I read here that one can buy a $50 frame/fork and build a ss/fg for under $500. It made me think - how do you do that? I read above that it can be done, but then I look at the components and I can't get there.

What is it really costing people to convert? I ride a PX-10 conversion, and it cost more than $500.

Hows about sharing your real numbers? Assume $50 for the frame, what did it cost for:

$ - seatpost
$ - saddle
$ - bb
$ - crank
$ - pedals
$ - wheels
$ - chain
$ - freewheel/cog(s)
$ - stem
$ - headset
$ - bars
$ - tape
$ - levers (if applicable)
$ - cables and housings (if applicable)
$ - calipers (if applicable)

And, for extra credit, list all the tools you had to buy (chainwhip, etc.) to make it happen. If you just used your own parts, you can decide whether to write "bin" or estimate the cost. There are folks with limited budgets who want a conversion, lets help them understand the project.

If you reused parts from the bike you bought, mention it, but it would also be great to know if starting with a "complete bike" cost more than $50.

You ride a $500 conversion? That's out of control. Mine was less than $200, and that's with:
New wheelset
Cog
Lockring
Saddle
Bars
Tubes
Tires

i bought a bike at a garage sale for $5. the bike came with a flip flop hub.

used a lockring and cog from my fixed gear.

fixed gear bike for $5

I'll start:

$100 - PX-10 frame (used, great condition, with headset and no BB - craigslist.com)
$45 - Campy seatpost (26.4)
$60 - Brooks saddle
$130 - Phil BB (god bless French threading)
$25 - Crank (Campy Centaur from LBS bin)
$10 - Pedals
$250 - Wheels (used Campy high flange hubs built up)
$25 - Replacement nut for aforementioned hub (gotta love campy)
$10 - chain
$ - cog - came with wheelset
$25 - Stem (Specialized quill)
$ - Headset (came with frame - replacement est. $25)
$40 - Bars
$6 - Cloth tape
$4 - Lever
$20 - cables and housings (if applicable)
$18 - Old stock MAFAC front centerpull
$40 - gas to drive to Sacramento to get the bike...

$808 total - note, I don't have receipts, so this is from memory

20 - seatpost
90 - saddle
0 (Included with Crank) - bb
25 - crank
40 - pedals
165 - wheels
10 - chain
35 (for both free and track) - freewheel/cog(s)
25 - stem
20 - headset
35 - bars
10 - tape
30 - levers (if applicable)
10 - cables and housings (if applicable)
70 - calipers (if applicable)

Total 585

there was no extra tool cost, and I couldve made the build for less than 500 if i didnt do full brakes and a new brooks saddle, but thats what i wanted

ANDREWJ - show the numbers...

If you bought it complete, that is the number. But I would love to see the cost breakdown.

BTW, I love the shifter cables on SOLBROTHER!

My conversion was outlandishly expensive, but that's because:

* I separately bought the frame on eBay: $100.
* I separately had the frame powedercoated: $75.
* I separately bought hubs (front and rear, including lockring and cog): $75.
* I separately bought rims (front and rear): $75.
* I separately had the wheels assembled (including spokes): $50.
* I separately bought handlebars: $25.
* I separately bought a long-reach caliper, cable, and lever for the front: $50.
* I separately bought the required accessories and minor parts: $25.
* I separately bought pedals and clips/straps: $50.

That brought the total of "stuff I bought new" up to $525. Luckily I already had all the rest of the parts (chain, cranks, chainring, headset, bottom bracket, saddle/seatpost, tires/tubes/etc) and knew how to assemble them into a complete bicycle.

I don't recommend this path to anyone, unless you have an overwhelming desire to tinker with bicycles (like I do) and a grip of money to burn on the project (like I did). Especially not with entry-level "track" bikes so inexpensive.

Since then I sold the conversion for FAR less than I put into it and purchased a Kilo TT.

(Oh, the numbers above are from memory, so there might be some fluctuation in the actuals.)

EDIT: Added photo of the conversion in question.

$40 - complete bike
$30 - cog
$10 - chainring
$10 - bar tape
________________
subtotal $90

$15 - chainbreaker
$8 - spoke wrench
________________
total $113

Complete Le tour - Free
Wheelset - $110
Cog & Lockring - $40
Bars - $25 (But they were a gift)
Saddle - $20 (Used)
Tubes - $7
Tires - $35

So I guess closer to $250. And it's all from memory so it could be +/- a few bucks.
Looking back, I guess if you're replacing everything except the frame I can see how it can get upwards of $500 easily.

