djSlvt

I bought my first bike at 26. Kind of cost me half an arm. It's alright, looks pretty, rides pretty good, is pretty fast. But I'm not satisfied with it, front derailer is tiagra and shifts crappy.


Now that I get to maintain it, the whole thing is just way to simple. My next ride, such as if I decide to race, I build my self. Should be cheaper..


You buy frame and fork, and right there you got a bike. The rest is just adding components, and there you can go with best bang for the buck and have what you want. It looks expensive when you throw in retail prices, but go on eBay and flea market, and you can build a nice bike, the one you really want..


The one I really want cost 2 grand, and it's not even a brand name. Motobecane, made in taiwan. Which is nothing wrong with. Full carbon, highest end shimano, nice wheels. Except I want it in 30 speeds, not 20..


I have a same pet peeve with cars. Give me optioned out Saleen I still want more.

linux_author

- yep, i have 'em all: AL, Ti, Steel, and CF... costs ranged from $500 to nearly $3K...

- and my favorite? a 20-year-old hybrid i bought for $100 from a pawn shop...

- go figure...

cyccommute 

If I've said this once, I've said it a million times: Building a bike from parts is fun and rewarding...it is seldom cheap! Yes, you can go to Fleabay and get parts...maybe. What happens when you are down to that last crucial component, you find it on Fleabay and you get sniped? Then you wait...and wait...and wait. During all that waiting, what are you doing for a bike?

If you want an exercise in pricing, take that Motobecane. Break down all of the components and go searching all around the web for the cheapest price. You could even make a spreadsheet for it. Don't forget the little stuff either, like cables, chains, bar wrap, etc. Get the prices, add them up and don't forget to add in shipping charges (I figure around 7% of the cost of the part). Once you got the price all figured, I'll bet you that the full bike is cheaper...perhaps by hundreds of dollars.

djSlvt

Perhaps that is true when building a cheap bike. Such as listed in my sig. However, if you going for a bike that would retail in 2 or more grand, it's well worth it.


Handle bars come pre assembled, you might even pick up bars with shifters and brake levers attached. I mean basic parts, stem, bars with levers, fork + frame + everything that goes with it, hubs, wheels, tires, crank, rear gears, dérailleurs, breaks..


If I break apart my bike list of components would hardly exceed 30 different parts.




Just think about it. The most expensive parts on a bike are: wheels, frame and fork, drive train, and sit. So if you able to swing it so that you spend only $500 on those, and you are building bike comparable to thousands of dollars, it's a good thing.


Another thing that's good is that you're getting what you want, in just the right color. It's like Dell vs something you made yourself.

cyccommute 

You've got it exactly backwards. You might be able to build a cheap bike from parts and come in just about the same price as a bike on the showroom floor, especially if you buy parts at a flea market or Fleabay, but why bother?

A more expensive bike uses more expensive parts which have more value and thus the parts manufacturers cut their prices to the bike manufacturers more.

What, exactly, do you mean by handlebars come pre-assembled? Some handlebars are integrated with the stem and bar being one piece but those are hardly budget parts. Most handlebars consists of the stem and [edit: handlebar] which are assembled - and purchased - separately. As for get the shifters and levers on the bars, I doubt if you would find that in any shop unless they happen to take them off another bike. It's a rare occurrence and hardly something to count on.

And, yes, I was talking about basic parts too. Depending on how you count them, there are a few over 30 different parts but each of those (with the exception of bar tape and water bottle cages) is absolutely necessary to get the bike on the road.


You are correct in the most expensive parts (the order is a little wrong) but the cost is way off. You aren't going to get a bike comparable to a $2000 bike for $500 in parts- including the frame . It just ain't gonna happen. I've done this before more then once. Even if you take out the $900 frame/fork on my last bike, the rest of the stuff added up to $1500 and that was using some old parts and some new ones. And it doesn't figure the shipping and taxes on the parts which add another $100 to $150.

I'm not saying that you shouldn't do it. I never have, never will. But like building your own computer, you don't do it to save money but to get something that you can say "I built this!"

Like I said before, take a complete bike and price out all the parts (you have in include all the little stuff too, like cables, housing, chains, bar tape, etc.), you'll see that you can't build it for less than you can buy it off the showroom floor.

skiahh

Of course he can!! This is the guy who can give a woman an orgasm just by looking at her.

Can ride 40MPH (in the ring) - oops, that's 22 - and beat up old men.

Building a high end bike for low end prices is child's play for this pimp. And, of course, putting it all together will be instinctive with his bare hands; no tools required!

Siu Blue Wind

My new bike I got for cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep! And I don't have to do anything except to put on the pedals, the bars and the front wheel.