Well, I'm in the market for a new bike and I'm debating about whether to buy a complete bike, or learn how to work on a bike and just buy a frame and transfer everything from my current bike over to it.
This is the frameset I'm looking at:
https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...7489&rd=1&rd=1
And this is the complete bike i'm looking at:
https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...5652&rd=1&rd=1
It's cost less to build the bike than buy new, but i'm not entirely sure yet.

Anyone?

I'll throw out my opinion, but seeing as how the frameset you were looking at on eBay is going to expire in 15 minutes, I take it you have already made up your mind...

I recently (yesterday) underwent a similar situation. I cracked a frame and received a warranty replacement frame. Since my old bike was more than a year old, the shop wouldn't cover the labor fees for switching everything over to the new frame. Rather than pay the shop $70 to do the swap, I decided to buy the tools and do it myself. Although I happen to be quite mechanically inclined, this was the first time I have ever done a complete bike tear-down/rebuild. I found the experience to be very enjoyable and definitely easy enough.

So yes, I found parts swapping to be rather simple. Critical areas include not messing up the headset bearings, and getting the deraileurs dialed in properly. Just take your time and be careful, and you'll be fine. And don't forget to consult the internet for step-by-step instructions.




Now I'm just waiting on a seatpost, collar, and some cable-housing... Easy as buddah.

BTW: Are you actually tall enough for a 22" frame (as is the fully-assembled GT bike you listed)?? I'm 5'11", and I ride a Trek 17.5" (Medium). Just hope you know what you're buying...

Looks like you set up the cables too tight on your new build

Are you looking at the cables around the handlebars? They look too tight in the photo, but it's just the camera angle. Everything has full range of motion without any pulling. Here's a shot of the stem/headset that shows some of the cables (somewhat).

Plus, the rear deraileur cable is hanging loose until I get some more cable-housing when my other parts arrive at the shop.

I stand corrected

I'm 6'1" and still growing. I sat on a GT Outpost XLG today at the LBS, and it fit me fairly well.

i would have definantly gone with the motobecane....nicer frame, nicer fork...plus that seller is one of the best ebay sellers i have ever delt with...I bought 2 major items from him on my bike project(fork and wheelset). Very quick email response and extremely fast shipping...I even email him still after the sales for various bike advice and hes always responsive, informative, and friendly...he even asks me to keep him posted on certain things...Truly a great person to do buisness with. Not to mention his prices are always marked way down and that frame still costs almost as much as the whole GT bike...which in most cases means its higher quality.