Self building a Road Bike from scratch!

[SR7492]

Team PH!

I've decided to take plunge into building my own Road bike from scratch - I'm perfectly happy with the bike I have at the moment however I am looking to upgrade my roadie next year. With this in mind, I want to start my build project with the aim of having this complete by next year (so no real rush)

Hopefully this thread can be a 'beginners guide to building your own road bike' kinda thing and help others who have thought about doing something similar, but like me, didn't know where to start!

So, I've compiled my 'checklist' of the components I'll need. How would one go about doing this? Is there a particular order when putting the bike together or purchasing items so you can build it over time?

I'm assuming start with buying a frame/fork/stem/handlebar would be the first things to purchase and start the build from there.

Would really appreciate some advice/best practices/do' & don't s.

Thank you in advance!

[Kell]

If you're doing it from scratch, then I'd imagine the best place to start would be a full bike fit.

That way, everything you buy will fit perfectly.

[anonymous-user]

Just some thoughts...

Buy things as you find them on sale, there is no correct order per se. If you see a cheap groupset or wheels before you have a frame, dont worry, just buy them.

Get a shop to fit the bottom bracket and the headset as they require a careful hand and special tools respectively. They will also cut fork steerer tubes for you.

Make sure you know what parts you need, bottom bracket standards etc, seat tube diameter. Its pretty easy to work out and you should know when you buy the frame what parts you need, the manufacturers website will have the details.

A mini torque wrench is useful, as is a cassette fitting tool and a chain whip, the rest is just 4/5/6mm allen keys.

Watch lots of videos on the Park Tool website before you do anything.

Measure twice, cut once.

Fitting bar tape is voodoo black magic, if you havent done it before, get the shop to do that too....

Buy a good workstand, it will make life much easier.

Spend time working out the best cable routing, not only will it make shifting anbd braking better but it will look tidier.

In all honesty, its a LOT easier than you think it is, its like flat pack furniture but without the faff and more fun when its finished...

Edited by anonymous-user on Wednesday 6th August 10:51

[Truckosaurus]

I built a MTB from scratch. I just bought a generic book ("Zinn and the art of Bicycle Maintenance") and then looked at YouTube videos for each step.

Even for a novice it was pretty easy, I got a small bike toolkit with Shimano compatible tools like the bottom bracket spanner and then the only specialist tools I needed was a thread cutter for the bottom bracket as the thread on the frame as pretty poor on one side, a cheap pipe cutter from B&Q to trim the length of the fork stem and a home made (using thread bar and washers) headset compressor.

[graememac]

pablo said:

Just some thoughts...


Get a shop to fit the bottom bracket and the headset as they require a careful hand and special tools respectively. They will also cut fork steerer tubes for you.

Make sure you know what parts you need, bottom bracket standards etc, seat tube diameter. Its pretty easy to work out and you should know when you buy the frame what parts you need, the manufacturers website will have the details.

A mini torque wrench is useful, as is a cassette fitting tool and a chain whip, the rest is just 4/5/6mm allen keys.

Watch lots of videos on the Park Tool website before you do anything.

Measure twice, cut once.

Fitting bar tape is voodoo black magic, if you havent done it before, get the shop to do that too....

Buy a good workstand, it will make life much easier.

Spend time working out the best cable routing, not only will it make shifting anbd braking better but it will look tidier.

In all honesty, its a LOT easier than you think it is, its like flat pack furniture but without the faff and more fun when its finished...

Edited by pablo on Wednesday 6th August 10:51

You don't need a shop to fit the BB if it's a hollowtech set up just just need the tool to screw it in. Also most headsets are fully integrated these days so just drop straight in and the steerer tube is easy to cut yourself, just be careful and don't cut too much off. If it's not a fully integrated headset you can make the tools easily to press the cups into the frame. Bar tape is an easy job once you've watched a few youtube videos, it just takes a little practice.
Getting the right tools and a bike stand is an essential part of building a bike but these will come in handy again.
Just a warning though, once you've built one bike it's hard to stop! I have built 5 in the space of about 3 years!
There are plenty of guides on the internet/youtube to help you along

[Rocksteadyeddie]

pablo said:

Fitting bar tape is voodoo black magic

Nah, just keep it tensioned and it's a doddle.

[ewenm]

I'm looking forward to the pics of your tube welds/brazing

[aka_kerrly]

ewenm said:

I'm looking forward to the pics of your tube welds/brazing

Exactly, when someone says they are building a bike from scratch I was expecting to see them making their own frame to exactly their specification not just buying a frame that anyone else can buy plus a whole load of off the shelf bits.

Good luck though, it is fun to build a bike from components as you can mix & match plus if you have a whole year to do so you can hit the sales and search out ebay bargains etc.

