres, cables and something set aside for the bigger jobs such as bottom bracket replacement, though I'm only on my 3rd in 14 years of ownership.

I do however do all my own servicing, keep it OCD clean and strip the bike down twice yearly outside. Sitting in the sun surrounded by bits of bicycle an old toothbrush and a bowl of degreaser is a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon after a good club ride.

£300 for repairs and servicing after what is a fair number of miles over the winter may seem steep, but remember that you are paying not just for the parts but for probably an hour or so of shop time which has to cover lots of costs in addition to the headline hourly rate paid to the technician.

One way or another it will cost you to keep your bicycle serviceable: Do minimal maintenance and replace it every few years, pay someone to do the work or invest in your own tools, pay for your own mistakes, make your own judgement about what needs fixing and use your own time.

ps if you don't ride with full length mudguards in winter already, this may reduce your repair bills in future!

The headset sounds odd. The rest might be justifiable. If you've ridden in bad conditions enough to have the rear brake seize up I wouldn't be surprised if the cables were pretty rusty too. If you replace cable outers you'll need to replace the bar tape I'm afraid. Some bike shops routinely change cables as part of certain levels of service.

It is always ultimately cheaper to learn to work on your own bike and buy the tools.

It is quite a lot of money, but I think they're working on the basis of putting your bike into tip-top condition, not the bare essentials to make it rideable.

Perhaps get a second quote somewhere else if you don't trust them?