Building a commuter bike
 

I just moved and was forced to leave my old Raleigh behind. The bike wasn't much worth mentioning, so I'm looking to either buy or build the bike I've always wanted. Before I commit to dropping $1k+ I want to explore the option of putting it together to save some cash. I'm not a serious rider but am have a list of things that I'm looking for. In all honestly, I don't know much about what this project will cost me and how realistic my ambitions are. Maybe you guys could shed some light on it for me.

Crucials:

• stiff road bike frame (my last bike was floppy), must have eyelits for fenders
• dropped handlebars
• lots of gearing options (21+)
• large radius, strong wheels
• cyclocross style tires, good for riding in rain

Perks that would make it PERFECT:

• disk brakes
• carbon fork
• standard positioned brakes AND "safety brakes" (i don't know if that's what they're called, like mountain bike brakes so I can use them when riding in an upright position)

i know that there are a lot of bikes out there that fit these requirements, but is it realistic to be able to build something like this to save some cash? what about a similar bike and adding/changing a component to make it fit these for not too much more? I'd imagine throwing disc brakes on a bike would probably cost a lot of money but what about changing some straight bars to drop bars? is there any reason I wouldn't want to do that?

Sorry to say but unless you already have the tools, maybe a few parts, and are savy at looking for affordable parts building it yourself will not save you money.
Manufacturers get a bulk discount that is hard to overcome.
However, it is fun to build up a frame. That is if you have the patience. Something that I am lacking at the moment while building up a frame.

Trek Portland has all the expensive parts of your ideal bike. Throw on some cyclocross tires and "cross levers" (aka "interrupter levers") and its your dream bike, maybe.

http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes...land/portland/

I came across this blog post the other day: http://aflyoverblog.typepad.com/find...29er-pa-2.html It sounds like what you're trying to do. The guy says he bought used parts, and looking over his specs and comparing to his claimed cost, I wonder if he didn't buy some of them in a back alley somewhere.

Anyway, I'd have to say DataJunkie is right. You aren't likely to save money doing this, but it could be fun.

I recently built a bike that would meet alot of your options. Here is my post describing the build with pics. I got alot of killer deals/hookups on things, and I'm still in the $1500 range. I could have had something similar for alot cheaper, but I really enjoyed picking out each part, and I'm very satisfied with how it turned out.

You generally don't want to convert a straight bar bike to drops, as the top tube of the frame will be too long. It will look the part, but ride like crap. I've ridden a couple of conversions like this and the steering just never ends up right, even if you can get the riding position close to comfortable.

Why 21+ gears? Do you really use that many? You'll find alot of people here ride 2x10, 2x9, or even a 1x9 setup, for simplicity's sake. When you go to a triple on the front, it gets trickier to setup the shifting to be consistently good.

actually, i've been salivating over the Trek Portland for the past year but the price tag makes my hair stand on end. i'd love to get it, but just can't afford it. one flaw is the fork though, not a big fan of it.

Raleigh Sojourn? - http://www.raleighusa.com/bikes/road/sojourn/

I don't think building this bike yourself is going to save you money. The cheapest frameset I can think of is the Salsa La Cruz, but at $600, you'd be extremely lucky to get it built for $1k (assuming you build it with used parts).

Best bet might be to watch ebay for something like a used Portland, LeMond Poprad, one of the cannondale cross bikes that came with discs, etc. They show up, just not very frequently. I'm confident that a used complete bike is going to be a better value than a bike you piece together. For instance, I got my barely used Las Cruces for just slightly more than the frameset would have run me new.

If you were to drop the disc brake requirement, there's much more to choose from. I paid about $550 shipped for a like-new Kona Jake the Snake a year or so ago.

Bianchi Volpe is a good deal, I've seen them for around $750 in stores.

Cross levers are cheap and easy to add, although I think its better to set up your bike so you are most comfortable on the hoods, and not bother with the extra levers.

What everyone else said, it will most likely be way more expensive to build yourself, even if you have a frame.