Originally Posted by
RollCNY
@
Maelochs, we clearly live in different worlds. My preferred stem is $14, preferred bar is $35, prefered tape is $9, and preferred saddle is $23. All of these are list prices of new items, from a mainstream retailer. If my bike budget was so tight that I could not put that $81 into my preferred contact points and aesthetics, I wouldn't be building a bike.
RollCNY , you clearly have not read the thread carefully.
My prefered saddle is $10, my CF seatpoast cost about $25, and I recommended bars at $11 (Nashbar returns.)
Still the stem on my Raleigh is black, and beautiful, and I think under $20. I could have gotten silver for $2 less, but black suits the build better. I would have Preffered if ti had been anodized blue, because I want the bike to be all in blue and steel, but no way I could find that at the price that made sense. So ... alittle compriomi9se.
The saddle is a black-and-white Nashbar R1 (returned) which I got for $12. It sits atop at $24 Kalloy alloy seatpost---cheapest I could find under 300 grams, and only about $2 more than the 350-gram model. Black. Again, anodized blue would have been perfect, but ... then I would have had to find a blue saddle and also brakes (which are black.) So ... an aesthetic compromise.
I think the finished bike is beautiful ... but I had to make some com,promises for cost.
Oh, the blue tape was (I think) $2.49 from Amazon.
Please, show me where I could have gotten a blue stem (80 mm, quill) and seatpost (26.4mm) and a blue saddle (220 grams for the R1, similar weight would be appreciated) for the money I spent, and I will make the bike look better.
I bought black brakes ... I had a set but only the front fit (in the rear) so I bought a black front brake. Blue would have been primo, but for $30, black was okay. Another compromise. Please source a set of dual-pivot rim brakes anodized blue for $30 and I will snap them up.
I am quite sure we live in different worlds, but that doesn't mean we don't share some perspectives. If, by chance, you found exactly perfectly the parts you wanted at excellent prices ... bravo! I mean that sincerely. This isn't a contest, or a You're right, I must be wrong" situation. if you built exactly the bike of your dreams for a tiny sum, I am very glad for you.
I built a bike which rides amazingly and looks awesome ... but had I unlimited funds, I would have tried some aesthetic changes. Maybe I wouldn't have liked them and changed them back, who knows? But for the $80 or so I spent on the cockpit and brakes ... I love my bike. I figure so long as I am grossly overweight, I am always the biggest compromise in the situation. However, i did have to make a few other compromises. Luckily, they seemed to be the smartest choices and I like the outcome very much.
This is post
#14 :
Originally Posted by
Maelochs
"Tires, bottle cages, pedals, seat, handlebars, tape etc $80 (Ribble)"
Tires $20 each --Continental Ultra Sport Folding Road Tire (Nashbar)
Cages, Blackburn Competition Bottle Cage 2x $5
Seat--Vader 104, $10, or Nashbar R1 Saddle Returned, $12
Tape, $3 maybe off Ebay
Cables, maybe $12 (Ebay also)
Pedals $20 Forté ATB Comp Pedals (Performance Bike)
Handlebars $12 Nashbar returns--I forget the details, but I saw them and they looked decent
Shop the close-outs and returns pages wherever, and you can save a bunch of money on good stuff. Otherwise, Ebay and Amazon and patience ...
None of this stuff is suited for a lightweight, hi-tech, high-dollar frame, but for a just-ride-it bike which won't weigh a ton and won't break, these are all fine parts.