So I'm in the middle of a build project and thinking about how much coin I'm dropping on what was supposed to be, essentially, a step up from a beater is getting me a little down. I've spent over $500CDN (about $400US) and I still need to buy a seatpost and bars and get the Spicer track fork I picked up threaded (or find a different fork, or buy a threadless headset and stem...). While I have been able to spread out the outlay of cash over the last couple of months, I still could've bought a pretty decent complete bike for what I've spent already.

So I'm wondering how deep you folks are into your current projects? Are things geting out of control?

m.

ps - Anyone want to trade their 19t cog for an 18t cog? Got a spare set of B123 bars kicking around?

Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. I could almost have a Pista for what I've spent on parts and tools for converting a beater road bike.

But think about it this way:

1. You can add stuff as you get the money, so you get started right away instead of waiting till you've saved up the $$.

2. You can learn a lot.

3. It's "your" bike.

Hrm. Lets calculate. I'm actually not sure.

Frame: $10
Pedals: $50
Cranks: Free
Chainring: Free
Bottom Bracket: $50
Seat: $10
Headset: $20
Stem: $40
Handlebars: Free
Fork: Free
Hubs: $80
Rims: $120
Spokes: $20
Tires: $60

Grand total: $460

Not bad, considering it was spread out over six months, and I got lots of stuff for free.

even though i just finished building a bike a few weeks ago, i'll be purchasing my... gulp... tenth bike this weekend. (single speed surly crosscheck! holla! ) but, no i don't have a problem. no siree. you always need one more bike. i don't even want to begin to estimate how much money i have spent on bike stuff.

It adds up so quickly. I got a killer eBay deal on a Gunnar Street Dog frame, which I originally set up with a lot of parts I already had. Now its went from having a carbon fork to a Kelly steel fork. Chris King headset went in. Fizik saddle went on, then came back off in favor of an old Brooks I found. Bought new weels. New bars. The frame is currently at the powder coater. I'm sure its over a grand now. Luckily all the parts you go through on these projects trickle down to other stuff. I used most of the extra parts to put together a Surly Pacer, that rides excellent. Bikes are a bottomless pit of money, but still way cheaper than cars.

I try not to think about it. Its only money after all. You can't ride your wallet around town, nor would you want to (cabs suck). Did you buy that fork off of ink1373? If I was back home I could sell you a threadless headset and stem I have for cheap. In fact I have 3 extra threadless stems of varying lengths, angles, colours and materials. But I'm not at home so I'm afraid I can't help. My parts bin just keeps growing but my spicer is looking ever so hot these days. In fact its time to update my sig...

Deep isn't the word and out of control is a distant second to addiction.

18-19 nope but I may have extra bars since I have cobbled up a bunch recently for my bikes.

S/F,
CEYA!

Sure did. God bless BF.

m.

I try not to spend too much, it can easily get outta hand quick, like any addiction.
The most rewarding purchases are the from-out-of-nowhere deals that make it worth passing up the pricier investments.

Recently picked up a kestrel 650 fork from craigslist, now I just gotta invest another bill or so for 650 wheel parts. After that, the nishiki should be set for a while...spent 300+ so far to get it running from scratch.


what's the width & make on the 18?

ch0mb0 is it riding better after I spoke with ya?

S/F<
CEYA!

I've got about $700 into my current project, but that's not really realistic, considering I got the Phil hubs for a set of NOS campy pista pedals I had in my parts bin + $100, and the saddle, chainring, and pedals also came out of the parts bin.

Bikes can be expensive, and there are some good deals on pre-built bikes out there, but there's nothing like riding something that you built up with exactly the parts you wanted.

~$350, including a fair amount of parts salvaged from other projects

Maserati late 60's road bike - free
Hockey bar tape - 4$
Tires and one tube - 20$
Soma cog - 22$
Tektro lever - 15$
Brake cable and housing - 4$

Having another crappy but lovable fixed road conversion - Priceless

peace,
sam

It's an 1/8" and burly as all get go. Looks almost identical to an EAI, but isn't marked as such.

m.

Where R U Located?

S/F<
CEYA!

Esh.. since I do IT work for my local bike shop, they hook me up a bit over cost. That said, I'm sitting at around $850 right now and I still have to buy wheels, bars, cranks, brakes, and a few other odds and ends. (I'm building an urban/dirt jumping single speed rig)

feck...im up to about a grand

Frame : 400
Rear Wheel : 160
Front Wheel, Tires and Tubes : ~ 200
Track Drops : Free
Brooks Sadle : ~75
Bar Tape : 15
Lights : ~65
Bottom Bracket : 23

So $938? And that's just the current configuration. Several of those parts have been replaced a couple of times. I had no idea I'd been spending that much. That's close to what I spend on beer each year!

