Mountain Biking - Buying a new custom bike

In five weeks, I'm going to have about $700 that I'll be able to spend all on a bike. This will be my first custom bike, so I know pretty much nothing on what brands I should get. I know that most of you advise new bike owners to get non high quality gear for their bikes, but I want this bike to last for a long time. Obviously I'll need a high quality frame, but what else should I worry about for quality. I'd also like to have DS, hydraulic brakes, and disc brakes, but would that be stretching it with $700?

I'm more of a casual rider. I want a multi purpose bike that will do well on both dirt and pavement. I'll probably be using it more on pavement.

Oh yeah, I'm going to buy the parts from my local bike shop and just build the bike by myself since they charge $50 and hour, so you don't need to add in the cost of service.

You cannot get a custom bike for $700, unless someone named Bubba is ripping out their plumbing to fabricate the frame.

First off, building a bike is usually more expensive than buying one new and preassembled. You won't be able to get full suspension let alone hydraulics for $700. If you plan on spending most of your time on the pavement, a commuter/hybrid would probably be a better route for you. For $700, you could probably get an entry-level to halfway decent bike. Just stop into that bike shop you were planning on buying parts from, tell them your budget and what you plan to do with the bike, and they'll be able to help you a lot more than we can.

P.S., if you're going to be stubborn and buy the parts and build a bike by yourself anyway, don't buy parts from the LBS unless you know you can get a great discount from them.. most parts can be found online much cheaper. My favorite sites are www.jensonusa.com and www.pricepoint.com. If you build a bike, you'll also need specialized tools, which aren't cheap.

...and someone knows how to spot Bubbas.

http://www.petefagerlin.com/images/FFTF/3/jd_car2.jpg
my old truck!



:p

Colorado is southern now??

Colorado is southern now??

Apparently by the Grace of God, it is.

I usually just look for the CB antenna to spot other bubbas.

then again you could always get lucky and find a custom bike someone else put together, thats what i did...try www.craigslist.com and find your city, then look under Bikes. this is what i picked up used very lightly for 800$ canadian, the guy had to move to another country for work:

18” Sandvik Titanium Frame—double-butted
XTR Shimano rear derailleur—Deore front
SRAM Gripshift Rocket shifters 8-speed
Hope 8” front hydraulic mini disc brake--wavy
Proshift Rear caliper brake
Manitou Supernova Fork—carbon fibre stanchions
King Sealed Headset
Mavic D321 disc front rim
DT Swiss Hugi FR front axle—bolt-on type
Kore Elite stem
RaceFace Next LP Carbon cranks + spider
Raceface Seat Stem
Avocet O2 seat (carbon fibre)
Mosquito 2.3 tires front and rear
Mavic 231 CD rear rim
Easton Monkey Elite CT2 carbon fibre bars
Axiom platform pedals

Okay what if it's a hardtail with non hydraulic disc brakes?

yeah you could probably find a bunch on complete rides for around 700CND w/ mechanical disks. but you will be sacrificing quality in other areas of your bike in order to get disks. really, its a better idea to get a good set of v's at that price point.

A bike shop near me has a last year model of the Giant Rainier going for $500 right now. A Deore drivetrain with Avid BB5 mech disc brakes. That's a pretty decent entry level bike that can be ridden on the pavement so long as you swap out the knobbies.
Maybe you have a bike shop local to you with a somewhat same type of deal for one of their older bikes.
But seriously, if this thing is going to be spending more time on the pavement than the trails save yourself some money and pain by avoiding the cheaper bikes with full suspension. A suspension fork isn't all *that* bad on the pavement but a FS for road cruising is a waste of money, pedaling energy, and money. (did I say money twice??)

I have a Rainier from a few years back and used it for a 25 mile round trip commute for well over 6000 miles and it rode fine and held up great. Now that I built a commuter it's my trail bike and suits me just fine for the type of trails I ride. You might find that you are shooting for the moon with your part choice just for braging rights and the cool bling factor of FS and juicy disc brakes. $700 is a good deal of cash, so think hard on how you spend it and just *why* you are wanting the components you mentioned. Spending alot of money just to impress others is... well...

yeah you could probably find a bunch on complete rides for around 700CND w/ mechanical disks. but you will be sacrificing quality in other areas of your bike in order to get disks. really, its a better idea to get a good set of v's at that price point.


Not true. You can get a fine bike with BB7s and good components for that pice.

Spending alot of money just to impress others is...

...exactly what you should do.

then again you could always get lucky and find a custom bike someone else put together, thats what i did...try www.craigslist.com and find your city, then look under Bikes. this is what i picked up used very lightly for 800$ canadian, the guy had to move to another country for work:

This is exactly what I did. The cost of a new Ted Wojcik frame was a tough pill to swallow but an older frame with a host of good components popped up on the local craigslist and I jumped on it.

I think you should get a kaitai. Its perfect for you.
http://www.fisherbikes.com/images/bikes2007/bikes_large/kaitai.jpg
Lager pic http://www.fisherbikes.com/images/bikes2007/walls/kaitai.jpg
Specs http://www.fisherbikes.com/bikes/bike_detail.asp?series=dualsport&bike=Kaitai

Not true. You can get a fine bike with BB7s and good components for that pice.

maybe where you live, but here it takes much more than that to land a nice ride. a cannondale f4, bb7's and sram X7 is going to run you well over 1000, and the cheapest you can go while still getting avid bb5s and the cheapest rock shox fork is 800 bucks. even then, the rest of the bike sucks nuts.

...and someone knows how to spot Bubbas.

http://www.petefagerlin.com/images/FFTF/3/jd_car2.jpg

Friggin' banjo players!