Just how realistic is it for me to build my own bike?

[simon.r]

You Sir have clearly not tried to remove a seized seatpost or seized stem from an early 70's steel frame, or remove a rusted in BB, or source a 24mm seat post

I was talking specifically about building a new bike (as per the OP).

I've had my share of rusted in BBs and the like and have the skimmed knuckles and cuts to prove it! I even managed to dislocate a finger once while trying to remove a BB. Don't ask

24mm seaposts 2 a penny (well, $69.95)

 

[Cubist]

Be certain to do your research around compatibility, fit and so on of parts before you buy. I made a series of errors trying to fit some Hope brakes to Cubester's MTB, and ended up having to sell off the brakes I bought and buying new.

Similarly with my latest build I had decided to go down the 3x9 route for drivetrain until I found a bargain (and I mean a real bargain) 2x10 chainset. That meant I had to re-sell all the 3x9 kit I'd bought.

Go for it. You may (or may not) save a fortune, but you will learn loads.

 

[TheDoctor]

Plus, you'll be in a better position when you realise that the bike you have isn't quite right.
I wanted to do a short tour, and none of my bikes was quite what I wanted for it. Light, a reasonable range of gears and a rack.
One quick fettle later, and my old Ribble is back up and running with 12/32 on a 40T chainset. 7 gears is plenty, provided they're the right seven...

 

[stephen.rooke]

when i get my new bike i plan on stripping my old one and rebuilding eventually with new parts saying that when it comes to it, it would prob just end up stuck in the garage lol

 

[Mushroomgodmat]

I upgraded my groupset, shifters and all. I would say that's practically a rebuild.

Took me a couple of days, (spent half a day trying to get my old bottom bracket out) but its surprisingly easy to do. You cant really screw it up other than maybe cutting cables/cable covers to short.

 

[lulubel]

I'm part way through building my first bike, and I've found you spend a lot of time looking at it, puzzling over it, reading books/watching videos on how to do each job, but each job only takes a few minutes when you actually come to do it.

I've bought the correct tools for most of the jobs, but all the tools I bought cost less than getting one bike serviced at your lbs. Most of the tools were for fitting the headset (headset press, crown race punch, star nut tool), but I also bought a quality set of cable cutters, a tool to fit the bottom bracket, and a couple of other things, I think. Everything else has just needed spanner/wrench and a multitool. (For those who haven't fitted a headset, it's easy with the correct tools, by the way.)

It's taking me a long time to get it done because life and my business keeps getting in the way, but it's pretty much done now besides finishing the wheels (which I'm also building) and making sure everything is adjusted correctly.

So, for first time around, I'd say it's easy to do, but very time consuming to figure out how to do it and what components and tools you actually need.

 

[RaRa]

Thanks for all the comments and helpful hints

My plans changed completely and instead of getting an old scrapped bike i've ended up buying a new Ribble audax frame - the thoery is that by the time i've built the thing it will be winter time and it'll come in handy! So far the frame, forks and headset are all i've got. I've started a spreadsheet to keep track of costs as saving money was the real driver in all of this - I'd hate to end up building the worls most expensive winter hack!

 

[PatrickPending]

Once you've got all the bits it only takes a few hours to build up a bike - I similarly built up a bike on a Ribble winter audax frame to use as my commuter - using parts from an Allez which developed a crack in the headtube. Tis a nice bike....

 

[potsy]

Once you've got all the bits it only takes a few hours to build up a bike - I similarly built up a bike on a Ribble winter audax frame to use as my commuter - using parts from an Allez which developed a crack in the headtube. Tis a nice bike....

I've had an idea to do this too, though using parts from my Secteur.
How easy was the whole process PP?

 

[PatrickPending]

I've had an idea to do this too, though using parts from my Secteur.
How easy was the whole process PP?

Pretty easy - I think the hardest bit is getting stuff off the old frame - mind you I put a new bottom bracket, chainset, and of course headset on the new bike/frame, but it was all done in 2-3 hours. 3rd bike Ive built so far......

 

[Cubist]

See my bike building thread in MountainBiking. About five hours in total plus another hour cutting the brake hoses and bleeding them, half an hour to fit them. That included lots of tea breaks and a stop for lunch.