BSLeVan

Well, I finished the bike today and took it for a 25 mile shakedown ride. Wow! What a ride, what a bike. I think I'm really going to like this bike alot. I'm comparing it to my Specialized S-Work Roubaix, and it does very well. The combination of steel and carbon is very comfortable. In fact, there is less chatter than with the S-Works. Well, time will tell if I'm as smitten with it after a few hundred miles. It's sooooo hard for me to be totally objective with this one.

Here's what you're seeing in the attached photo.

2005 Jamis Eclipse Frame
Front fork from a Specialized Roubaix with a Cane Creek headset
Ritchey Pro stem and bars.
Ultergra rear cluster, brakes, derailleurs, hubs, & brifters.
Mavic Open Pro Rims - Michelin Krylion Carbon Tires
Specialized Alias seat on a Bontrager post
Truvativ compact crank and bottom bracket
Speedplay pedals
Cateye computer

Total cost? Under $650

Beverly

That's one classy looking bike

oilman_15106

Great bike, have 2 Eclipse bikes, but I am having a real hard time with the build cost? Those frames have been going for $450 - 500 on scambay. Even if you stripped the components from another bike they cost something at sometime. Unless someone gave me the stuff, I always figure in the cost of the parts at replacement on ebay. Are you going to only claim $650 to your insurance company if the bike is stolen or mashed?

BSLeVan

The frame was $400. Virtually everything else was rescued from old projects, trash picking, yard sales, and asking friends, "Hey, what are you gonna do with that when you put the new one on?" Except the Truvativ crank and seat. This trait has resulted in a shed filled with bike parts, and questioning looks from family members at times.

BluesDawg

Come on now. Is this cost estimate for your wife? Just because you had a small fortune worth of extra parts sitting around doesn't make them free. You paid for them somewhere along the way.

dbg

I like it. And it looks like it might fit me ;-). I notice a high-ish spoke count (32), and presume it is intended as a light tourer which is good for speed, workouts, centuries, commutes, and occasionally bombing over a curb or across a park. (that is my favorite setup as well) What size tires are you running?

BSLeVan

Come on now. Is this cost estimate for your wife? Just because you had a small fortune worth of extra parts sitting around doesn't make them free. You paid for them somewhere along the way.


BluesDawg









Re-read my second post. You'd be absolutely amazed at the stuff that goes to landfills. For example, the Ritchey stem and bars are from my neighbor. He went carbon fiber and was getting ready to throw the perfectly good alum stem and bars in the trash. I simply asked for them. Or, the speedplay pedals. I got those by trading an old Schwinn Voyager frame (a full chrome bike I picked up at a yard sale for $30) with a mechanic from my LBS. Or, the wheels. I traded the old Dura Ace hubs and front derailleur and a quill stem from the Voyager to a guy who was trying to do an accurate restoration of a Paramount. Just this last winter I rescued a really pretty Centurion CoMo frameset that I gave to a high school kid who wanted to start riding. And where did I find the Centurion? In the dumpster behind my LBS. If my wife gets upset about anything, it's the amount of stuff I've picked up over the years. Right now I've got three frames above the rafters in the garage that most people would see as worthless, but I know someone will want them (Trek 950 - Schwinn Superior - Specialized 1980s Sirrus). I've got a new Dura Ace 10 speed group I'm saving for a ti project next spring, and another full Ultergra 9 speed group I'm not sure what I'm going to do with yet. This is in addition to boxes full of other stuff. Maybe it's a genetic things, but my father, his brother, and my grandfather all had similar habits. My father with fishing gear, his brother with old motorcycle stuff, and my grandfather with all manner of handmade tools (he was a blacksmith).

BSLeVan

Right now 23s because it's what I had. If I find some 25s on sale, I'll probably get them.

maddmaxx 

It is a very special thing to start with a pile of parts (some of which may not even fit) and finish with a complete bike.

The value (at least to the builder) will always be much higher than the equivalent purchased item. If the finished product is not available (sufficiently different from the common) then its value is even higher. You will never be able to convince the insurance company of that.

Good job. Whatcha going to build next.

BluesDawg

I do the same thing. Most of the bikes I've built up took advantage of lots of leftover and scrounged up parts. But you must be a lot better scrounger than I am if you are getting all these modern component groups without shelling out some coin. Did you find two Ultegra 9 speed groups and a Dura Ace 10 speed group in a dumpster? Where is this dumpster?

Good looking bike, BTW.

BSLeVan

The Dura Ace stuff I had to pay for... this isn't going to make you happy... $175. The first set of Ultegra stuff I got from my brother who was moving to Campy (I also had to dog sit for a weekend, but that was no problem). The second set I got off a trashed frame at a yard sale. The owner apparently was stopped at a traffic light and the driver in front of him put it in reverse and backed up over his front wheel. The guy was selling it for parts and the driver's insurance had already replaced the bike. This guy either had no mechanical ability or much more money than I'll ever have. He had no interest in taking the parts off and selling them or keeping 'em for spares, and the insurance company didn't claim the wreckage... which they ususally do.

mtnbk3000

sweet! one question does under 650 mean 649.99, like it does at every store in america.

BluesDawg

If you could point me to a deal like that, I'd be elated!

I don't keep driving at this point just to be difficult. It is great to be able to build high quality and interesting bikes using parts acquired by skilled bargain hunting and a bit of luck. But people should not get the impression that bikes this nice come cheaply.