Donal DeLay

Even though I'm new to this, and just bought the second bike I've ever owned as an adult I already know I'm becoming obsessed with finding the perfect match for me. But, as anyone on here would know, a perfect match is a Frankensteined machine you build to your own specifications, right?

I was considering buying an old used bike for 10.00-40.00, stripping it and starting from scratch with the frame.

How do you figure out what's right for you without testing everything? What are good road tires for a MTB frame? What are good brakes, cranks, handlebars, etc? As an artist, it's been my experiene with different brushes and pens, and paper that the BEST on the market isn't always the BEST for your tastes.

I'm also curious if this would be a good way to learn DIY mechanics?

kevbo

That is pretty much how I learned. The caveat is that you need to know quite a bit in order to spec. compatible components...Front and rear deraileur capacity, cassette spacing, chain compatibility, shifter/deraileur compatibility, lever/brake compatibility, etc. etc. It is all doable, as I did it, but you have to be willing to do the research. Avoiding this is one reason people buy component groups. If you shop for closeouts and such you can end up with a "group" for far less dosh.

If you do this, try to start with a frame with a 1.125" steerer compatible headset...especially if it is to be a MTB. 1" steerer forks, stems, etc. are still available but the selection is much smaller than the 9/8" stuff. Also beware of brake reach issues if you want to put 700C wheels on a frame meant for 27" wheels.

Retro Grouch 

Just do it! You're becoming obcessed all right, you've got obsessive bike tinkerer's disease. There's no known cure. You'll learn whatever bike mechanics you need as you go. If you get stuck, post a specific question and somebody here will have an answer.

Donal DeLay

so, aside from sanding and painting the frame to the color I want, what's a good place to start once I begin assembly?

big chainring 

Things to consider. Putting a bike together piece by piece can run into some serious money. I've seen run of the mill 3 speeds ending up costing $1000 by the time wheels are built, new parts are bought, and frame is painted, etc.

The frame is the most important piece of the puzzle. Good parts on a poor frame, or one that doesnt fit you, doesnt make the bike ride any better.

Getting a bike close to your ideal and upgrading and repairing parts, may save you tons of money in the long run.

WHEELS! A good set of wheels will make the most noticable improvement in the ride of a bike. Put the most amount of money into your wheels.

Now if you are just talking about playing around with found parts, stripping old parts off beaters and building a bike out of several beaters, thats another story.

big chainring 

What sort of bike are you building? Road, MTB, Urban assault, Fixed gear?

and does it have a headset and BB installed already?

Donal DeLay

I think I'm going to attempt to build a grocery-shopping Urban Assault using an old MTB frame (maybe with electric motor. Not sure) It does have a headset and BB. Both of which I was going to remove to paint the frame.

I'm going to be getting all different parts. Wheels, tires, handlebars, etc.

My road commuter is incredibly lightweight and doesn't look like it's built to pull a trailer with 30-60lbs worth of stuff in tow. and not having a car, it'd be nice to some day ride home with more groceries than what fit into a rear-mounted trunk so I don't have to go grocery shopping every 2 days.

Retro Grouch 

Shifters tend to be a high cost part so I'd start looking around for a good deal on them. Your shifters have to match your rear derailleur and rear cassette/freewheel so shifter choice will drive your selection of those parts. Cranksets are usually easy to find. Try to acquire the crankset and matching bottom bracket together. I'm thinking the other parts that you need should kind of fall into your lap.

staehpj1

Buying a bike you can ride and riding it may not teach you to maintain it as quickly, but it will over time if you maintain it yourself. In my mind it is better to be riding and maintaining or fixing the bike when needed than to be tinkering for the sake of tinkering. In any case, I think buying a POS bike and spending a lot of time and money working on it is a bad idea. Building one up from scratch with new parts isn't much better unless the motivation is more about the tinkering than the riding.

I guess it depends, do you want to ride or do you want to tinker?

cstamper

+1 to this. I bought a frame on eBay (2003 Giant TCR) for around $200 but putting all the parts on it probably ran about $1300 total (not to mention the tools, etc.). I could have bought a pretty good bike for that price. On the other hand, I now know a lot more about bike mechanicals and I have the pride of building it myself. I started out w/a good foundation (auto mechanic in another life), but everything is a little bit different. This forum is a great source of information.

If it were all about the money, I probably still would have done it.

Retro Grouch 

Actually, I'm not sure but I think that I ride just to test my tinkering. There's really no point in talking about this because, if you don't have obcessive bike tinkerers disease, you'll never be able to understand.

In other words, you're right! Now please shut up and let us get back to our tinkering.

Booger1

You can talk/read about it all day long,theory is good.Now get that frame you want and get out to the garage and learn something!

Donal DeLay

I gave it some thought, and I am going to do electric, so I'm probably geither going to go with single-speed. Something I can pedal on the way to grocery shop, and motor back. Why can't I do both? I already ride, but I'd like to build one, too. I've got the MTB frame already from my old bike.

I've got the frame from my old MTB. I'm currently stripping it of anything that can come off and looking up prices. Parts don't need to be new, just function.

Abneycat

If you have a local bike co-op, try checking them out. A good one will have all the tools to do it right, and a pretty knowledgeable volunteer core to help guide you along the way. One of the best parts, is having access to a huge plethora of spare pieces with which to experiment, reverse engineer, and customize. Its more empowering and enjoyable if you have everything you need. You might already, but it never hurts to mention

This is a very good way to learn. I often get people in asking about progressing in bike repair, starting with stripping bicycles is the easiest, but basic assembly is possible with some care.

staehpj1

My (very limited) experience with electrics is that they are a poor choice for someone who actually wants to pedal. The extra weight makes them quite unpleasant when riding as a normal bike in my opinion. Granted I have only ridden one a short ways, but that was by choice because it definitely was no joy to ride. Obviously YMMV depending on what you want.

You absolutely can. It might even be a good choice if the tinkering is what you are after.

atomship47

well, the "perfect match" is a trip, not a destination. you find out what you like via trial and error. save receipts/packaging, sometimes shops will let you exchange something if you get it on the bike and it's not what you thought you'd want. otherwise, try selling your "extras" on ebay. i've found that, with 2 roadies, if something i bought for my build wasn't "right," i could sometimes swap with my other bike. i bought an 07 felt z35 and, other than the wheelset, seat post and brakes, nothing is original (not even the frame).

Donal DeLay

thanks for all the advice.

I'm going to have to check out the electric bike forum for some more info on those, though. But everyone's been pretty helpful. I appreciate it.