CycleTrick

I live in Dhaka, Bangladesh and I am a total newbie in terms of bikes and I only ride for commute and recreation.

I am planning to build a road bike with the minimum cost possible--read less than $200. I understand that self-build and cheap dont work together; still it might be possible to cut costs somewhere. By building I mean, buying a used bike or components and swapping out parts; not totally from the ground up.


Any article suggestions that is geared for newbies?

Retro Grouch 

I used to comb my neighborhood looking for trashed or unwanted bikes. There's a lot of wisdom in knowing what to save and what to throw away. Front wheels are a dime a dozen and usually have a still usable tire. Still functional rear wheels are relatively rare. Never throw away brake parts, all those little fiddly cable fittings have a way of becoming useful. A crummy frame that's the right size is more fun to ride than a lot nicer frame that's too big or too small.

Just do it. You'll learn what you need as you go but you'll never learn it all.