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| Angelika/Mike Schilli |
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Michael Services are relatively cheap in America. If you take your car to a budget workshop in the Mission District of San Francisco, the mechanics will take apart half the engine for a few hundred dollars. However, this does not apply to bicycle repairs. Although there are an unusually high number of cyclists in San Francisco by American standards, the few bicycle mechanics charge exorbitant prices.
I do patch tires myself, but for other issues like broken gear or brake cables, I have so far gone to the bike shop I trust, which is also located in the Mission District. For such minor repairs, you pay about $20 plus the cost of materials, which is just about acceptable, although it's certainly a steep price by American standards. But every time I show up there, the mechanic takes me aside and says that I have such a nice bike, but the maintenance leaves something to be desired!
I should just leave the bike there for a "tune-up," and then worn parts like brake pads would be replaced, the gears adjusted, and so on and so forth. Among experts, it's well known that the tune-up is the "license to print money" for bike mechanics and costs $120. In Germany, I would respond to such a mechanic's suggestion by pulling down my lower eyelid, but unfortunately, no one in America understands this gesture!
So that I can carry out bicycle repairs at home in the future, I recently... REI Through gritted teeth, I shelled out $140 for a bike repair stand, and I have to say, it was money well spent. I immediately repaired a brake cable at home, and it's really nice to have the bike so stably mounted in front of you without constantly having to worry about it tipping over when tightening screws. And when folded, the stand is only slightly larger than a camera tripod and can be easily stored in a closet. Top product!
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