Buy or build a racer?

[woosey]

Hey Guys,

Been cycling for a few months now on my frankenstein raleigh max (slicks/48T/12T gearing) and it's a great commuter, however i'm thinking about doing a triathlon next year.

I'm realtivily handy with the spanners, i've built this bike up from the rusty shed wreck it was, so it's not the technical side i'm concerned about, it's purely financial. I can pike up a road bike from around £300 ish but would i be better picking up a frame and kitting that out as a better value option (as i can fit it with a good drivetrain, rather than the cheap stuff that will be on cheaper bikes)

If so what frames should i be looking at? Where should i spend the money?

Thanks guys!

 

[Boris Bajic]

Everything I've 'built' has cost rather more than I've ever admitted to anyone.

The cheapest bikes I've owned have been secondhand and bought from someone who just wanted to get rid.

If you are buying new components for your build, then you will find it hard (with the same parts) to match the price of a complete, new machine by buying the parts and putting them together yourself. When I say hard, I mean impossible.

With a build, you end up spending a bit on cables, bar tape, rim tape and the gubbins that would be included in the price of a complete bike.

I was advised many years ago (for economy) to spend money on a good frame and gradually upgrade the components as they wear out. By 'good" I do not mean expensive. I mean a fram that you like, that rides well and that offers what you are looking for.

Whatever you end up doing, you will enjoy it. Have fun!

 

[woosey]

Looking into components i think your right If i upped my budget to say £600 what is out there? I see the Triban 3 (or 5) come recommended and certainly give me some change

 

[VamP]

The most cost effective thing would be to get a couple of second hand bikes - one with a good frame and one with good components and cobble something from that.

Thing is £600 won't even stretch to a really good frame, so it's a tough gig. Alternatively just look at the best complete bike you can get in the sales. Ribble is worth a look.

 

[gbb]

As Boris says, building a bike, or sourcing the components is unlikely to be cheap.
I built a winter commuter based on an old but sound 531 frame.
I already had a set of Sora 8 speed STIs , a huge saving in the end, but basically had to buy the following...
New Shimano R500 wheelset.
Used but nearly new Xenon crankset
New cartridge BB
New long reach caliper brakes.
Used Ponza saddle
Used seatpost
Used cassette
New chain
New bartape
New quill adaptor
Probably a couple small bits I cant remember now....

£230, mostly spent on ebay just finding good condition s/hand parts...and that was 6 year ago.
Its all still good, still running, the good solid wheelset was the best choice (£60) at the time IIRC.
Chainsets etc can be brought cheaply...but that price didnt include the shifters of course.

You can build a good bike, but cheap it isn't.

 

[TissoT]

buy good second hand parts of ebay and build your own !
I did it on a few occasions ! worked out well ...
mostly with record and dura ace parts. Cheaper to do in winter if you take the ebay route .

 

[biggs682]

@woosey go diy route its easy enough to do , trawl through classifieds loads of frames go for bargain money if you look hard enough . but be warned they always end up costing more than budget and thats me speaking from experience .

are you going retro or modern ?

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

I think Boris has hit the nail on the head

The problem with building your own is that the entire build becomes more expensive than you expect, Why have Ultegra when you can have Dura-Ace for a little bit more, why have heavy wheels when you can have Zipp's for a little bit more... The problem is all those little bit more add up to a hell of a lot and your bike is suddenly expensive.
I build all my bikes from scratch as I like specific components but they are not cost effective and probably work out probably 10% more expensive than comparable complete bikes.

 

[Mattonsea]

I did the whole project last winter. frame Isaac Impulse £120 ,front rear mech was brand new from Wiggle . Chain set eBay for £30
and it came with a ceramic hollow tech 2 bearing. Bars and stem brand new from eBay for £23, chain £30 from Wiggle . Carbon
seat post eBay £25. Brakes were from eBay £22 and they came from Switzerland ? The wheels were Mavic alloy £50, and
the Sti were £ 60 from you guessed it eBay. The group set was shimano 105 and after I put it together the bike shop
gave it the once over. I now have a bike I wanted but could not afford out right. It was fun sourcing all the parts and I
have done over 600 miles on it , and I love it.

 

[woosey]

thanks for the advise guys, i'm looking to do triathlons next year so am now debating upping the budget into the carbon frame region (well low end, around 1k) but am not sure how much of a good idea a carbon bike is when it comes to repairs/commuting etc.

 

[VamP]

thanks for the advise guys, i'm looking to do triathlons next year so am now debating upping the budget into the carbon frame region (well low end, around 1k) but am not sure how much of a good idea a carbon bike is when it comes to repairs/commuting etc.

Is that for the frame or the whole build?

 

[woosey]

ducks for cover

whole build - there is the t'win FC3 which is full assembled at less than that, or our lovely carbonzone on ebay, thing is i can't really see any of the 'extra' cash giving me a huge step up from a triban 3?

 

[Cyclopathic]

You should definitely buy or build a racer. They're great fun.

 

[Pikey]

I would go down the build route, just for the satisfaction and man points afterwards.

As long as you are not in a rush, you can wait for deals on components or source secondhand, patience is your friend.

I am due to finish my first build today, just the cabling and gear indexing left, it's taken about three months using kit out of the garage and off eBay.

I may have gone a bit over budget, but I feel like the don now, and its given more reason for the wife to come around to the idea of a kit car next year.

 

[musa]

You can get a tarmac for a grand comes with sora though