Just broke another spoke on my shit Bowery wheelset (drive side rear). st time I broke an unnamed shop charge me $30 for a damn spoke replacement. I brought just the wheel in, no bike or tire attached to it. That seems excessive… I didn’t ship over my truing stand and other spoke tools so I’m at the mercy of the local shops. What do most shops charge for a spoke replacement? Is $30 normal?
Once you bust a few spokes in a cheap wheel like that you will continue to break more…
Rebuild your wheelset with good quality spokes and it shouldn’t be an ongoing issue.
$30 is a bit pricey but not so excessive if the wheel was in need of a true and you were in the CBD.
I heard BSC were charging $20 labour for tube fitting which is pretty steep…
Thanks… yeah… the Formula Hub / DA22 will probably continue to pop spokes here and there. At $30/spoke though, it would only take 5 or so to cost me more than the wheelset is worth. I guess it’s time to buy another truing stand and some other parts.
Also charge $25 to fit bar tape…
You could put some Zip ties on your frame and fix it yourself if you think $30 is too much.
Around $25-$30 seems to be about normal for a wheel true from shops in Melbourne. You definitely shouldn’t be paying any more than that.
shit wheels = broken spokes = having to pay for repairs (unless you invest in a quality track chainwhip (about $80) and a wheeltruing stand (over $100). Replacing spokes is more time consuming than you might think. Whats your hourly rate?
You’re not just paying for a spoke. You’re also paying for a wheel tru.
The shop I work in charges $2 for a spoke (DT Swiss Comp) and at least $18 (usually $20-25) for a tru.
If you want to do it yourself but don’t have the tools, you could go to a bike co-op likes CERES and use theirs. Or just buy a cheap spoke spoke wrench and do it yourself at home using the brake calipers as a guide.
Spoke replacement is a pretty easy job. I defiantly wouldn’t pay someone $30 to do it for me, unless it was a fancy high-end wheel set. Like someone else mentions, if you have to pay to get a spoke repaired two or three times, you could have bought a truing stand / spoke wrench / new wheel.
Good site on spoke/wheel related matters is wheel fanatyk, the dude sells wooden rims and spoke threaders but has good tips on building. There was an article on replacing broken spokes the other day.
I thinks $30 is a tad excessive but I have had good experiences with BSC bikes on Elizabeth St. They serviced my brakes for free. I couldnt believe it.
20 clams for spoke replacement and true @ abbotsford…