$ - seatpost 80 (put the new on my road bike, my road bike post on my conversion)
$ - saddle 15 (same as above)
$ - bb already had
$ - crank already had
$ - pedals 115 (same as the post)
$ - wheels 300?
$ - chain dont remember
$ - freewheel/cog(s) not sure, 20 for each?
$ - stem already had
$ - headset already had
$ - bars 30 bucks
$ - tape 15 bucks
$ - levers (if applicable) 20 bucks
$ - cables and housings (if applicable) normal price
$ - calipers (if applicable) already had
I didnt see tires on your list.. but 100 bucks.

added items: had to rebuild the headset, and BB. Plus all the material to take a frame down to bare aluminum, and polish it up and paint a fork.

my 26 year old bike that was in an accident which messed up the rear hub and wheel - lets say free
wheel, hub, cog, lockring and chain - about $300 including wheel build
bar tape $15
tires $30
tubes $10
brake pads $2
lock ring wrench $12
short stack chainring bolts $8

total $377, but then I needed
pedal wrench $15
pedals $30
shoes $100

[IMG][/IMG]



Original Bike= $26 (1981 Trek 710)
New Paint & Decals= $250 (I also traded a bike I picked up off of CL with the cash for the paint work)
Bars & Stem= Bin
Cranks, Pedals, Chain, Saddle, Seat post, Brakes= Bin
New bartape & New Levers= $30
Wheels, Tires & Tubes= $200

Total= $506

Not included in the math is that I sold the bike's original wheel set and mish mash of Shimano & Suntour components on ebay & CL. I made about $100 on that stuff.

$1036.00 out of pocket for Harris Cyclery built wheels (eno hub, mavic open pro, Harris brand formula hub front plus lock ring, 18t fixed and 19t freewheel, tool) $500; sugino crankset $111.00; gios saddle $140; cane creek levers $40; centaur skeleton brakes $140, and avocet tires $80; stem $25. Everything else I already had lying around.

mine:

complete 10 speed bike from garage sale- $35
wheels w/ cog and lock ring: $120
paint: $15
bar tape: $20

bunch of other stuff i added on later but that doesnt really matter.

$free (w/ bike) - seatpost
$free -masi saddle
$40 - bb
$free - 105 crank
$free(w/ bike) - pedals
$5 - clips
$150 - formulas with cxp22 wheels
$free(w/ bike) - chain
$free - freewheel/cog
$free(w/ bike) - stem
$5.97 - headset
$free(w/ bike) - bars
$6.93 - tape
$free - shimano drop lever (if applicable)
$5 - cables and housings (if applicable)
$free - campy chorus calipers (if applicable)

Hitting up your friends- Priceless

Centurion LeMans $60
Andel Crankset $90
Mavic CXP22 Wheelset $145
Conti Gatorskin tires $80
Tools $100
MKS Road pedals 25
Clips 15
Straps 30
Cog 20
Lockring 10
Chain 10
Headset 10
Tubes 15

Total $610

thanks! yeah, teh bike was a wreck when i got it. it still needs tires blah blah, its getting sandblasted this weekend so i guess my price isnt accurate yet.

At our shop I tell people that a decent conversion will cost about $200.00 although I have seen folks do wonders for a lot less.

From this


to this


$250

So - what I am seeing here:
A) Conversion of existing bike with all the parts - $50-$250 with the cost jump coming primarily from buying new wheels v. repurposing old
B) Fitting all components on a Frame/Fork - $500-$600 for the wheels and basic components. More if you are a big enough idiot to go with a French bike.
C) Custom conversion - $650 and up - new paint, full components, good wheels

Thanks to RoyIII for making me feel frugal in my build...

mine:

£15 Frame, wheels and other mics bits
£10 tyres and tubes
£1 Cog
£0 Crankset
£5 Rim Tape
£0 Seatpost

Used the old wheels, respaced and added a BB lockring.
Used mostly original parts - Brake, Bars
Used mostly other parts I already had.

$15-Trek model 3-something mid 80's frame, painted blue with awesome stickers.

All parts are from the parts bins at the Bike Co-op at UCSC, except where I say otherwise:

$4 - parts bin seatpost. Who cares about seatposts on conversions?
$30 - Fizik Pave saddle.
$10 - used parts bin bb
$15 - parts bin crank. Really cheap ****.
$25 - MKS GR-9 pedals bought new at the co-op.
$100-ish - Formula to Alex Adventurer wheels. Built myself.
$10 - SRAM PC-1 chain
$18 - Dura Ace cog
$7 - parts bin stem
$0 - headset came with the frame/fork
$5 - flop and chop bars
$15 - tape
$6 - parts bin lever
$4 - cable and housing
$25 - Shimano caliper


$274 for the components.

$293 for the bike.

All that money and your still stuck with a bike that can't make very sharp turns.

My latest will be about $350 when done.

Cyclops crit bike = 250
Rear wheel = 50
Cog and lockring = 25
short chainring bolts = 10
Maybe a new tire = 20

I should recoup a good bit of that selling off the shifters, rear wheel, and rear mech and I'm thinking about selling the beautiful brakes and picking up a cheap tektro set to make the whole thing more economical.

I think it's crazy to spend more than 3-400 USD on a conversion!

the logical (for me) costs are about 100-150 for the used bike in good conditions, 200 for the wheels and 50 for small parts (chain, tape, saddle)

For 6-700 you can buy a NEW bike!