Building a road bike..

[TobyM]

I'm not definitely going to do this, and, in all honesty, I probably won't - but I may, as a project over the next few months, attempt to build up a bike using second hand parts I hope to purchase via eBay and the like. However, I'm not 100% sure what components I need to build a road bike, and which ones I would be better off getting brand new. I have a basic idea, but I've probably forgotten a few!

Basically, I'm after a list of all the necessary components right down to the smallest components, and which one's you think it would be worth buying new. My budget for the whole build is around £200 (it was £100, but I upped it a bit!).

Also, if anyone has any recommendations as to where to buy parts, or even have some parts they want to sell me I'd love to know

Cheers,
Toby

 

[smokeysmoo]

With a budget like that you won't be buying many components new I wouldn't have thought, but that's not to say you can't do this project idea perfectly well within that budget, you can and many others have

Your best bet might be to pick up a usable bike from the 80's, maybe something like THIS?

Then you can strip it and determine what's workable and what needs replacing, then you also know exactly what you are looking for as well. For example, if the bottom bracket is shot you can measure it up and that way your not guessing at anything, or trying to buy one particular thing to fit to some other random thing you might have bought, or you can take a picture of a component and post it up on here for advise.

Then if you like it once you have a new budget you still have other options, I'm doing a very similar buy to the one above at the moment, but I'm doing a modern 10 speed conversion, so it'll be a retro Peugeot frameset with all modern componentry, STI shifters, Hollowtech II, modern bar/stem combo etc, etc, should be sweet

My advise, go for it, there's something eternally gratifying about standing back, looking at a bike and saying, "I designed and built that"

 

[TobyM]

With a budget like that you won't be buying many components new I wouldn't have thought, but that's not to say you can't do this project idea perfectly well within that budget, you can and many others have

Your best bet might be to pick up a usable bike from the 80's, maybe something like THIS?

Then you can strip it and determine what's workable and what needs replacing, then you also know exactly what you are looking for as well. For example, if the bottom bracket is shot you can measure it up and that way your not guessing at anything, or trying to buy one particular thing to fit to some other random thing you might have bought, or you can take a picture of a component and post it up on here for advise.

Then if you like it once you have a new budget you still have other options, I'm doing a very similar buy to the one above at the moment, but I'm doing a modern 10 speed conversion, so it'll be a retro Peugeot frameset with all modern componentry, STI shifters, Hollowtech II, modern bar/stem combo etc, etc, should be sweet

My advise, go for it, there's something eternally gratifying about standing back, looking at a bike and saying, "I designed and built that"

I would love to build my own, I practically built my mountain bike and it's a great feeling when you can stand back and look at it (when I say practically built it, I mean I've replaced every part except the frame, handlebars and brake leavers/gear shifters! New bottom bracket, chainset, wheels, brakes, rear cassette, chain, pedals, forks, front and rear derailleurs, inner tubes, tyres and brake/gear cables - oh, and a new bottle holder )

It's because I've done so many mods to my MTB that I feel I could probably manage to build a road bike, although I've never even ridden one before so don't know how much difference there is. One thing I definitely want to include is STI shifters though, although they appear to be very expensive even second hand!

Unfortunately, the Peugot's frame (the main bit I'll be keeping) is a little large, but that's exactly the kind of thing I'm looking for

 

[smokeysmoo]

I would love to build my own, I practically built my mountain bike and it's a great feeling when you can stand back and look at it (when I say practically built it, I mean I've replaced every part except the frame, handlebars and brake leavers/gear shifters! New bottom bracket, chainset, wheels, brakes, rear cassette, chain, pedals, forks, front and rear derailleurs, inner tubes, tyres and brake/gear cables - oh, and a new bottle holder )

It's because I've done so many mods to my MTB that I feel I could probably manage to build a road bike, although I've never even ridden one before so don't know how much difference there is. One thing I definitely want to include is STI shifters though, although they appear to be very expensive even second hand!

Unfortunately, the Peugot's frame (the main bit I'll be keeping) is a little large, but that's exactly the kind of thing I'm looking for

If you've done all that with an MTB then you can do it with a road bike no problem. The main differences are in the geometry and the gearing, but this does not affect the actual build process in anyway.

STI shifters are expensive, but they are worth it, although this is something you can aspire to if you can't afford them at the moment. If you go for 8/9 speed just look for Shimano Sora or Tiagra shifter, these are cheaper than the 10 speed 105 and upwards. You might even get lucky and pick up a bike or frameset with STI shifters included, I've known it happen.

Keep an eye on ebay, there's always quite a few Peugeot's and similar on there, but this is primetime for buying so prices will be higher at the moment. It's always worth emailing a seller and making them an offer, if their phonebill has just dropped through the door that morning they could be up for a quick deal

As for components it's going to be pretty much ebay all the way with your budget, but don't forget the classified sections on forum sites, they can be useful for sourcing bits and bobs, and you can post wanted ads to.

Good luck with it, there's nothing that someone on here hasn't done to a bike and can help you with if you get stuck, and youtube has loads of great videos that have helped me in the past.

 

[TobyM]

If you've done all that with an MTB then you can do it with a road bike no problem. The main differences are in the geometry and the gearing, but this does not affect the actual build process in anyway.

STI shifters are expensive, but they are worth it, although this is something you can aspire to if you can't afford them at the moment. If you go for 8/9 speed just look for Shimano Sora or Tiagra shifter, these are cheaper than the 10 speed 105 and upwards. You might even get lucky and pick up a bike or frameset with STI shifters included, I've known it happen.

Keep an eye on ebay, there's always quite a few Peugeot's and similar on there, but this is primetime for buying so prices will be higher at the moment. It's always worth emailing a seller and making them an offer, if their phonebill has just dropped through the door that morning they could be up for a quick deal

As for components it's going to be pretty much ebay all the way with your budget, but don't forget the classified sections on forum sites, they can be useful for sourcing bits and bobs, and you can post wanted ads to.

Good luck with it, there's nothing that someone on here hasn't done to a bike and can help you with if you get stuck, and youtube has loads of great videos that have helped me in the past.

Thanks I'm still browsing the classifieds for whole bikes atm, but I'm rapidly heading towards the idea of building!

 

[Sleeper]

My advise, go for it, there's something eternally gratifying about standing back, looking at a bike and saying, "I designed and built that"

++++++++1!!!

 

[smokeysmoo]

Thanks I'm still browsing the classifieds for whole bikes atm, but I'm rapidly heading towards the idea of building!

I know what you're saying TM, but you could still pick up a whole bike, strip it for the frameset, sell the bits you don't want and then you've got a base for your build. All I'm saying is don't focus your search just on framesets as you could miss out on a bargain full bike that could have the perfect frame for your ambitions

 

[TobyM]

I know what you're saying TM, but you could still pick up a whole bike, strip it for the frameset, sell the bits you don't want and then you've got a base for your build. All I'm saying is don't focus your search just on framesets as you could miss out on a bargain full bike that could have the perfect frame for your ambitions

But will a bargain full bike not fulfil my newbie requirements anyway?

I guess I'm gonna have to keep an eye our for anything and decide on the spur of the moment

 

[smokeysmoo]

But will a bargain full bike not fulfil my newbie requirements anyway?

Very possibly, and if it does, happy days