Miele Man

The shop I used to work at would tell customers that the difference between buying individual parts and buying a complete bcycle was that the steel frame (Columbus SL or similar) was free.

Price a complete groupset that's on a bicycle you like, get the prices for the other incidentals like saddle, bar tape, rin tape, tubes and tires and add them togther then compare that price to the price of the complete bike. unless it's a very expensive frame I think you'll see that the bicycle price is less than the sum of the components.

Cheers

dwmckee

Nothing wrong at all. I just think it is pretty hard to save money that way. Maybe if you spend a ton of time scouring ebay and other sources you can slowly score the parts you want and build it up, maybe even save a small amount. I have built 2 bikes this way myself by buying select deals, new bike takeoffs, etc and put together a couple of great rides. But it took a lot of time and in the end I was very happy with what I had built, but only saved nominally on what I would have spent for a pre assembled bike. The big advantage is you get exactly what you want... If you have a lot of spare parts at home and score used parts, you can get the cost down further, but that does not sound like the situation of the OP.

Maelochs

Personal experience shows me that even using Ebay and slightly used parts, unless you have an inside deal somewhere, most of the time you will be spending more to build from parts. I would argue that you would be getting more as well, but not in terms of cash in hand.

I have gotten some decent deals on Ebay but I have bought some stuff which didn't work as well ... like brifters which seemed fine upon first inspection but didn't work once they were wired up. Plus, no one wants to buy the bike with the leftover parts unless it is way cheaper than BikesDirect, where they get a new bike and at least some kind of warranty. So you have to sell your Frankenbike for way too little to get back the cash you laid out.

I have upgraded some bikes, and enjoyed the process, generally moving the older, cheaper parts downstream instead of trying to recoup my investment. As dwmckee says, you can build some good rides and have some fun doing it, and shopping for endless hours on Ebay can be fun ... like hunting for a rare wild animal which only appears every few weeks. (Well, some might find it fun.) But you won't really save much. Mostly you will get a decent bike for what it would cost to buy a decent bike.

If this sounds like fun to you, go for it. After all, bike building can be as fun a hobby as bike riding ... and you can do one after doing the other.

3alarmer 

Wrenchspinnerjr

Don't know if anyone said this yet. Why not buy a used bike, something with the frame and a few components you want and build from there? I'm seeing some really nice bikes for a steal.

rmfnla

It also depends what you want.

If you try to exactly replicate a bike your LBS has on the floor no, you will not be able to beat their price.

If you want something specific that is not readily available AND you shop the parts carefully then yes, you can do better by building your own...

mconlonx

If I was going to put together a "deal" of a bike with mostly similar parts to a Big Name Company, on a BNC frame, I would:
- source the frame somehow. Probably a CL deal or ebay.
- buy a BikesDirect bike with the parts spec which most closely matches the BNC model.
- swap the parts over.
- sell the BD frame to recoup some of that cost.

However. There would likely be inconsistencies in spec, like perhaps different bb or hs configurations. And the whole deal would probably require at least some replacement cable and housing, if not all. And this assumes your time is free, and/or paying someone to do the swap also does not push the whole deal over the cost of just buying the new bike.

And when it comes right down to it, differences in frame between a BNC model and the BD alternative are probably not anything I might notice enough to make the swap worth it, especially considering the effort of swapping parts over, so I'd probably just end up getting a BD bike with similar spec to the BNC bike I was considering.

FWIW, even if you work at a shop, it would still be more expensive to get an EP deal on frameset and parts than to just EP an entire bike.

dr_lha

I think in the USA it's cheaper to build a frameset up yourself than to have someone do it for you, because you're saving on labor costs, and you can buy your parts cheaply from Europe, which bikeshops and builders can't, and as others have alluded to, the cost of groupsets and other parts from Europe is often below the price of wholesale in the USA.

I think the biggest upsides of building a bike however are that it's fun and you get the exact spec that you want.

habilis

I was thinking along the same lines, but the OP hasn't been back since his original post to explain what his goals are. If he just wants the least expensive route to having a basic commuter bike, that's way different from a building a state-of-the-art custom bike that doesn't exist in a stock form. This thread shows how a Walmart bike can be turned into a decent ride without spending any money: https://www.bikeforums.net/singlespee...art-fixie.html. The main problem with those bikes isn't the quality of the parts, it's the hasty and improper assembly.

