Is building a bike cheaper?

[number3]

Can you get more value for your money if you buy all of the components for a bike separately and build it yourself or do people just build their own bikes to get a specific build that might not necessarily be available on a stock bike?

 

[fossyant]

Not always cheaper than buying stock, but if you look about on line, then you can come close with the exact spec you wanted.

 

[John the Monkey]

That's about the size of it, ime.

You have to balance the cost of sourcing & putting together the exact spec you want, vs buying off the shelf and changing the things you don't like.

I built my Surly Long Haul Trucker, but I did have a chainset, shifters, stem & bars in the shed already. (Plus I wanted a longer stem than you get on the stock model, &c &c)

 

[Hacienda71]

There isn't much in it. You do get the satisfaction of building exactly what you want though and the sense of pleasure when it is complete knowing "I did that".

 

[Herzog]

Building is great if you have something very specific in mind, or can get good deals on components/frame. Otherwise buying a whole bike is usually cheaper.

 

[number3]

Ok thanks guys, I have very little mechanical experience so building a bike from scratch would have been challenging. I would have considered it though if I could have saved a bit cash.

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

Most certainly not because the bike producer is willing to compromise more than you are usually

 

[Smokin Joe]

Buying is cheaper, but then if you decide you don't like the tyres or the saddle or the gear ratios don't suit and the bars are too wide or too narrow it becomes more expensive. Building can be cheaper if you know exactly what you want, size and component wise.

 

[Davidc]

FWIW - My experience when I did it (long time ago now) was that it was more expensive building my own than buying a bike close to what I wanted and just upgrading the bits I wanted to.

 

[number3]

Most certainly not because the bike producer is willing to compromise more than you are usually

Makes sense

 

[Davidc]

Most certainly not because the bike producer is willing to compromise more than you are usually

Not to mention the cost benefit of buying the components in large numbers on a commercial OEM contract rather than paying end user retail prices.

 

[number3]

FWIW - My experience when I did it (long time ago now) was that it was more expensive building my own than buying a bike close to what I wanted and just upgrading the bits I wanted to.

This is the answer to my next question

 

[icky]

Very rarely cheaper than buying stock but you get the bike you want in full as stock bikes nearly always end up being updated somewhere along the lines.

 

[youngoldbloke]

Much cheaper to buy complete. For value Rose is one of the best online suppliers - you will be hard pushed to meet, let alone beat, the spec on their bikes, and you can specify pretty much exactly what you want - stems, saddles, bar widths, tape etc etc etc. Shame that there isn't a 'home grown' supplier that offers as much. Of course Ribble also offer their 'Bikebuilder', but don't give you as much choice, or such value, IMO.

 

[young Ed]

sorry to put i slight twist on the answer already received!

but if talking modern then yes i would agree with current view/answer of stock/off the peg bike being cheaper but if you build a vintage/old bike then maybe not
of course you can not buy a 'brand new' vintage/old bike as then it would be neither of those! but say building a vintage bike compared to buying an off the peg modern bike may be cheaper or even building a vintage bike compared to buying a second hand pre assembled ready to roll vintage bike

for example frames can be dirt cheap:
frame+forks=£70
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-R...ces_Women_s_Fragrances_PP&hash=item27e473498e

Wheel set=£40
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-R500-...sure_cycling_bikeparts_SR&hash=item48671e4552

crankset=£40
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FSA-Gamma...cycling_bikeparts_SR&var=&hash=item258f00c3b8

derailleurs+shifters+bars+brakes etc=£100 ish

Total cost=£250
the cheapest carrera (zelos) would cost a tenner more than this but something rather nice like a giant defy or so costs £500 but if you can find a bargain second hand of either modern or vintage than why not?
sorry if i am under estimating prices a bit?
Cheers Ed