Building a bike!
Discussion
Basically its time for a new bike and since im a student and all my money gets spent on beer, ive got a limited budget of upto £450. I plan on using it for cross country, nothing too heavy. My idea so far is to buy a brand new group set, brakes, bottom bracket, basically anything that has moving parts, and then going for a second hand frame and forks, then scavenging the rest off my old bike. Ive lost touch with the bike scene for a bit so wondered if this is still the most cost effective way of doing things? lets assume I can do all/most of the work myself.
The one job im slightly concerned about is putting the headset into the frame, so wondered if you lot had a rough idea of what this might cost?
Thanks for your time!
Nixon
The one job im slightly concerned about is putting the headset into the frame, so wondered if you lot had a rough idea of what this might cost?
Thanks for your time!
Nixon
Headset can be done with a hammer, but it's worth the fiver it'll cost to take it to a bike shop and do it properly - having said that most second hand frames will come with a headset anyway which would be a help.
Seems a bit silly getting a totally new drivetrain, go for new chain and cassette by all means but the other bits don't really wear that much. Chainrings and rear mech being the obvious options for replacement but it depends on how second hand the parts you're buying are.
Seems a bit silly getting a totally new drivetrain, go for new chain and cassette by all means but the other bits don't really wear that much. Chainrings and rear mech being the obvious options for replacement but it depends on how second hand the parts you're buying are.
I finished building my bike from scratch 3 months ago, I wanted a pure steel tourer to add to my collection and there aren't too many about these days so I built it (and my wifes), I bought everything new and sourced from several places to get best deals.
I didn't have a budget but did figure around £1200-£1500 per bike, I probably spent a little bit more in the end when you factor in little bits a bobs. When you price things up you only think of the big items, like frame, wheels, etc.. but remember the pedals, stem, handlebars, tape, cages, chain, etc.. these all start to add up.
Some components are cheaper than you'd imagine especially when you source from the interweb, but some parts are pretty expensive, the biggest shock to me was the sti road shifters, 105 flightdeck cost me £225 and that was the best price I could get at the time (I think they are a little cheaper now, sheeze).
So with a limited budget of £450 I would price everything before buying, if you buy bits and bobs over a few weeks, you will spend more. You will also need some tools, BB tool, cassette whip, some good spanners & allen keys are worth (that lot will cost a fair bit) having but I wouldn't bother with a headset press and do as the previous poster suggests and get a LBS to do it, I did with mine. I used a turbo trainer to hold the bike, but I'm going to get a proper bike stand for maintenance going forward, much easier.
Loved doing it and will probably build all my bikes going forward but I'm not going to pretend it was a cheaper way of getting a bike (trek et all get bulk discount on every component), what I did get is a bike where I choose all the components so I know there was no cheap BB or chain to cut costs - I have what I wanted.
So I recommend doing it but you might get a "better" (better value for your budget) bike by buying 2nd hand complete and then adjusting as you see fit.
I didn't have a budget but did figure around £1200-£1500 per bike, I probably spent a little bit more in the end when you factor in little bits a bobs. When you price things up you only think of the big items, like frame, wheels, etc.. but remember the pedals, stem, handlebars, tape, cages, chain, etc.. these all start to add up.
Some components are cheaper than you'd imagine especially when you source from the interweb, but some parts are pretty expensive, the biggest shock to me was the sti road shifters, 105 flightdeck cost me £225 and that was the best price I could get at the time (I think they are a little cheaper now, sheeze).
So with a limited budget of £450 I would price everything before buying, if you buy bits and bobs over a few weeks, you will spend more. You will also need some tools, BB tool, cassette whip, some good spanners & allen keys are worth (that lot will cost a fair bit) having but I wouldn't bother with a headset press and do as the previous poster suggests and get a LBS to do it, I did with mine. I used a turbo trainer to hold the bike, but I'm going to get a proper bike stand for maintenance going forward, much easier.
Loved doing it and will probably build all my bikes going forward but I'm not going to pretend it was a cheaper way of getting a bike (trek et all get bulk discount on every component), what I did get is a bike where I choose all the components so I know there was no cheap BB or chain to cut costs - I have what I wanted.
So I recommend doing it but you might get a "better" (better value for your budget) bike by buying 2nd hand complete and then adjusting as you see fit.
I've just finished my first bike build, basically building my old kona caldera into a larger size frame and upgrading bits along the way. Fitting the headset cups to the frame is pretty easy, you can make an improvised headset press with threaded rod, large washers and nuts. Plenty of info on this on tinterweb. The key thing is to use plenty of grease and make sure the cups are going in straight.
nixon1905 said:
My idea so far is to buy a brand new group set, brakes, bottom bracket, basically anything that has moving parts, and then going for a second hand frame and forks, then scavenging the rest off my old bike.
Some good cheap parts to be had here: http://www.lfgss.com/search.php?searchid=7902081IMHO a whole new groupset is $$$. Just buy the best second hand overall bike you can afford and upgrade anything that REALLY needs it.
I built my bike and the frigging cranks cost £100, wheelset >£100 which doesn't leave you much for F&F...
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