HillRider

All of this is true but it still comes down to the fact you can buy a complete bike for less than even your build technique. You don't get to "customize" each component but you get a complete, rideable bike for less money. That was the OP's original question and the simple and direct answer is "buy a complete bike".

dr_lha

Good point, well made. But if we stuck only to the OP's question, this thread should be two posts long.

HillRider

Yeah, but when have we ever let a simple direct answer end any thread?

Andy_K 

For the most part it is true that it is cheaper to buy a complete bike than to build one. However, there are limited circumstances under which building can be cheaper. It depends on what you're building. You have to shop around a bit and be willing to buy your components from European websites (read: take on warranty related risks). It also requires that you own all (or at least most of) the tools you'll need and know how to do the work.


Exhibit A: I built this bike for just over $2200.



It's got a full carbon frame and fork, mostly Ultegra groupset (the exception being the 105 triple crankset and front derailleur), a good wheelset and pretty nice auxiliary pieces (seatpost, stem, saddle, tires). What would this have cost as a complete bike? It's hard to say because no one was making a bike with this spec (carbon and triples tend not to appear together), but a carbon frame with an Ultegra groupset generally retails for around $3000. I probably could have bought something pretty close to this from Bikes Direct for about the same price, but it would have had a lower spec wheelset and house brand seatpost, stem and saddle.


Exhibit B: I built this bike for under $800, but I had some of the parts already. Counting what all the parts cost new it probably would have come to around $1350.



It's got a Reynolds 853 steel main triangle frame, carbon fork and a full 105 groupset (pictured with an FSA crank, but I've since replaced that with a 105 that was actually cheaper). Again, you can't buy this bike anywhere, but a bike with a 105 groupset and a generic steel or aluminum frame will generally start around $1500, and the 853 frame bumps the price even higher. Bikes Direct could beat this price but with a generic frame and a bunch of other parts I'd want to upgrade. The biggest caveats on my build are that the frame (being used) has some chips in the paint) and the fork has an threaded steerer (though that is not entirely a minus IMO) with a cheap generic headset.

RubeRad

Exhibit C: I built a CrossCheck with locally handbuilt wheels for less than MSRP, but I had a few parts already, and most of the parts were bought used off eBay over a couple months of careful shopping.

As everybody else already said, it's almost always cheaper to buy a complete bike.

ltxi

Inpd

See my thread in another forum https://www.bikeforums.net/road-cycli...kesdirect.html

The only trick is:

a) Get your stuff from the UK.

asmac

Exactly... it's not a big money saver but it is fun.

And even if I get a deal on parts (i.e. the UK) there's a big temptation to get higher end components when building my own and it adds up.

dr_lha

...and make sure to buy a frame that is being sold for $800 below MSRP.

CrippledKonaBoy

In '07, I bought a frame, fork, wheels, and boxes of parts, and spent 8 wonderful (bitterly cold and snowy) days assembling my Jamis Dakar XLT 1.0.

By the time I got done buying and building, I'd invested the same amount of $$ as the MSRP of a Dakar XLT 2.0 -- same frame, different paint...and comparable parts. Jamis was a Shimano 'customer' at the time, and I wanted SRAM, Race Face, and Manitou.

I got the parts *I* wanted, level of quality was roughly equal, for about the same cost. Deep discounts for 2-y-o parts are wonderful.

XLT frame: 67% off
Nixon fork: 50% off
BB7 brakes, 185: 60% off
Race Face crank/BB: 35% off
SRAM X.9 drivetrain: 25% off
Sun wheels: 40% off.

cs1

@CrippledKonaBoy that was some smart shopping. Almost every bike I own I put together. Over the years I've assembled most of the tools you need with the exception reamer type tools. I don't do enough bikes to justify that kind of expenditure.

I do do it because I love the challenge. IMO there really isn't much of a savings over new. I really just love to put together things together.

