Building your own bike - good or bad idea?

[Levo-Lon]

With your diy skills you will find it very simple.
I can recommend a planet x pro carbon frame..very light and has a nice feel.

Ive just built one up ,ive got a finished weight of 8.4kg which is fine for my level of riding.
Ebay Wiggle and CRC for all the bits and bobs.. Cost was around 800 ish all in

 

[deanbmx]

I've built most of the bikes I've owned myself, I find it really therapeutic and a challenge specing and finding deals on everything. However sometimes it isn't really cost effective & is cheaper to buy complete unless you have something very specific in mind.

 

[Tin Pot]

I possibly didn't explain myself well enough in my OP.

I would get enormous satisfaction from buying every single individual component and then screwing/bolting the entire box of parts together myself, mad as that might appear to be. BUT of course I have to consider my very restrictive budget, as such if it is going to be less expensive to buy a bike from the likes of Decathlon, Merlin or Planet X and change a few things such as the cranks and the stem, then so be it.

At the moment, I believe I will need a 54 frame, fitted with 165 cranks and an extended stem due to my upper body length.

But in the mean time over the next few days I will compose a detailed list of my needs and see how it all starts to pan out................

I would recommend being in a position where you comfortably maintain a bike before building it; recabling, rehousing, derailleur configuration, etc.

I bought my first bike whole, then built my next two. As others have said, it is time consuming and requires a lot of tools including some expensive specialist kit - but it is rewarding.

Also, don't be afraid to bail on a particular job and have a bike shop do it. I saved myself an expensive frameset by backing off a botched BB installation (used cheap tooling) for £20.

 

[Profpointy]

Tools. You will need some tools you almost certainly don't own.

Not many I'd have thought. The OP does a lot of jobs anyway so he'd have most things. Maybe spoke key, chain whip, possibly something for the bottom bracket

 

[buzzy-beans]

Actually now, because of a decent % of the posts are suggesting I don't build my own bike and then following pm exchanges with Meta Lon, I have now decided not to build my own bike............................ but possibly the next one!!

Instead I spent an exceptionally interesting/captivating half hour with a well renowned local specialist bike builder/repairer, he listened intently to my wants, needs and expectations and is now in the process of preparing a quotation to build a bike that takes into account my physical frame, leg strength and mental expectations.
He said my budget was tight, but that he believed he could come up with something that should tick my boxes.

If he can, I will be over the moon with joy, so in the meantime I will continue crashing out the miles on my heavyweight hybrid.

All the best and many thanks

BB

 

[GrumpyGregry]

Not many I'd have thought. The OP does a lot of jobs anyway so he'd have most things. Maybe spoke key, chain whip, possibly something for the bottom bracket

headset gubbins?

 

[Profpointy]

headset gubbins?

Ok, headset gubbins, but apart from that what did the Romans every do for us

 

[GrumpyGregry]

Ok, headset gubbins, but apart from that what did the Romans every do for us

Introduced standard weights and measures, which is something the cycle industry should do.

 

[Profpointy]

Introduced standard weights and measures, which is something the cycle industry should do.

There are lots a standards in cycling. Standards are great so let's have plenty to choose from :-)

 

[jowwy]

Building your own bike is a dodle....made even easier by using sram etap, but a little more expensive lol

 

[Goofball]

I enjoyed it, even if I felt like pulling my hair out at times.

If you can find a frame for your size and work from there.
It can be secondhand or like I did, save it from the skip/dump.
This gives you a base to start from.

I got parts and tools from china and such, I didn't mind the time it took to arrive as it saved some money.

Youtube has videos to show you how to do stuff and what your need to do it.

 

[Alan O]

I built my current touring bike from scratch, stripped and rebuilt my other road back last year, and I'm currently building a fixed-wheel bike (which is on hold at the moment due to family things).

They're all vintage steel frames, friction shifters, etc, but if I wanted a brand new bike I'd also seriously consider building that. It's not about price (there are some impressive modern bikes around where I'm quite sure I couldn't match the price), but it means a few things...

I get to choose every component myself and I don't need to accept compromises based on what the shops offer. And probably more importantly, if I build a bike myself I know for sure that I can then adjust, fix or replace every part of it. Oh, and it's a lot of fun too.

(Another thing I just thought - you also get to buy and play with some fun new tools. And once you've got them, you then have an excuse to build another bike to get maximum cost effectiveness from them!)

 

[MrPie]

Totally stripped down the Wilier and upgraded Athena to Chorus. New BB, mech hanger, the lot. Take your time, do it well. It's pretty straight forward enough + GCN videos are ace if / when you get stuck.

 

[simon.r]

headset gubbins?

A rubber mallet and a short length of 4" x 4" is all you need to install headsets IME.

I appreciate the OP has decided against it, but buying a frame and all the bits then assembling them is basically just Meccano for big boys.

I'm not sure I agree with the comments about it working out more expensive. It no doubt would if you just ordered everything from your LBS, but extensive Googling and being prepared to wait for deals to come up can result in some very good deals.

 

[raleighnut]

I've built most of my bikes up from bare frames, it's great fun plus it allows you to build to your own spec. One thing I'm surprised no-one has suggested (unless I missed it) is buying a 2nd hand bike to strip and rebuild.

A couple of pics of my old Ridgeback having a complete rebuild last year.

New parts to be fitted

Cost around £22