building your own bike

[Trustmeimadoctor]

i had a thread the other day asking about buying my first bike and i got some great advice. BUT i was wondering might i be better of building one instead ?

It cant be that hard can it ? this way id get more of a complete package wouldn't i ? something like a on one carbon 456 or carbon whippet

tbh i have no idea what im talking about

[Fat Albert]

I am doing that for the first time at the moment, under the guidance of a mate, but in reality it is not difficult.
I will end up spending around £500, but will end up with £800-1,000-worth of bike.

eBay is wonderful for buying nearly-new stuff at ridiculous prices, my front wheel cost me £2.19!

[Trustmeimadoctor]

that was my thought im not too bad with my hands and id like the challenge !

[.Adam.]

I've done it a couple of times now, along with doing upgrades myself. It's not too hard, use the internet to find guides/videos on doing stuff you're not sure about and you should be fine! Also helps for when your bike goes wrong, as you will know how to fix it yourself.

[Trustmeimadoctor]

this way i suppose i can sneak costs past SWMBO;)

anyone have a list of all parts needed ?

[Fat Albert]

I have finished buying today, Youtube has some great instruction videos on it, this is what it looks like so far, just have to wait for packages to arrive to complete it....



This is my list of parts & Prices:
New/SH Description Cost Full/New Price
S Carrera Frame 30 100
N Rockshox Forks 103 150
S Rear Mech - Shimano Deore Shadow Long Cage 23 37
S Front Mech - Deore 17 31.49
S Chain - 9 Speed Deore 8 12.99
S Shifters - 9 & 3 Speed Deore 23 55
S Clarks Mechanical disk brake & 160mm rotor (as new) 18 28
S Shimano Deore Brake Levers (pair) 10 35
S Shimano PD-A530 Pedal 20 28
S Bontrager Stem - 105mm / 15 degree rise 5 22
S Bigfoot Front Wheel 2.19 39.99
S Shimano Rear Wheel 9 29.99
N Ritchey Headset 20 20
N Shimano Deore Bottom Bracket 15 15
N FSA XC Handlebars 16.99 20.99
N Charge Seat Post 17.5 35
N Charge Spoon Saddle 14.99 24.99
N Seat Post Clamp 4.25 4.99
N Schwalbe Smart Sam Tyres 35 40
S Shimano Deore M552 chainset 43.07 59
S Shimano 11-32t Rear Cassette 12.16 20
N Cables 13.01 22
N Shimano Acera Rear Brake 9.48 19.99
N Crivit Ergo Handgrips & Bar-ends 10.97 25
N Sundries 13 14

Total 493.61 890.42

Edited by Fat Albert on Sunday 1st July 20:18

[rhinochopig]

Building your own bike will only ever cost you more. You are paying mark-up, tax, etc. on every single component whereas the bike companies don't.

That said you get exactly what you want and it can be fun building it, and you have the pleasure of riding a bike YOU built. You do have the potential to fk up a brand new frame though if you install stuff incorrectly.

I've built 4 or 5 bikes from scratch now and my advice is make sure you have the correct tools for the job and be warned it WILL cost you more - you're kidding yourself if you think it won't.

[Trustmeimadoctor]

spoil sport :P

[Trustmeimadoctor]

the 456 carbon with fsa xc500 wheels seems like a bargain at £400 when the wheels could sell for £200 going by the prices on ebay

[rhinochopig]

Trustmeimadoctor said:

the 456 carbon with fsa xc500 wheels seems like a bargain at £400 when the wheels could sell for £200 going by the prices on ebay

That's how it starts

I'm not trying to put you off, as there is something special about riding a bike spec'd by yourslef, and built by yourself. But don't do it to save money.

[.Adam.]

Agre that if you want all new parts, then you won't save money, but if you buy second wisely then you can. When I built my Ragley it came to around £1000, I think the only new parts were the forks and cranks, and has been built with mainly XTR and XT stuff, to buy a ready built Pig is £1250 at the moment, but that is reduced from nearly £1700.

[Beyond Rational]

Fat Albert said:

I have finished buying today, Youtube has some great instruction videos on it, this is what it looks like so far, just have to wait for packages to arrive to complete it....

Total 493.61 890.42

Edited by Fat Albert on Sunday 1st July 20:18

Sorry, does not compute. Most of that spec would be at home on a new £400-£500 bike.

If you want to build your own hardtail buy a new complete full suspension bike with most of the spec you want and sell the frame/bits you don't want.

[Rolls]

rhinochopig said:

Building your own bike will only ever cost you more. You are paying mark-up, tax, etc. on every single component whereas the bike companies don't.

That said you get exactly what you want and it can be fun building it, and you have the pleasure of riding a bike YOU built. You do have the potential to fk up a brand new frame though if you install stuff incorrectly.

