Customer came in with a bike that sat outside for 5 years, I swear the chain looked like a fossil

This guy rolls into the shop yesterday with a trek mountain bike that had been chained to his porch in the rain since 2020. The chain was one solid rust block, not a single link moved. I hit it with some wd40 and a brush, nothing. Had to cut it off with an angle grinder. The cassette was basically a rock too. Took me 3 hours to get the drivetrain cleaned up enough to even spin. How long do you guys let a bike sit before you tell the customer it's cheaper to just buy a new one?

3 comments

3 Comments

elizabeth2202mo ago

Man, that's fair. I used to be more like the other person you quoted - I'd just tell people straight up it's not worth it. But a couple years back I had this guy come in with a old Schwinn his dad left him. Frame was trashed, rust everywhere, I figured he'd be better off with something new. But he wanted it done, didn't care about the cost. So I did it. Took forever, but he was happy as hell when he picked it up. That changed how I look at these jobs. Now I just give them the facts and let them decide.

wendy_ross714mo ago

Oh man, that sounds like a nightmare. I feel for you, I really do. Five years in the rain is basically a death sentence for any drivetrain, that chain was probably more rust than metal at that point. I've been there with a bike that sat out for three years and even that was a huge hassle, I can't imagine double that time. At a certain point you just have to be straight with the customer and say look, the labor alone is going to cost more than a new chain and cassette, and that's if the rest of the bike isn't completely shot too. It's a bummer, but sometimes the kindest thing you can do is save them the money and the headache of trying to revive a lost cause.

quinn_king164mo ago

You say "the kindest thing you can do is save them the money," but sometimes the kindest thing is actually letting them CHOOSE for themselves. I've seen people dump hundreds into a beater bike because it had sentimental value, and they were HAPPY about it. If you just decide for them that it's a lost cause, you might be taking away their chance to fix something that matters to them.