Andy_K 

Yeah. I would never recommend that someone build a bike from parts to save money. I would, however, recommend that they build a bike from parts.

Besides getting to select exactly the components you wanted and the satisfaction of creating something, you get to know the bike at a deeper level. Having put a bike together from the frame up, you can be pretty confident that you know how everything works. I use the same arguments for why I build my own wheels -- they're a source of personal satisfaction and as a bonus I get free lifetime ride-along support from the wheelbuilder.

It's kind of an addiction though. Now anytime I buy I bike (especially a used bike) the first I do is think about what components would make it better. I don't mean upgrade-itis exactly, just trying to figure out the ideal set of components for a given bike (which might not be the flashiest components available). For instance, on my commuter I've kept the Tiagra drivetrain (so far), but I changed the tires and saddle almost immediately, the wheels and brakes went soon thereafter and after about a year I gave it a new fork and headset. Counting the original retail cost I've got nearly $2500 in this bike (I bought the bike and the upgrades locally). I also have a bunch of spare parts that I'm not using. It would definitely have been cheaper to build this in its current form from a bare frameset, but doing it the way I did I got to ride it as a work in progress and figure out what I wanted next by riding it.

Inpd

Ha! I was going to add that (hence my list) but I think that just confuses the issue.

Yes, my frame was obtained for $299 vs $1099 (retail) but I think BD don't use $1000 frames.

I'm curious if people know what a generic ALU or Steel frame cost. Nashbar have a 1750grams Cyclross Frame for $149 which I've been told is very good.

dr_lha

Well, the higher end BD steel bikes use Maxway frames which are good quality. Unfortunately there's not a good place to buy these frames. Shame that BD don't sell the Gran Premio as a Frameset.

As for cheap aluminum frames, I have a 105 based Cross bike I bought new for $630. The frame on it is better than that $150 Nashbar (for one the tubing is hydroformed), i think I'd have a hard job beating that price even with in inferior Nashbar frameset building myself.

cs1

it really is an addiction, one which I have not been able to kick!

Andy_K 

It does look like a decent frame.

The Gran Premio builds also illustrates the problem with comparing the cost of a self-build to a BD build. For instance, the Gran Premio Comp at $799 is the bike I would compare to my Buenos Aires build pictured above. It has a steel frame and a 5700-series 105 triple drivetrain, just like the one I built, but...

The Gran Premio comes with:

-A low end crankset with cartridge bottom bracket (FSA Vero)
-A low end wheelset (Mavic CXP22 rims, Claris hubs, straight gauge spokes)
-Mid/Low end tires (Conti Ultra Sport)
-Very basic pedals
-Unbranded or house brand stem, headset, seatpost, saddle

All of these are perfectly functional and there really wouldn't be any reason to replace them (except possibly the saddle, pedals and tires). They are just things to look at when deciding whether or not you can build the same bike just as cheaply. If you would use these parts in your build, you probably won't be able to build it as cheaply because (A) you don't have a 'house brand' and (B) low end parts can't be found as deeply discounted as higher end parts. I generally view the saddle, tires and pedals to be throw away parts on any complete bike I buy, but if you see them that way then you can subtract the cost of those parts from your self-build budget for comparison purposes.

Then there is the frame. The Gran Premio has a Reynolds 520 frame, which is pretty decent. The fork is a bit of an unknown quantity (to me at least), but I'd guess it's OK. A lot of bikes from mainstream bike brands use frames that are at least nominally proprietary. Unless you are buying the frame from that bike brand it is really kind of sketchy to compare. The Ridley build I posted above used a discontinued frame that I got deeply discounted as a previous model year closeout, and I built it with a set of components that Ridley doesn't offer. What would I compare that to? Could I compare my build to a Specialized Roubaix with a similar part spec? Who knows? The term "carbon frame" doesn't really provide enough information. Even within the Ridley product line I believe there were two different carbon frames that were at a higher spec level than mine.

That's where this discussion gets really simple (as indicated by the chorus of initial answers). Can you buy a frameset from a mainstream brand (sometimes possible) and build a bike with the same spec they offer as a complete bike and do it at a lower price? I don't think this is possible no matter where you source your components.