Wits_Of_Fury

I'm fairly new to road biking, but now I want to build myself a commuter bike to take over most of my traveling. I don't have excessively long commutes. Work is 5 miles round trip. School will be the longest, 35 miles round trip. So many different options to choose, but these are the parameters I want:

Road setup (drop bars, <35mm tires, 105)
Disc brakes
Rack/Panniers (mostly carrying school books, 10-20 lbs)
Fenders

I've looked at several cross frames that may suit me well. Soma DC, Nashbar CX, and the Motobecane Fantom Outlaw are the ones that stood out most. Anyone have suggestions? I'll likely be posting questions often once I really get into the thick of things, as I will also be learning bike building by the seat of my pants along the way.

MijnWraak

2012 Disc Brake Long Haul Trucker.

Schwinnrider

What's your budget? That's critical.

commo_soulja

For reals... building a bike from frame and components is gonna cost more than buying a complete bike but in the end more satisfying and you get the bike you really want. The Fantom Outlaw is a decent spec'd completed bike for what you're looking for. Just add fenders, rack and pannier and go riding. Pretty much turn key whereas a frame up build will take time and money.

Will you be riding year round? Get a aluminum frame or framesaver/T-9 the hell outta the frame before you slap parts on.

Wits_Of_Fury

Ah yes, the budget. When I bought my road bike a few months back, my budget began rather fluid as I test rode and decided what I wanted. I would say this time around, my budget is tentatively in the $1000-1200 range. I realize that this method is more costly and time-consuming. The plan, however, was to build it slowly over the winter and get exactly what I want. I'm also wanting to build for the purpose of learning how to do essentially everything related to building/maintaining/swapping parts. For the right price, I might buy lightly used parts to cut cost here and there.

Does chromoly rust? I used to have a cromo Rincon for about 12 years and I never remember it rusting a bit. I would use the bike for fair weather and as much as possible during the winter. Problem with that is, here in Oklahoma we don't get much snow. Just ice storms.

Henry III

It's not the outside the framesaver is for but the inside. I have to do this for my new Salsa Vaya which will be my new do-all bike...40 mile round trip commuter, kid hauler, etc. It has pretty much everything your looking for but for slightly more($1500). I was checking out the Cross Check and the Long Haul Trucker but liked the 26" wheels offer on my sized frame plus the sloping top tube.

Now for building something up yourself doesn't have to expensive also. Does your area have a larger bike community or larger bike section in CL? Also don't forget if you plan on building it yourself you'll be needing some specific tools to install the bottom bracket, headset(debatable), cassette on your hub, chainbreaker, torx bits for the rotors sometimes. Though you can buy a tool kit from nasbar for just around 100 and it has pretty much everything you'll need.

As for a frame with disc mount I would also check out the Nasbar steel or aluminum cx frames.

tsl

Is that for the frame, frameset (frame, fork and headset), or total build?

Cyclaholic

You beat me to it.

It's no show pony, but it's the best machine if you need a do-all bike that can haul heavy loads, take rough/unsealed roads with rock solid stability, and eat up miles day in day out with total reliability and comfort. I'm thinking about building another one with disc brakes.

Wits_Of_Fury

The budget is for the total bike, though I'm likely to increase it to get exactly what I want. My local CL is not great, parts show up at a decent price sporadically. I'm still kicking myself not jumping on some unused 105 5600 parts some guy was selling individually for cheap. The bike community is decent, so I might be able to ask around and find some good deals. tsl, I saw your Trek Portland equipped with what looked like an aftermarket disc fork. Trek's website is showing disc brakes stock, though the bike is currently above my budget. How does that one work out for you?

The LHT looks like it would be a good fit, too. Unfortunately I won't be likely to get a used 2012 frameset for a while.

slcbob

Get the LHT new. Skimp on the components, or save by buying a donor bike from BikesDirect or Craigslist or last year's blowout model just be sure that most of the items are the right size. Ebay or CL the excess, and scavenge to fill the gaps. That's half the fun.

fietsbob

You could just get a Redline Conquest Classic, now , and alter the component pick to suit your Whim.
Built bike .. save Money..

Unless you take the wise choice of something like a Drum brake IG hub,
and spare your self the more costly cassette replacement costs ongoing.

Tubus/rack-It and Ortlieb, etc. Roll closure Dry Panniers..

then a Horizontal dropout CL frame and a Rebuild with new headset and Drive train might be OK

Sturmey Archer Drum brake /dynamo front hub won't need a special fork.
offer a very non grabby stop too, in any weather.

interested

I prefer to build my own bikes from scratch so I can have them exactly like I want. One big advantage of doing so, is that it also gives you the knowledge, the tools, and the confidence to do all future maintenance on the bike.

In my experience costs may spiral out of control if you don't plan carefully. Lots of small costs end up adding up to a lot, and remember you need tools too. The best plan is to make document/spreadsheet that lists all the parts you want, including small things like saddle clamp, the plastic chain stay protector, head set, star nut/carbon expander, inner tube, reflectors, pedals etc. etc.

Also list every tool you need to use to install the exact bike parts that you want. That means going through all the documentation on the manufacturers site, or Park Tool's site or similar. Besides the more bike specific tools like crank puller and cable cutter, you also need more general tools like a a hacksaw to shorten the fork stem etc.

Consider what you want to do yourselves and what makes sense to outsource to the LBS. The often most difficult and tool and knowledge intensive thing to assemble on a bike, is the fork and headset. It may be cheaper to let the LBS install it, or buy a "frame kit" that comes semi assembled with fork and head set, instead of a "raw" frame. You also need to judge whether the bottom bracket need "chasing and facing".

Also check out which vendors you want to use. If you pay shipping, you can cripple your budget by making ten different orders, so know what to buy at which vendors, and group your orders in order to minimize costs.

Don't go overboard and blow your budget on a Campagnolo or Park Tool shop quality head set press when cheaper alternatives exist for something you will need extremely rarely. But don't skimp too much either.

Take a decision on wether you want tools like the cassette puller with integrated handles or you want to use a crescent wrench, ratchet, or perhaps even a torque wrench to fasten and loosen things.

When it comes to frames, please notice how wide the rear stay is. 135 mm or the bastard 132.5 mm standard are likely to be a better choice for you than 130 mm.; there way are more 135 mm wheels and hubs for disc brakes than for 130 mm. Wider rims may also be and advantage if you insist on +35 mm tires.

Again, check reviews and documentation; eg. the Nashbar CX frame has (or used to have) problems with modern 52/39 road cranks. When it comes to geometry, you are probably better off with a CX bikes that has touring/road bike geometry (like the Nashbar CX) than an aggressive CX geometry with steep seat post angle, short top tube and high BB.

All in all, if you don't make a good list of researched parts and a budget for everything, you are likely to get way above your present budget, and perhaps even with incompatible or less than perfect parts.

Wits_Of_Fury

All great advice. This forums has already been of much help, and I haven't even begun! This commuter is going to be my winter project, and it looks like I have a lot of reading and learning to do before I even pick out any specific parts.

These are two of the primary reasons I'm electing to build it myself.

Is there any resource online that has a general list of all parts and tools needed to build a bike from scratch?

Cyclaholic

Don't waste money on a headset press, make one with a bit of threaded rod, 2 nuts, 2 washers.

Terry66

I think my LBS charged me $10 to press in my headset. I did everything else myself....

As far as what frame? Easy, the best and most versatile frame on the market is the Salsa Vaya....and it just so happens it has disk brakes. Seriously, the "best" depends on what fits your needs, but I have had a couple different hybrid style bikes, I have had a CrossCheck....the Vaya is just flat out the best bike I have owned.