Novice considering first bike build
09-21-06, 09:35 AM
#1
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Novice considering first bike build
I'm thinking about taking the plunge into this wonderful world and wanted to gather any advice and suggestions you might have. Especially regards saving on the budget. It's quite off putting at the moment 
My mechanical level: I'm comfortable swapping cassette between wheels, installing new fork, chain, generally keeping the bike rideable (brake adjustments etc).
Budget.
Bike:
Surly Cross Check 50cm Black (400 EUR)
Shimano 105 9sp Groupset (401.48 EUR) or Shimano 105 10sp Groupset (475.83 EUR)
Easton EA50 Ergo-Bend Road Bar - 2005 (34.19 EUR)
Ritchey Road Stem Pro (37.16 EUR)
Cinelli Reflective Bar Tape (20 EUR)
Tioga O-Bone 6061 Seatpost 27.2mm 350mm Black (22.29 EUR)
Fizik Poggio Twin Tech Titanium Black - Yellow (59.47 EUR)
Egg Beaters Carbon Steel Body / Wing - Black (59.47 EUR)
Wheels:
I'm a 200 lb guy so something beefy. Have no problem having a go at building myself. Was looking at Mavic rims, DT Swiss SS spokes and not sure regards hub, maybe stick to 105.
Mavic A917/Open Pro Road/CXP22 (lets budget 60 EUR)
Shimano 105 5501 9sp Rear Hub (47.57 EUR)
Shimano 105 5501 Front Hub (26.69 EUR)
Specialized Butyl Lightweight 700 x 28 / 38C Schrader x2 (8.89 EUR)
Velox Rim Tape Cloth 16mm (6 EUR)
DT Swiss Competition Stainless DB Spokes (need correct ones but will do for pricing) (29.73 EUR)
Tools:
Park Tool Portable Wheel Dishing Guage (32.70 EUR)
Park Tool Home Wheel Truing Stand (123.41 EUR)
Park Tool Home Mechanic PCS10 Repair Stand (148.69 EUR)
That lot comes to about 1600 euros or $2000 USD. And I didn't included tyres or skewers. Am I missing anything else? Is there something you think is crazy? Where I can cut the budget? I was looking at:
Shimano Tiagra 9sp Groupset saves 100 EUR
Dropping wheel tools & components swapping for prebuilt wheels - probably save 50 EUR
Saddle - something less flashy save 30 EUR
The other side of the coin is LBS offered me a Cross Check frame and fork, 500 EUR, built up with Tiagra (no wheels) 850 EUR.
So right now I'm trying to balance: effort and time and lots of cash versus no effort, not too long a wait, and not so much cash. But I won't have built it myself... All comments and suggestions welcome!
My mechanical level: I'm comfortable swapping cassette between wheels, installing new fork, chain, generally keeping the bike rideable (brake adjustments etc).
Budget.
Bike:
Surly Cross Check 50cm Black (400 EUR)
Shimano 105 9sp Groupset (401.48 EUR) or Shimano 105 10sp Groupset (475.83 EUR)
Easton EA50 Ergo-Bend Road Bar - 2005 (34.19 EUR)
Ritchey Road Stem Pro (37.16 EUR)
Cinelli Reflective Bar Tape (20 EUR)
Tioga O-Bone 6061 Seatpost 27.2mm 350mm Black (22.29 EUR)
Fizik Poggio Twin Tech Titanium Black - Yellow (59.47 EUR)
Egg Beaters Carbon Steel Body / Wing - Black (59.47 EUR)
Wheels:
I'm a 200 lb guy so something beefy. Have no problem having a go at building myself. Was looking at Mavic rims, DT Swiss SS spokes and not sure regards hub, maybe stick to 105.
