JackDaw

i'm looking to construct my own bike. i'm a thrillseeking teenager who loves to ride his bike fast but i also need it to be easy to use in a normal slow ride to school every morning. i'm currently 5"7 weighing around 60kg

i'm new to this forum and have never researched bikes before so i dont know any of the biking jargon or brands

the ride each morning is between 10 and 15minutes each way. i also often go on rides for an hour along the river on road with my friend who uses a racing bike. i'm looking for something that would be easily usable in this situation aswell. i need the bike to be easy to use for going up long and steep hills so a light bike with low gear possibilites would be useful.

any recomendations on parts i should try and purchase? and their approximate cost? my budget is rather low(around 160€ a month) and so i'm looking to build this over time by saving up.

i would like it to have:

light frame(carbon is out of my price range??)
front and middle shocks
brake disks
trigger gear system(not rapid fire)
21 or 27 speed gears

i already have continental treaded tyres and an old set of road tyres on my current bike that i can easily transfer if the rim size is the same. running on a 26inch rim i believe

Nightshade

You'll find that the more you learn about bikes the less you'll want
to build from the ground up at first. You'll learn that re-habbing
several older bikes is a great way to get hands on knowledge of
what maks a good bike and what components you'll need.

So get out there and fix up a few older bikes.

geo8rge

Get a job at a local bicycle shop. The employee discount and advice will be worth it.

JackDaw

tightwad - do you mean buying old bikes, doing them up then selling them??? like a little buisness?

geo8rge - thanks for the advice! i'll keep that in mind.

Nightshade

Selling them.......NO!! Not at first. The reason is that should a customer get hurt when a bike fails
YOU will be responsible. IF, just IF, you get good at bike repair then that would be a very good public
service to provide to the less fortunate functioning bikes that are both quality,affordable and in good
repair. A fella might make a fair bit of change re-habbing older bikes, mate.

What I ment was for you to 'fix' a few older bikes for yourself to learn (and screwup) on to give you
the knowledge base to build a proper bike for yourself as you want to.

JackDaw

ah. ok i understand now. but then what do i do with these bikes afterwards?? keep them for spare parts??

diff_lock2

Ride them.

JackDaw

lol i already ride wuite a old bike. an early 1990s rockhopper. had to fix iit up a bit so i've had a bit of early practice. i'm a master at tires and now i can also replace brakes. also learned how to change the gear mechanism with my dad the other day

roughrider504

Go older. Get a older road bike [70's is good] and take it down to the frame and rebuild it. Replace what is broken or worn, and you will have a bike that is good as new. What is good about old bikes, is there cheap to buy. They are not exactly slow, as you might think, either.

JackDaw

thanks. how much shuld i expect to spend on an old bike?? just so i know if i'd be spending to much

Sammyboy

Depends where you are. In some parts of the US, you can pick up a decent old road bike for $10, other places, it's hard to find one at all under $200!

JackDaw

ah. but i'm located in Germany

Retro Grouch 

Just do it. Build up whatever you think that you want and can afford. Whatever mistakes you make along the way, consider that tuition in the school of bike knowledge.

If it was my bike I'd rethink the part about the front and rear shocks especially if you want to keep up with a friend on a raceing bike. But it's not my bike so you do what you think's best for you.

MichaelW

The style of bike you are looking for, quick on the road but also practical, is not very common in Germany. In the UK it would be a light touring bike (known as Audax) or an older style of road bike with plenty of room for wider tyres and some eyelets for frack and fenders.
In Germany, touring bikes tend to be heavier duty and less sporty.
Older non-suspension Rockhoppers are quite a versatile machine and can be made speedier with narrow tyres (1.25") and clip-on aerobars and perhaps a different set of gear ratios. It will be OK for everything short of competition racing.

JackDaw

ye i have been rethinking the shocks recently. it was more what i wanted than what would be practical. prob wont get them

i find that my rockhopper is quite fast. not sure what width i'm running on atm but they cant be much wider than 1.25"

Nightshade

We're not talking LOT'S of bikes mate just one or two. By the time you strip them down to nothing and
put them back together you should be smart enough to tackle that custom bike you want.

What to do with the older bikes you learn on?? If in good safe repair sell or donate them. If not in
good repair junk them.

JackDaw

thanks for the help!! already got an old bike now to take apart just have 2 find the time now

becnal

Where in Germany? I'm in Frankfurt.

I am always buying old bikes and fixing them up. I get them at the local flea-market (flohmarkt), on eBay, or at Polizei oder Verkehrgesellschaftversteigerungen. I never need to pay more than €10.

JackDaw

cool. i'm up in hamburg. about as far north as german cities go. i'm gonna start going around the flohmarkts in about a month as then i will have time to do so.

BlazingPedals

I'm in the process of building my own bike. By my definition, that means building the frame, too. Assembling one from an existing frame can be a lot of fun. The trouble is, I'm too picky and end up putting all new parts on the frame. That can end up costing more than a new bike, but at least you end up with the bike being built exactly to your specs.

JackDaw

ye. i plan on buying a frame to use. any good frames i should look out for?? i have thought about an early 1990s rockhopper frame as thats what i currently use and find it a brilliant frame

Nightshade

Instead of spending money for a new frame use ,if you buy a bike to learn on with great care, the
LUGGED STEEL frame as a starting point. Paint it as you will, use whatever components you want
to build the bike YOU want on a soild frame foundation. Please note that a new quality lugged steel
frame will add many $$$$$$$$ to the cost so use what you have instead.

JackDaw

any good examples of a lugged steel frame?? how heavy would it be?? would purcahsing a 2nd early 1990s rockhopper frame be a decent idea?? as the frame seems pretty good on the one i have

becnal

Lots of Hercules city bikes from the last 20 years are lugged steel frames. I got one you can have. I'm not using it.

Nightshade

I'm sorry mate, I can't comment since you say you are in Germany.
I know nothing of bikes sold in Europe.

You might google Lugged frames to see who built bikes with them and when along
with what makes up a quality Lugged frame so you know what to look for.