Just realized how much bike shops have changed since the 90s

Was digging through some old boxes and found a receipt from 1998 at a shop near me that closed down 10 years ago. $12 for a cable and housing install. Now it's what, $35-$40? Labor rates went from $35 an hour to $85 around here. Wild. Saw a guy on another forum complaining about shop prices and it got me thinking. We used to do everything by feel and now it's all torque wrenches and digital calipers. Not complaining, just miss when a bike was simpler. Anyone else notice how much the tools changed too?

2 comments

2 Comments

tyler61426d agoMost Upvoted

yeah but @derek_dixon78 you're kinda mixing up two different things. the inflation math on labor rates isn't right either. $35 in 1998 is like $55 today not $65. i looked it up once. point is shops were already charging way less than they could have back then. it wasn't just inflation. it was a different business model entirely. i agree torque wrenches matter on carbon stuff no argument there. but for steel frames and alloy parts we survived fine with feel and a little common sense. bikes are overbuilt now anyway. the whole industry pushed us into expensive specialized tools so shops could charge more for everything. not saying it's all bad just saying it's a racket.

derek_dixon7826d ago

Hang on, you really think that's bad? I'd take a torque wrench over a snapped bolt any day. Shop rates went up because rent and insurance and everything else went up too, not because they're getting rich. $35 an hour in 1998 is like $65 now with inflation alone. I've seen guys snap carbon bars because they "felt" it was tight enough. That's a $300+ mistake. The tools got better because the bikes got better and more expensive. I'm glad shops use the right tools now instead of guessing and hoping for the best.