Build vs. Buy Complete?
 

Hello,
I'm a fairly experienced rider and am looking for a new single speed after a "brief" hiatus. Previous rode a built up Raleigh Rush Hour Pro (fixed) and a Fuji Feather Light (freewheel).
I'm looking to go free wheel with a brake. I'm looking at building up a Surly Steam Roller or this Cinelli Tutto Plus complete from factory.
I'd appreciate your input.
helliot out-

Well, how are you with building/maintenance? How much do you want to spend? How much time/effort/budget are you willing to put into building something custom? Do you have any particularly strong feelings about going one way or the other?

Try this: If you think about everything that goes into building a bike from individual components, does it seem exciting/fun? Or does it seem like a lot of work you’d mostly rather skip? That should tell you a lot about what might be the better option for you.

I like building and making things just so, but it also takes longer, costs more, and can be very tedious. For most people, I think buying complete is often the better way to go, but it depends on a lot of variables.

I personally would build a frameset. For me the reason is mainly because most complete bikes don't come with super nice wheels. Most have straight gauge spokes and that's my pet peeve, I only like double butted for less weight and a smoother ride. And most I've seen come with a cheap freewheel. I bought my Wabi complete only because it was a black friday sale and I got Sub-15 wheels and deluxe freewheel for free.

When I see a complete bike for sale I calculate the extra money I know I would spend to upgrade it and include it in the complete price. Usually turns out to be a bad deal.

Thank You
 

Thank you very much for the feedback I really do appreciate it! As far as the frame sets go does one get the nod over the other as far quality/performance go?

Building is fun if you like solving problems (occasionally of your own making.) There's nothing wrong with giving someone dollars for a bike you can ride right now, though.

BTW, if you're going to use a freewheel, hopefully you're planning on two brakes, not just one.

Why would you not just go with a rear brake?

Same reason that cars and motorcycles don't have only rear brakes, because in an emergency you can't stop quickly with only a rear brake. Under hard braking, up to 80% of the braking force comes from the front brake.

Two reasons: I always want to have two ways to stop or slow my bike (cables can snap), and rear brakes by themselves are not as effective as a front brake.

Cool point well taken :) thanks for the input!

Also - brake hoods are very nice when going uphill. Yes you can mount a lever-less hood for the uphill handles but once you've done that , the cable, housing and caliper cost you almost nothing (in weight and not a lot more in cost).

Sez Ben who started riding road fix gears with two brakes when Greg Lemond was a junior

Building up a bike using new components is almost always more expensive than buying a complete bike, but if you have a pile of parts already sitting around and the tools and experience to build a bike using them, why not?

Steam Roller
 

I rolled by the shop today and checked out the Steam Roller frame set. I was sold and will be building up a bike.

Awesome, what color frame?

The problem I’ve run into in many hobbies is that it might take so long just to find the parts at a reasonable cost that I would have been money and time ahead by just pulling another shift or 2 at work and buying new.

Wrenching is often the fun/easy part. Parts scrounging not so much.

How can you not like a Steamroller? There's one that's been hanging around my family for a decade or so that still gets ridden almost daily. Enjoy yours.

Yup - this is a bad time to be parts shopping. Good luck...

Thank you I'm looking forward to getting down with this Orange Shag Carpet beauty. I'm very fortunate that this shop has a good line on quality parts.

Test Ride
 

I haven’t purchased anything yet. I’ll be test riding an All City Cycles Professional Single Speed on Wednesday.

All City is a great company. I ride a Big Block and I know some others here do as well. I have zero complaints on mine. Well, the bottle bosses on the seat tube aren't the greatest, but I can live with it. Other than that, ride quality, weight and build quality are top notch. The paint is better than average, IMO.

I'll bet you end up liking that bike after the test ride. Just know that the sizing is a bit different than some. My Big Block I think is listed as 55cm but it rides more like a 57cm or 58cm. Don't buy until you're sure it is going to fit. I assume the test ride will be on the appropriate size.

The All City's are very sharp but they do look pretty porky to me. If I were going to build a nice road frame that wasn't a Wabi I'd probably spend a little extra and order a Gunnar Street Dog. I've always liked them, I almost bought one on ebay once.

helliot , All City makes great stuff. They're one of my favorite bike companies. I have their Nature Boy Disc single speed. I've never seen a Professional in person, but I'm sure it's very nice and will serve you well, if that's the one you choose.

You could also do well to get the Steamroller. I have one and like it a lot. It's been one of the best bikes I've ever owned.

Let us know how it goes.

Love the Steamroller. I built one up several years ago and found it to be a great platform for all kinds of build variations, as well as being nearly bombproof for whatever kind of riding I threw at it. This was fixed, with front brake:


https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...2b572158e5.jpg

I had a chocolate brown Steamroller, built it from the frame up almost 20 years ago, including the wheelset using old style Camp track hubs, Mavic rims, Campy track crankset, Brooks, Nittos, Eggbeaters…. I sold it about 5 years ago though. I still ride an old Bianchi track frame, also built from scratch around the same time.

As long as you got the tools needed like a ruler and mike meter to measure used parts, and the patience cuz itll take a long time. Do a ground up build, if not your previous bikes are winners, and ur choices from above posts are mosdef easier to start up n get going to have big fun right now. If you had a bike kitchen nearby or a big flea market to hunt for parts, id start now and plan for ur "beater back upcruiser ride" including hunting down tools . My only mistake with last frame only beater build is its got horizontal drop outs. Not a deal breaker but takes away a small but easy adjustment if it had diag rear drop outs.

Diagonal dropouts are preferable if you intend to run a rear brake.

Unless you are patient and can wait for sales and close-outs on the individual components, build your own wheels, etc, it's probably better to buy a complete bike.