Home build or shop bought road bike?

[Percy]

Hi all

After some opinions/thoughts/suggestions. Fed up of using my tourer as a stand in road bike and am thinking of expanding my collection and adding a dedicated one.

As I know my way round a bike a bit now I'm considering sourcing individual components and building my own. My instinct is that this might be a more ccost effective way of doing it but how true is that in reality? Is that sort of approach really just the preserve of those who want a variety of specific components, regardless of cost/value?

I'm not looking at anything top end, more around the £600-1000 mark - Shimano 105 groupset, as a rough idea. I've looked at a few prices of components and complete bikes - a 105 groupset bike (Trek/Specialized, for example) seems to come in at £900-1000. A full 105 groupset is £300 odd on its own, and that's without wheels, frame etc.

As I'm not overly bothered by specifics (I don't really care what wheels or frame it has, for example, as long as they're half decent) am I more likely to get 'value for money' from a shop bought bike or would the 'build your own' idea be worth pursuing?

With all that in mind, any suggestions for either places to buy well priced components (frames? Wheels?) or, alternatively, decent value road bikes between £600-1000?

Cheers.

 

[accountantpete]

A new or second hand complete bike will usually be a lot cheaper than sourcing the components individually.

The advantage of building your own is that you get the precise kit that you want and therefore avoid the cheap components included on most bikes just to make the price look right.

 

[Mark_Robson]

A new or second hand complete bike will usually be a lot cheaper than sourcing the components individually.

The advantage of building your own is that you get the precise kit that you want and therefore avoid the cheap components included on most bikes just to make the price look right.

+1 I would imagine that the only way to get the bike spec that you want cheaper than a pre built model is to a buy second hand bike with a good frame and upgrade the components.

 

[John the Monkey]

Or to have the bits in the shed.

Building a bike is a good bet if you really can't find what you want off the peg, or spot a fantastic offer on a groupset. Other than that, manufacturers can buy way cheaper than you (tot up the cost of the bits on the £1000 Boardman, f'rexample).

 

[e-rider]

If you build your own bike and just put a 105 gruppo and FSA finishing kit on it, you might as well buy a ready made! That's missing the point of building your own - ie. hand selecting every component to meet your needs.

Building your own will cost double that of a shop model with the same spec.

 

[nmcgann]

Building your own is fun. It seldom works out cheaper though unless you've had a bit of luck buying new or s/h bargains.

 

[jay clock]

I built my own and it was definitely cheaper. I got the groupset cheaply online (£450 for Ultegra from Merlin), got a £1700 frame for £1200,and wheels and bars etc all from my LBS but assembled it myself. The LBS could not get anywhere near the price on the groupset, plus he wanted to try and sell me the bike with Campag on

 

[e-rider]

Yes, but you are missing the point that although your LBS couldn't match the prices, if you found a prodcution bike with similar frame, Ultegra groupset, same wheels etc. it would probably be cheaper than what you paid, even though you got good deals on everything. Of course, paying a shop to custom build a bike is the most expensive option of all.

 

[ufkacbln]

Building your own is fun. It seldom works out cheaper though unless you've had a bit of luck buying new or s/h bargains.

But it is yours.... I have built three 0f my bikes from the frame up and I really have what I want..... it is a good feeling, if you can bear the additional cost.

 

[Archie]

But it is yours.... I have built three 0f my bikes from the frame up and I really have what I want..... it is a good feeling, if you can bear the additional cost.

Absolutely, there's no way I could buy a bike like this off the peg.

The problem is I keep thinking of upgrades; those pedals have been changed but I'm still toying with the idea of proper roadie shoes instead of spuds, and I'm still looking for those Campy QR skewers.

I honestly don't think you can save money on an equivalent off the peg bike, but you can run riot with your wish list.