Aeneas

A couple weeks ago, I won an Ebay auction for a Kuwahara Touring frame from the early 80s. The frame arrived in good condition and I'm looking forward to building it up into a decent touring bike for next season (I'm intending to relegate my Aurora to full time commuting duty or I may sell it because I think the frame is a bit small.) I have a long term perspective on this as I don't have the cash to build it up all at once. But I'm kinda planning things out...

I don't necessarily have a budget yet, but I'm budget conscious and a quick search and adding thing to my cart including a wheelset, a drive train without derailleurs yet, handlebars, seatpost, shifters, brakes and cables came in at about $700, figure $800 with the derailleurs I'll need. This is before fenders, racks, tires etc. Does this seem reasonable for a touring build-up budget? Am I cheaping out on this (granted, I haven't listed any specific componentry)? What should I expect to spend and what is reasonable to spend on a touring build?

Thanks.

ploeg

Do you have a headset and stem for this bike?

If you hit the end-of-season clearance sales right, you can probably get it done for $800. If you don't already have a number of these parts, you'll probably need to go with a lower-end drivetrain, maybe 8-speed shifters, nicer if you can find it for cheap. You can get a good wheelset for $300 or so. If you need to hire a little help to build the bike (like prepping the frame), you'll need to budget for that work too.

The most important thing is to get a full list of what you have now and what you need to put this bike together. The most expensive part is the part that you didn't plan to get.

fuzz2050

I'd begin your search by buying a really nice set of wheels that fits the frame right, with cost being only a minor concern. Good wheels are very important. Once you have those, slowly trawl your local craigslist, ebay and any other resources you have at your disposal (Bike co-ops and the like) getting the parts. You can build bikes on tiny budgets that way. Certain concesions will save you a lot of money (friction bar ends over STI, lightly used over new).

gubaguba

Seems like a reasonable amount for a budget build. I am doing a similar thing right now I expect to pay more. I see my bikes as an investment based on the past I build them up about every 10 years and I ride them pretty regularly. So for me it is reasonable to think $200 or more per year over 10 years. If I buy quality now it is less likely I will need to replace it latter. Last build due to my finances I went cheap and about 5 years in the components started to fail. I ended up replacing things which in the end cost me more if I spent the money up front. Quality hubs, bottom brackets, headsets, and wheel builds, will need less service and are less likely to fail.