paint then laise question.

[mf_shifty]

hey all, i am planning on getting my rims powder coated, i got my frame done for $50 and now have got the quote of $25 for both rims, which sounds good.

now the tricky bit, i praticed lacing and de-lacing a wheel i buck'eld past repair, it was trick an yes i did stuff it up major, i could not get it true.

so thinking ahead and actually planning this project i rang my lbs and he gave me this a quote of $45 to lace EACH wheel, then i compromised and asked if i laced it and got him to tighten it so it would be true he said $25 per wheel, which i still think is way to much.:mad:

has any one painted there rims? any one good with a spoke key and can do it for a coupl'a bucks?:o
any opinons? or should i just accept that its not worth it.
thanks. Matt.

[rhysrhysbaby]

for the amount of time and actual skill it takes to delace and relace a wheel. $45 per wheel sounds like a reasonable price. most wheel builds are around $50 just because its rebuilding a wheel doesnt make it any cheaper.

[danield]

if u buckled your wheel beyond repair, then tried to rebuild it, it will never be true! You prob built the wheel well, it's just that the rim was that ruined you couldn't get it true!

Also it is easier to true a wheel then rebuild it, so if your gona build it, you might as well do the lot!

To true a wheel you tighten the spokes on the opposite side, so it pulls the rim the way it needs to be pulled! If that makes any sense, it's hard to explain!

I've built a couple of wheels, it's not real hard, just very time consuming! It takes me at least an hr, and 45bucks an hr is cheap, considering that will prob include the price of the spokes!

[mf_shifty]

its not a matter a spokes, because ive got them. its just not going to be worth the price thanks anyway.

[Grip]

hey all, i am planning on getting my rims powder coated, i got my frame done for $50 and now have got the quote of $25 for both rims, which sounds good.

now the tricky bit, i praticed lacing and de-lacing a wheel i buck'eld past repair, it was trick an yes i did stuff it up major, i could not get it true.

so thinking ahead and actually planning this project i rang my lbs and he gave me this a quote of $45 to lace EACH wheel, then i compromised and asked if i laced it and got him to tighten it so it would be true he said $25 per wheel, which i still think is way to much.:mad:

has any one painted there rims? any one good with a spoke key and can do it for a coupl'a bucks?:o
any opinons? or should i just accept that its not worth it.
thanks. Matt.

You can't be serious. Do you really think those prices are too much?

[t]

$25 a wheel to have them tensioned up is a great price.

[Matt H]

You can't be serious. Do you really think those prices are too much?


apparently.
let's just let him use his many years of experience building wheels.
It's free that way?? durr

[THE YETI]

My mate got quoted $70 from our LBS to re-lace his wheel. That is a ridiculous price, but $45 is actually quite good.

[Mo]

i've been involved in MTB for around 10 years...everytime i spend money on repair that i deem unjustifiable i refuse to spend that money, i rather invest it to my toolbox and become a better mechanic

i appreciate and recognise the skills and talents out there and there are some real people doing an incredible job for the bikes in the industry.

but that is what distinguishes a person that is willing to spend a shit load and someone trying to get the best bang for buck.

i dont think a dollar value has anything to do with anything. it is the quality behind the craftmanship that is never displayed or recognised. and when it can be judged it is subjective to everyone's opinion. so just throwing a price when the job detail is never mentioned is kinda throwing money in the bin.

replying to the costing of the lacing and trueing, i have done this job at "probably" the best builders in Melbourne CBD for $25.

[mf_shifty]

You can't be serious. Do you really think those prices are too much?

sorry, im just cheap.:o

[Red Rocket]

You can't be serious. Do you really think those prices are too much?


I've built about 5 wheels now, some from de-lace to re-lace onto a new hub/rim combination, and some from scratch. I personally think its a bit steep, because to me, building a wheel doesn't really translate into $45 effort. I guess its all subjective though. They do have to cover things like initial outlay for tools/threadlockers etc as well, but IMO, almost $100 to get two wheels laced up is a fair bit more than I'd be willing to pay.

[tu plang]

building a wheel takes a lot of time, and to build a good one skill and practice. next time you build a wheel see how long it takes you, you dont appreciate it now because you can do it at your own leisure but when you have costs to cover and time is important things change.

$45 is cheap. $50 is around the standard, and i've seen higher prices. what is $45 effort rr? a careful wheel build will easily take an hour, $45/hr is a standard labour charge. for the record there is more to building a wheel then lacing it up and cranking the spokes.

and $45 doesnt include new spokes, new spokes would be $30 bare minimum for silver champs.

[Grip]

but IMO, almost $100 to get two wheels laced up is a fair bit more than I'd be willing to pay.

I s'pose it all depends on what you think a professional's time is worth. How long did it take you to build a wheel? Was it under 25 minutes? For EVERYTHING? Including talking to yourself (pretend you're the customer for a moment) for 10 minutes first, filling out the job sheet, talking to the customer AGAIN to reassure them that they're getting the job they WANT, then getting the necessary gear/parts/spokes etc out of stock, the time it takes to actually ORDER that stuff in the first place and store it etc, the disassembly of the wheel (if necessary), checking the hub bearings and adjusting cones etc (if necessary... because there's not much point to building up a wheel with a stuffed hub), answering the phone two days later and telling the customer that NO their wheel is NOT ready yet (even though you told them in the first place that it would be THREE days), storing the wheel after completion, maybe then ringing the customer to say "it's ready", again talking to the customer when they come to pick it up, getting the wheel from wherever it's stored and "showing" the customer what you've done, taking the money (or puting through the credit card payment - in which case there's the matter of the 1.5-2% fee that costs), the bookwork involved in accounting for the income from that particular job (crossing it off as having been paid etc), and even things like washing your hands before and after you start work on a customers job.... WOW! Quite a lot to consider, isn't it.

