Price for carbon steer cut and crown race install

[jbreebs]

What would you expect to pay for this service? I just had one cut down and was charged $35 for 5 minutes worth of work. I get that tools are expensive, but I feel like this was a bit excessive given how straightforward a task it is. Am I just out of the loop on shop prices these days?

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[nmrt]

Unfortunately, yes, it looks like you might be out of the price loop. In Boulder, I pay anywhere from $20 to $40 for this job. $20 at my LBS who I have used for the past 15 years. And $40 for other bike shops I do not frequent. I think my LBS just gives me a good deal because I use him a lot.

Originally Posted by jbreebs

What would you expect to pay for this service? I just had one cut down and was charged $35 for 5 minutes worth of work. I get that tools are expensive, but I feel like this was a bit excessive given how straightforward a task it is. Am I just out of the loop on shop prices these days?

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[AngryScientist]

Sounds totally reasonable to me. I dont think you could get anything done at a professional shop for less than that.

[Waldo62]

What would you expect to pay for this service?
Now ask yourself what quality of service you might receive for the price you were contemplating?

[deluz]

I think it is not excessive buy maybe slightly high.
I bought the blade and jig and do it myself.

[jbreebs]

Sounds like my internal pricing is probably off. I went in figuring it would probably cost $20 or so, but it was busy so I didn't ask what it would cost prior to service.

I used to work in a shop a few years back and I remember charging $15-20 for the service.

I guess I was thinking that even if shop rate is $200/hr, 5 minutes of work puts it at a cost of like $17.

[Peter P.]

There's a story about a G.E. engineer that retired.

One day, after his retirement, a critical piece of equipment broke.

None of their engineers knew how to repair it, so a manager begged
the retired engineer to come in and see what he could do.

He looked at the equipment for five minutes, marked an "X" on a
part and said "replace that". They did and the equipment was up
and running in no time.

When the department got the bill, it was for TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS!
The manager who begged for the engineer's help called him up and said,
"How could you charge us ten thousand dollars for five minutes work?"

The retired engineer said, "I charged you five dollars for my time and nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-five dollars for knowing which part was bad."

You are paying for their tools and expertise (as in, they didn't 'eff it up.). If you price out a carbon hacksaw and a saw guide, that's $95. I say you got a bargain.

[adub]

Geez..

[prototoast]

Cutting a steerer tube is also one of the easiest jobs to screw up, and if the shop cuts it too short, they're on the hook for buying you a new fork.

So figure for $35 you're paying $10 for labor, $10 for capital, and $15 for insurance.

[AngryScientist]

Also; I am a pretty good mechanic. Unless I had all the tools set up and I was standing at the bench, cutting a steerer and installing a crown race is more than a 5 minute job.

As I tell my kids; a job is not over until all the tools are away and the space is cleaned up and ready for the next job.

The idea that you can deduce the labor cost of a job based only on the hourly rate is flawed. It’s not as if any mechanic can actually do twelve five minute jobs every hour.

[dddd]

Originally Posted by prototoast

Cutting a steerer tube is also one of the easiest jobs to screw up, and if the shop cuts it too short, they're on the hook for buying you a new fork.

So figure for $35 you're paying $10 for labor, $10 for capital, and $15 for insurance.

That's just it, you have to cover for the possibility, however slight, that a mistake gets made, or who knows, maybe a defective steerer were to crack/splinter, not to mention they have to handle/measure someone's precious frame, etc.

$20 I'd say if the customer walks in with the fork having a cut line already on it. But how safe is it for that dust to be getting released?

[charliedid]

Originally Posted by jbreebs

Sounds like my internal pricing is probably off. I went in figuring it would probably cost $20 or so, but it was busy so I didn't ask what it would cost prior to service.

I used to work in a shop a few years back and I remember charging $15-20 for the service.

I guess I was thinking that even if shop rate is $200/hr, 5 minutes of work puts it at a cost of like $17.

Did they do it while you waited?

[slowpoke]

Originally Posted by jbreebs

I guess I was thinking that even if shop rate is $200/hr, 5 minutes of work puts it at a cost of like $17.

afaik, most auto mechanics don't bill by partial hours, so I wouldn't expect shops to do the same.

Unfortunately, rent + utilities + labor + insurance are going up in most places.

[jbreebs]

I had marked it prior to coming in, so it being cut too short would be on me, not them. The employee double checked the length with me twice before cutting, and cut it while I waited. It's a great shop and I'm happy to support them, the price just felt high to me. I understand now that their price is about average and I have no problem with it, was just surprised as I was checking out

[nesteel]

You're not paying them for how long it took them. You're paying them for the years they have into ensuring its done right.
We've worked in the same shop together; you know this