Originally Posted by
PiLigand
Hey all.
I've got an old steel frame that I may be looking to build up into something worth riding sometime soon. Before any of that happens I would plan to sand and repaint it, spread the back end, and get a whole new set of components. Since this is really just a fun project, I'm just looking to do it cheaply (ie cheap wheels, older/used cassette, rings, crank, BB, and microShift to see how that goes.) Granted it's summer right now in the states, but given how much free time I'd have and how long I'd expect this to take, I don't plan to have it done by the end of this season.
That being said, I'm not blessed with an overabundance of spare cash and before I tackle this, I want to price it out. Right now it looks like I could do it for about $550 (USD) which is kind of acceptable. Though it doesn't account for much going wrong. But since I've only just jumped into this recently, I've never priced parts in the predominant winter months. Do components like that (eg 105 cassettes and chains) tend to be any cheaper in the winter, or is it a mixed bag the whole way through?
Thanks for any input you may have. I'd appreciate it.
Also if I've missed something and this has been asked before, feel free to point me to the thread and that will suffice. Take care, all!
Based on what little you posted I'd caution you to see if the frame is worth fixing up. It's one thing if you have a bike that is somewhat compatible - English BB, short reach brakes, some normal kind of seat post diameter. I'm assuming 1" steerer so you'll probably need to stick with a quill stem, although there are 1" threadless forks and all 1 1/8" stems work with such forks with a spacer that used to be included with every stem purchase (so lots of people have these unused spacers laying around).
Depending on where in ME you live you may be able to visit local shops for various things - said 1" threadless adapter (and maybe even a reasonable fork), quill stems, bars, saddle, post, etc. A lot of shops will have "take-off" parts, stuff they removed in either new or lightly-used condition, stuff that can still work for years and years. Usually it's fit or less/non-wear related, so bars, stem, post, brake calipers, maybe cranks.
Finally a donor bike might make sense. If you have some basic knowledge on bikes you may be able to get a bike to strip down, with a modern drivetrain, wheels, etc. I was seriously contemplating this for my beater mtb - I could get a bike that was too large and use most of the components on my current mtb. I could then sell the frame/fork set up to make some of my money back. I never did this because it's truly a beater bike, but that's a thought. For you it would open up some options - buying a bike that's too big isn't a problem if the wheels, crank length, drivetrain, and you can use some of the other stuff.
Based on friends/family that live in ME (Camden, Alna, Kingston) there are shops out there with pretty good stock of older/take-off parts.
Hope this helps
cdr