Now how long do you think all of that takes? And do you STILL think $25 or even $50 is a lot to build a wheel?;)

[gman]

I s'pose it all depends on what you think a professional's time is worth. How long did it take you to build a wheel? Was it under 25 minutes? For EVERYTHING? Including talking to yourself (pretend you're the customer for a moment) for 10 minutes first, filling out the job sheet, talking to the customer AGAIN to reassure them that they're getting the job they WANT, then getting the necessary gear/parts/spokes etc out of stock, the time it takes to actually ORDER that stuff in the first place and store it etc, the disassembly of the wheel (if necessary), checking the hub bearings and adjusting cones etc (if necessary... because there's not much point to building up a wheel with a stuffed hub), answering the phone two days later and telling the customer that NO their wheel is NOT ready yet (even though you told them in the first place that it would be THREE days), storing the wheel after completion, maybe then ringing the customer to say "it's ready", again talking to the customer when they come to pick it up, getting the wheel from wherever it's stored and "showing" the customer what you've done, taking the money (or puting through the credit card payment - in which case there's the matter of the 1.5-2% fee that costs), the bookwork involved in accounting for the income from that particular job (crossing it off as having been paid etc), and even things like washing your hands before and after you start work on a customers job.... WOW! Quite a lot to consider, isn't it.

Now how long do you think all of that takes? And do you STILL think $25 or even $50 is a lot to build a wheel?;)


I totally agree.

I bet you own a bike shop.

As people now buy from the net, more and more, picking the eyes (best profit, easy sales) away from LBS's, prices for special work cannot be offset as easily and will only increase... loyalty pays for itself in the end in many ways.

[tu plang]

I totally agree.

I bet you own a bike shop.

As people now buy from the net, more and more, picking the eyes (best profit, easy sales) away from LBS's, prices for special work cannot be offset as easily and will only increase... loyalty pays for itself in the end in many ways.

heheh not really, grip is the second biggest threat to new bike sales. the bugger fixes them! :p

[gman]

heheh not really, grip is the second biggest threat to new bike sales. the bugger fixes them! :p

...the bastard! :p

[tu plang]

i whole heartedly agree with you though. having watched a few really good wheel builders (inc arguable the best in bris) you appreciate what they do. you also have to consider that truing stands cost a mint and dont last forever, you have a hole array of other specialist tools to consider too.

[gman]

For sure, I owned a shop (not bike) and people don't see the cost in time and effort to bring the service to them. I am getting a wheel built next week for $60 and I reakon it's a bargain... no complaints from me!

[Red Rocket]

I s'pose it all depends on what you think a professional's time is worth. How long did it take you to build a wheel? Was it under 25 minutes? For EVERYTHING? Including talking to yourself (pretend you're the customer for a moment) for 10 minutes first, filling out the job sheet, talking to the customer AGAIN to reassure them that they're getting the job they WANT, then getting the necessary gear/parts/spokes etc out of stock, the time it takes to actually ORDER that stuff in the first place and store it etc, the disassembly of the wheel (if necessary), checking the hub bearings and adjusting cones etc (if necessary... because there's not much point to building up a wheel with a stuffed hub), answering the phone two days later and telling the customer that NO their wheel is NOT ready yet (even though you told them in the first place that it would be THREE days), storing the wheel after completion, maybe then ringing the customer to say "it's ready", again talking to the customer when they come to pick it up, getting the wheel from wherever it's stored and "showing" the customer what you've done, taking the money (or puting through the credit card payment - in which case there's the matter of the 1.5-2% fee that costs), the bookwork involved in accounting for the income from that particular job (crossing it off as having been paid etc), and even things like washing your hands before and after you start work on a customers job.... WOW! Quite a lot to consider, isn't it.




I don't disagree with your basic point, but things like ringing customers, doing bookwork, accepting payment, washing hands, accepting calls etc to me seem like pretty universal business practices that almost every small business has to deal with/complete each and every day, and therefore aren't really specific to whats being discussed.

Now how long do you think all of that takes? And do you STILL think $25 or even $50 is a lot to build a wheel?;)

I still think $50 is more than I at least would be willing to pay. $25 would be crazy cheap, I wouldn't really expect any shop to charge that low, it'd be a huge loss to them.

I guess what it all really comes down to is our skewed perception on things. Most of us are perfectly willing to shell out $xxxx on expensive parts, even though in reality it is (somtimes) an absolute rip-off for the specific item we purchase. But when we are asked to pay a (relaitvely) small fee for labour, we kind of shy away, because (in my eyes at least) there is a perception that labour is something we could just do ourselves, and isn't 'concrete' like an upgrade or part is, therefore we must be getting ripped off in some way.

[Red Rocket]

for the record there is more to building a wheel then lacing it up and cranking the spokes.

Yeah, I don't disagree with that.


and $45 doesnt include new spokes, new spokes would be $30 bare minimum for silver champs.

I didn't mean to inferr that $45 would/should include spokes either. There would be little to no money in a wheel build if it did.

[derelikt]

I got quoted $20 at my LBS, 45 aint too bad though.

[tu plang]

Yeah, I don't disagree with that.



I didn't mean to inferr that $45 would/should include spokes either. There would be little to no money in a wheel build if it did.

nah that wasnt aimed at you 'danield' suggested it would inc. spokes.