Originally Posted by
jhawk
Though I realise that I cannot indefinitely keep converting this MTB into a tourer, I've toyed with the idea of building my own touring bike. I'm no professional bike mechanic - very, very amateur in fact. But, I suppose that would be part of the experience. However, it might be one bloody expensive endeavour.
Any thoughts from all of you out there who build them yourselves?
I've built five bikes up from the frame over the past five years: one full-suspension mountain bike, one rigid mountain bike, two road bikes, and one touring bike. Here's what I'll say about the process of building a bike up from a bare frame versus buying a complete bike:
1) You're going to spend more money if you want new parts. If you're willing to take a chance on used parts or you already have a good supply of parts (say from a donor bike that you already own), then it's different. But if you're buying new no matter what bargain you find, you can be sure that Trek, Surly, et. al. are getting a
much better price because they're buying 10,000+ of the same component. All five of my builds have gone over-budget by at least US$100-200.
1a) If you're on a strict budget, you're could to end up with worse parts. This is a corollary to point
#1 : because you can't get as good a price as a bike manufacturer can, you may to be forced to choose less expensive components. They might still be adequate, but they probably won't be as good as what you'd get on a complete bike. This is the one area where being a good, and patient, bargain-hunter can make a
big difference. My bikes generally end up with slightly better components than their complete equivalent because I've found a great deal, was willing to buy last year's model, etc.
2) You're going to spend more time. Especially if you're on a budget and want new parts, you're going to have to spend quite a bit of time hunting for bargains. It generally takes me 1-2 months to acquire parts for a build at bargain prices.
3) You're going to need some mechanical know-how... and tools. Having to pay a mechanic $100-200 to install components on your frame is a good way to go over budget, or perhaps I should say: go even further over budget.
The upside to this whole process is that you'll know
every component on the bike intimately because you've selected and installed it yourself. This is worth quite a bit, especially if you're planning to ride solo on unsupported tours. It's also possible to tailor a bike to your specific needs. You can decide on the exact gearing, for example, or splurge a bit for super-reliable wheels. If you buy a complete bike, you're stuck with whatever components the manufacturer has chosen.