MsMittens

Hey everyone,

I'm looking at getting a bike custom built for touring. I'm going to get the frame custom made and then add the components. The shop that I was thinking of dealing with quoted me $1500CDN for the Shimano XT components (this is just the components; frame is seperate as is build costs). Does this sound right? It strikes me as high but I could be wrong.

Also what is a responsible price for wheel builds?

Retro Grouch 

$1500 CDN. How much is that in real money?

Frankly, that sounds to me to be on the high side even considering the exchange rate. You have to be careful with build kits, however, to know exactly what you are getting. That can impact the initial price quite a bit but save you in the long run by not wanting to replace stuff later. Buying a frame and build kit will usually result in a higher cost than buying a stock bike with equivlent components. You might be able to save some money by buying the components individually, but be sure that everything is the right size and works together and beware of coming down to the end and having to buy stuff like rim tape and a front derailleur for full LBS list. Sometimes you can even save some money by buying a whole new bike, transferring the components, and selling off the frame for whatever you can get.

For what it's worth, I'd charge you a dollar a spoke labor for wheel building - $32.00USD for a 32 spoke wheel. As near as I can tell, that's a pretty average price for a local shop. Honestly, you can buy decent pre-built wheels for what I have to pay for just the components.

Grasschopper

Disc or linear pull? What all does that include? Excel Sports has a XT build kit for $1357 usd which includes:
Ritchey Logic Headset
Crankset / BB
Shifters / Brake Levers
Front Derailleur
Rear Derailleur
Ritchey Pro Seatpost
Flite Ti Saddle
Disc Brakes front and rear
Hubset
Ritchey Comp Handlebar
Ritchey Comp Stem
Ritchey Grips
Cogset
Chain
Mavic 717 Silver Rims
DT 14/15g Spokes
Ritchey Wire beadTires

MsMittens

Well it wasn't disc brake. I had asked for a quote on Shimano XT Group set. Perhaps that's what they meant (more than just the Shimano..). Guess I'll need to get more details then.

Grasschopper

Well the non disc kit is $301 less than the price I posted above. Also that is considered a build kit and not a group, typically a group is less as it doesn't contain all the parts you will need to finish the bike.

Here is another build kit based on discs.

roadfix

I purchased a few non-current year XT components from Nashbar at huge discounts, including last year's new XT rapidshifters/levers for only $85. Current XT's single most expensive component seem to be their splined crankset which I don't care for. I found an almost new XT square tapered crankset (44/32/22) on Ebay for $70. Excluding hubs, (new XT hubs are good & inexpensive) I spend under $300 for my XT components. I bought a pre-built 32 spoke XT wheelset with Mavic 717 XC rims on sale for under $140. After using these wheels loaded for a while I checked and retentioned the spokes. These machine-built wheels seem to hold up well.

The rest of my components used to finish off my bike were an IRD rigid fork, Thompson stem, generic seatpost, FSA headset, Brooks saddle, NOS Scott mountain bars, & an Old Man Mountain rear rack.



George

MsMittens

Hrmm.. well I won't be getting the disc set so it won't matter. I'll be visiting the LBS today to get more clarification. Thanks for all the comments.

roadfix

Also......is your tourer going to be set up with mountain bars/shifters/levers or a road bar set up?

Maelstrom 

Keep in mind ms Mittens, usually in canada, we get ripped by norco. They tend to inflate prices to bring in parts from the states. Depending on who the shop buys from it is almost never worth it to buy from a lbs in canada (at least in bc and quebec)

MsMittens

Road bar setup (STI I think is the term). I'm rather a neophyte.


The catelogue he was using wasn't Norco. It was someone else. Anyways, we decided on using some mixes to keep costs down but still provide what I want. I can always upgrade later to full XT. One thing he did suggest was having QBP (?) build the bike using a "tour package" and then ship it. It would save about $500 overall. Might be a way to go for now..

MsMittens

Well, this just became a non-issue. The teaching contract I was supposed to have from Jan until end of March, whose earnings I was going to use to pay for the new bike, was cancelled.

*sob*

No new bike until late fall, maybe spring 2006. Sigh.

Never can win, eh?

Ah well...

J-McKech

Instead of starting a new thread. Do LBS get a discount when they buy a groupo for a custom bike. Like, do they have to pick out each individual componet or can they order a LX or XT group set and have it shipped with everything including stem, seatpost, seat and all that gear?