I've built 4 or 5 bikes from scratch now and my advice is make sure you have the correct tools for the job and be warned it WILL cost you more - you're kidding yourself if you think it won't.

Couldn't agree more...you will always up spec if building from scratch. My Santa Cruz started as a Reba / XT build, but ended up with a fox /XTR set up... It's just too tempting!!

[MadDad]

I built my own steel hard tail last year, great fun and nice to turn up at a trail centre or XC area and know that nobody else is on a bike quite like yours!

Mine was supposed to be sub £750 but ended up being quite a bit more! Still cost a lot less than a similar build off the shelf.

Frame - Ragley Blue Pig - £200.00
Forks - RockShox Pike 454 - £190.00 (2nd hand from a mate)
Brakes - Formula Mega - £154.00
Headset - FSA Orbit Extreme Pro - £29.98
Wheels - Hope Pro2 Evo ZTR Flows - £300.00
QR Skewer - Crank Bros Split - £15.00
Shifters - XT Shifter - £34.99
Cassette - XT 9 speed - £45.99
Rear Mech - XT Shadow - £49.99
Bottom Bracket - Truvativ Howitzer - £35.49
Chain - KMC X9 SL - £24.75
Chain Device - Sunline V1 - £40.00
Cranks - Truvativ Holzfella - £56.49
Stem - Kore B52 - £26.99
Bar - Gusset Slade - £35.99
Grips - RaceFace Diablious - £9.99
Peddals - NC-17 Sud ii pro - £25.00
Seat post - Thomson Elite - £49.99
Saddle - Charge Spoon - £22.00
Seat Clamp - Hope Seat Collar - £18.00
Tyres - Continental - Mountain King 2.2 - £24.95

I am toying with the idea of building a carbon road bike or XC whippet this summer, not made my mind up yet (or OK'd it with HWMBO)......

[Fat Albert]

Beyond Rational said:

Fat Albert said:

I have finished buying today, Youtube has some great instruction videos on it, this is what it looks like so far, just have to wait for packages to arrive to complete it....

Total 493.61 890.42

Edited by Fat Albert on Sunday 1st July 20:18

Sorry, does not compute. Most of that spec would be at home on a new £400-£500 bike.

If you want to build your own hardtail buy a new complete full suspension bike with most of the spec you want and sell the frame/bits you don't want.

So I have spent £493.61 building the bike I want...for now, as obviously it will be constantly tweaked and upgraded as I go, the nearest bike in spec is probably this one:
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/...

but with lower quality forks, chainset and fittings, oh and I am having a good education as to how to do it and what's worth spending money on and what isn't.

Some of the items you see cost a huge amount more in order to save a couple of ounces...you could achieve the same by not eating that last slice of pizza...!!

[Gingerbread Man]

I'm building up a Whippet at the moment. My yellow thing. Basically finnished.
Go for it.

[james0]

The other advantage of building your own bike is if you do it right you don't feel the urge to change parts like you might with an off the shelf bike. Being 100kg and having a fairly agressive riding style means parts were chosen for strength over light weight.

I built my downhill and cross country bikes around 10 years ago (Santa Cruz Bullit and Kona Cinder Cone) and aside from worn out parts they are largely unchanged. The Bullit is still on its first wheelset (D521 and Hope Bulb hubs).

Edited by james0 on Monday 2nd July 00:12

[Gumstabber]

Just finished building my first one. Used all new parts and an On One Inbred frame. Full shimano drivetrain and brakes, rock shox recon gold soloair fork. The most expensive part was the wheels. Inbred from on one costs £800 built, I did mine for £850 with better components (add on to that a £50 toolset also, but I get to keep that for ever). To do it for that price it took a LOT of shopping around. I went to a german website for the forks! When I started I was going to do it on the cheap with second hand parts etc but to be honest I'd rather have new than old and worn.

[Smitters]

If you're in no rush, have made certain that the frame and fork combo fit you beforehand and have the inclination, DIY builds tend to yield a better bike for the money. Of course you can ebay hunt, but even if you use the local bike shop for stuff, you can get some good deals.

One of the pricipal advantages is speccing the right components for you, not having to compromise. For instance, when I built my road bike, I used mainly Campag Veloce as the costs of using the next groupset up were quite high, but the performance gains minimal. On the other hand, I did plump for a better chainset and bottom bracket, as these two items made the best weight saving per £ on the bike. The other advantage is you can buy last years wheelsets at a knock-down price. I got £800 wheels for £300.

Google for the Park Tools website and Sheldon Brown and you'll have all the technical knowhow required too.

[Gumstabber]

Smitters said:

On the other hand, I did plump for a better chainset and bottom bracket, as these two items made the best weight saving per £ on the bike.

Yeah, I did a lot of weight comparing too before buying.

Smitters said:

The other advantage is you can buy last years wheelsets at a knock-down price. I got £800 wheels for £300.

- yes, buy last year's (or even the year before's) for better deals.