[edit]I forgot cogs, lockrings, chainring, and chain. That's probably another $100...[/edit]

Ceya: I'm in scenic Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

m.

My first post disappeared...I have roughly $300 in each of my conversions.
I buy tubualr wheelsets off of eBay and build up yard sale frames.

Fuji track 2004 stock setup - 600
Serfas '05 racing saddle - $20
Surly hub mavic rim Rear Wheel - $140
Xero lite XR-4 front (i know its crap but it looks cool and good price) - $40
Euro-asia 17t cog - $35
New chain - $10
Front brake (forget make) - $35

Total (not including minor repairs like spokes etc. and tax): $880
but if you count the various problems i've had with components before i replaced them and bike shop labor for the things i didnt have tools for, the price goes up.

Calisse, it adds up fast. I'm in the same boat - just got a bb today so I can start putting it together (this is after a bb I bought through the mec gearswap never got here, sent uninsured with no delivery conf - Pay the extra buck!)

If you want some commisseration:

It all started out because (everything in Cdn here):

frame and fork: $30 (because it needed a h/s, which I still have to work on)

b/c of that I thought I could get something together for around $300, having no parts to start with.

So:

bars: 25
tape: 10
stem: 15
crank and chainring (which maybe won't work, old Ofmega, we'll see tonight): $25
single stack bolts: 8
crank bolts: 5
seatpost: 15
brakes (only came as a pair, but Sheldon Brown said they were the best ever, so why not?): 50
levers: 20
cog: 30
bb: 30 (plus another 35 if you want to count the one Canada Post ate for breakfast)
wheels: 200
rim tape: 8
saddle: 45
brake hoods (not absolutely necessary, but they were pink, and I've got a pink/black thing going): 7

Now in the $525 range to build a bike with a 30+ year old spraypainted frame with rust that's not even really my size (in the 64c-c/62tt range, which like all you tall ones know, forget finding something used) with parts that are nothing special. This is because it would cost way too much to ship an IRO to Canada, and I didn't want to wait until May or June till the next time I'd be in the states (sigh), the Bianchi I tried in Philly was way too small, the Fuji in TO seemed to have really junky parts (though the frame was on the right order of size in 64cm), Langsters aren't availabe in Canada at all, and afaik no Mtl KHS dealer here can get a Flite, or don't want to.

Still need tires, tubes, chain and a seat binder bolt, and probably something else I've forgotten. Was going to get cheap mec tires, but the helpful bike fellow at the Mtl mec (Robin) suggested that if I easily wrecked sidewalls on Panaracer Paselas, their cheap ($14 Panaracer or Continentals) ought to be avoided, so I'm thinking of going to the like 35-40 buck a tire range. Plus I'll find out that my h/s races are pitted when I got to rebuild it, so throw in an h/s and installation. And not counting all the stuff I'm going to break putting it together.

Sigh. I'll be in Philly in June, and am considering going in hock and ordering an IRO just so I'll have a whole bike with parts that are all new all work together, and the pink nightmare can be a project/weird bike/rain and snow bike.

The things we do for love?

Well, I guess since I started this thread I should add my own shopping list (in cdn $$):

Frame: free (busted up track frame from a friend)
Frame fixin': $30 (BB shell had a crack that needed a weldin' and a dent that needed a poundin')
Fork: $85 (used spicer track fork)
Hubs: $110 (miche primatos)
Rims: $40 (I think... Campy Ypsilons from nashbar... I forget how much they actually cost)
Wheel build: $80
Tires & tubes: $50 (cheap contis)
Crankset & pedals: $80 (dura ace road cranks, 52t chainring, dura ace pedals and clips)
Saddle: $13 (everyone's favorite white perf selle san marco from nashbar)
Headset: $15 (FSA)
BB: $30 (Shimano)
Stem: $30 (3ttt mutant classic)
Cog: $0 (the aforementioned 18t I had lying around)
Spray primer and paint: $7

Some of this stuff (like the FSA headset) I bought for my current bike as upgrades to what's on it now but put it aside when the frame showed up. I could've also saved money by reusing stuff I have lying around (cranks, stem, bars), but I keep on finding myself buying stuff I don't really need but really want. Like, the 3ttt stem looks rad, but none of the bars I have lying around will fit the 25.8mm stem, so I need to get bars... but if I'm going to buy bars, I'd like to get B123s, but if I get B123s I'm going to need the bar shim, and so on and so on... it's a pain we all - to some degree or another - feel.

Pay day is friday. This bike should be ridable to some degree by next week.

m.

Hi everyone, my name is Jaminsky...and I'm addicted to spending money on bikes...If I can actually get myself to build my next bike for under 500 dollars and be happy with it, I'll pat myself on the back and take me out to dinner.

I think we are all forgetting something...

If your bike is your sole transportation you are saving quite a bit even if you have racked up 1k for parts and pieces.