[Disco You]

Assembling a bike is like lego =\

[Rocksteadyeddie]

ewenm said:

I'm looking forward to the pics of your tube welds/brazing

[SR7492]

ewenm said:

I'm looking forward to the pics of your tube welds/brazing

Thanks everyone - great info (thumbs up); I'm already getting excited!

Q - I've seen most decent bikes have ANT meter pre-installed (some inside the front forks/some on the rear wishbone); if I purchase a Carbon frame, will this come with it or is something I have to add myself?

[graememac]

SR7492 said:

Thanks everyone - great info (thumbs up); I'm already getting excited!

Q - I've seen most decent bikes have ANT meter pre-installed (some inside the front forks/some on the rear wishbone); if I purchase a Carbon frame, will this come with it or is something I have to add myself?

Trek Madone's and some Giant's have the speed/cadence sensor in the rear triangle of the bike but you usually have to buy the sensor separately to the frame. I think the Trek ones are less then £50 though

[andySC]

Done it lots of times over the years. It's not a tricky job...just take your time. Press fit BB's are best done by your local bike shop but the rest is no bother. I put my new TT bike together last week, from unpacking the frame to a test riding it gingerly down the road was 3 hours or so. Cutting the fork steerer is a measure lots/cut once operation so make sure you get this right (I use a pipe slice that is used for copper pipes, with a new cutting blade & only applying a little tension at a time it makes a great job). Make sure you double check/ torque up the nuts & bolts when your done & give it a go.

[SR7492]

Thanks everyone - going to run down the checklist to the exact components/groupset I need and then start searching for the deals (slowly but surely)

Just can't decide on the frame colour . . . .. . hmmmm!

[AC43]

SR7492 said:

I'm assuming start with buying a frame/fork/stem/handlebar would be the first things to purchase and start the build from there.

I've just done this for a MTB from the same starting point. It's fun tracking down the various components and pretty straightforward once you've worked out what is compatible with what. Interesting to do and satisfying when done.

But be warned it's addictive and you will end up buying more than one version of some of the components for the next build....I've now got a spare groupset, brakes, wheels, bars and stem in my shed. Ready for when I spot the right 90's steel frame on eBay...

Most useful thing I bought was this;

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/x-tools-bike-to...

Keep posting - build threads are interesting

[WarrenG]

graememac said:

pablo said:

Just some thoughts...


Get a shop to fit the bottom bracket and the headset as they require a careful hand and special tools respectively. They will also cut fork steerer tubes for you.

Make sure you know what parts you need, bottom bracket standards etc, seat tube diameter. Its pretty easy to work out and you should know when you buy the frame what parts you need, the manufacturers website will have the details.

A mini torque wrench is useful, as is a cassette fitting tool and a chain whip, the rest is just 4/5/6mm allen keys.

Watch lots of videos on the Park Tool website before you do anything.

Measure twice, cut once.

Fitting bar tape is voodoo black magic, if you havent done it before, get the shop to do that too....

Buy a good workstand, it will make life much easier.

Spend time working out the best cable routing, not only will it make shifting anbd braking better but it will look tidier.

In all honesty, its a LOT easier than you think it is, its like flat pack furniture but without the faff and more fun when its finished...

Edited by pablo on Wednesday 6th August 10:51

You don't need a shop to fit the BB if it's a hollowtech set up just just need the tool to screw it in. Also most headsets are fully integrated these days so just drop straight in and the steerer tube is easy to cut yourself, just be careful and don't cut too much off. If it's not a fully integrated headset you can make the tools easily to press the cups into the frame. Bar tape is an easy job once you've watched a few youtube videos, it just takes a little practice.
Getting the right tools and a bike stand is an essential part of building a bike but these will come in handy again.
Just a warning though, once you've built one bike it's hard to stop! I have built 5 in the space of about 3 years!
There are plenty of guides on the internet/youtube to help you along

I'm stunned that people think that the BB and headset fitment choices are so difficult? unless your frame has not been faced correctly, then the BB and headsets are just push/screw-fit affairs that are no more complicated than fitting pedals. Just take your time and check that what parts you have collected are really the right fitment for the application, because so many 'standards' have been created since the square taper, it's unbelievable. It used to just be a case of checking English or Italian thread!

it's quite easy once you've laid it all out, especially bar tape!

[Dammit]

[gazza285]

WarrenG said:

so many 'standards' have been created since the square taper, it's unbelievable. It used to just be a case of checking English or Italian thread!

This square taper, is it JIS or ISO?

[Rolls]

Built mine myself.. Did have the lbs that supplied the frame fit the pf30 bb though - didn't fancy getting it wrong on my dream build bike!
As said - everything else is simples :-)

[Rocksteadyeddie]

gazza285 said:

WarrenG said:

so many 'standards' have been created since the square taper, it's unbelievable. It used to just be a case of checking English or Italian thread!

This square taper, is it JIS or ISO?

And that's not as straightforward as you'd imagine. Don't ask me how I know

Edited by Rocksteadyeddie on Friday 8th August 07:44