Mavic A917/Open Pro Road/CXP22 (lets budget 60 EUR)
Shimano 105 5501 9sp Rear Hub (47.57 EUR)
Shimano 105 5501 Front Hub (26.69 EUR)
Specialized Butyl Lightweight 700 x 28 / 38C Schrader x2 (8.89 EUR)
Velox Rim Tape Cloth 16mm (6 EUR)
DT Swiss Competition Stainless DB Spokes (need correct ones but will do for pricing) (29.73 EUR)
Tools:
Park Tool Portable Wheel Dishing Guage (32.70 EUR)
Park Tool Home Wheel Truing Stand (123.41 EUR)
Park Tool Home Mechanic PCS10 Repair Stand (148.69 EUR)
That lot comes to about 1600 euros or $2000 USD. And I didn't included tyres or skewers. Am I missing anything else? Is there something you think is crazy? Where I can cut the budget? I was looking at:
Shimano Tiagra 9sp Groupset saves 100 EUR
Dropping wheel tools & components swapping for prebuilt wheels - probably save 50 EUR
Saddle - something less flashy save 30 EUR
The other side of the coin is LBS offered me a Cross Check frame and fork, 500 EUR, built up with Tiagra (no wheels) 850 EUR.
So right now I'm trying to balance: effort and time and lots of cash versus no effort, not too long a wait, and not so much cash. But I won't have built it myself... All comments and suggestions welcome!
09-21-06, 09:55 AM
#2
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If you really have the patience, i'd try building the wheels yourself. The one off cost of buying all the necessary tools and stands to do this however is going to be a lot (you forgot a tensionmeter). It will also take you a long time to build those wheels purely because you've never done it before.
If you want to save some money, Tiagra will work just as well as 105, just not as blingy.
Budget wise, you'd be better off buying a bike complete than buying these components seperately. This is much more expensive unless you are hunting for deals on every component (which may also take a long time).
If you want to save some money, Tiagra will work just as well as 105, just not as blingy.
Budget wise, you'd be better off buying a bike complete than buying these components seperately. This is much more expensive unless you are hunting for deals on every component (which may also take a long time).
09-21-06, 01:34 PM
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Interesting. I wonder how I can get a cheap bike kit (just parts and assembly instruction) so I can put it together myself. It would be fun. My college roommate had one like this when he was still in high school. He knows bikes inside and out ever since.
09-21-06, 02:54 PM
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I was thinking about buying a 2nd hand road bike with decent parts and selling on the frame on ebay or something.
Utah are putting me off the idea of wheelbuilding... https://www.utahmountainbiking.com/fix/tirelace.htm
Utah are putting me off the idea of wheelbuilding... https://www.utahmountainbiking.com/fix/tirelace.htm
09-22-06, 06:55 PM
#5
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Here's a complete budget breakdown (in readable format this time!)...
Self building
Surly CC frame, 105 groupset, all components including wheelset components, plus tools to build it all up: euro 1,614.63 (2,063.10 USD)
Self building budget option
Surly CC frame, Tiagra groupset, pre-built wheels, all other components plus Park Tools Work Stand: euro 1,281.60 (1,636.80 USD)
Off the shelf shop built
Surly CC frame, Tiagra groupset, pre-built wheels (estimate), all other components but no tools: euro 1,050.00 (1,341.64 USD)
The value of the reusable tools from the first and 2nd self build options is euro 379.34 and euro 148.69 respectively. Prices are mainly from Chain Reaction Cycles, except the frame from a bikecomponents.de. Prices include delivery to Dublin, Ireland. The only estimate I included is euro 200 for a complete wheelset (hubs, rim, spokes) from my bike shop.
Detailed breakdown: spreadsheet here (html format). Blog post here.
Self building
Surly CC frame, 105 groupset, all components including wheelset components, plus tools to build it all up: euro 1,614.63 (2,063.10 USD)
Self building budget option
Surly CC frame, Tiagra groupset, pre-built wheels, all other components plus Park Tools Work Stand: euro 1,281.60 (1,636.80 USD)
Off the shelf shop built
Surly CC frame, Tiagra groupset, pre-built wheels (estimate), all other components but no tools: euro 1,050.00 (1,341.64 USD)
The value of the reusable tools from the first and 2nd self build options is euro 379.34 and euro 148.69 respectively. Prices are mainly from Chain Reaction Cycles, except the frame from a bikecomponents.de. Prices include delivery to Dublin, Ireland. The only estimate I included is euro 200 for a complete wheelset (hubs, rim, spokes) from my bike shop.
Detailed breakdown: spreadsheet here (html format). Blog post here.
