Is building a bike cheaper?

[fatjel]

I've been working on similar but way more downmarket plan..
I bought a Specialized hardrock comp frame in yellow for £40 from ebay and a horrible viking warlock from a bloke round the corner for £50
Fit all the warlock bits to the spec frame and for £90 I have a lovely new mountain bike. What could go wrong ?

As I only started today this is most likely not a full list but

1. Seat post is a different size need to buy that and a clamp
2. Cable guide under BB is missing... have to buy that
3.. Forks are a tad long so gonna need spacers
4. Rear mech hanger conspicuous by its absence
5. The headset is kinda noisy .. Guess I'll need one of those too

I reckon I could get a very nice hardrock 2nd hand for under £200 .
I also reckon I'll end up paying about the same for a horrible one lol

 

[Acyclo]

"Is building a bike cheaper?" I think it might be in the long run. You can fit decent parts instead of the cheese manufacturers, even decent ones, fit. More significantly you'll be able to service and repair your bike yourself much more easily if you know how it went together. I think that's the most significant saving.

 

[youngoldbloke]

"Is building a bike cheaper?" I think it might be in the long run. You can fit decent parts instead of the cheese manufacturers, even decent ones, fit. More significantly you'll be able to service and repair your bike much more easily if you know how it went together. I think that's the most significant saving.

Some suppliers fit decent components - see my post above. Agree that a lot of the big brands save money by fitting very basic wheels and cheap tyres, saddles, and own brand finishing kit. Probably still cheaper to buy the whole bike and upgrade components in most cases.

 

[Acyclo]

Some suppliers fit decent components - see my post above. Agree that a lot of the big brands save money by fitting very basic wheels and cheap tyres, saddles, and own brand finishing kit. Probably still cheaper to buy the whole bike and upgrade components in most cases.

You're probably right about that. BUT I think the major factor is the money you save in NOT relying on the LBS to service and repair the bike.

 

[Kins]

Building my tourer at the moment. To buy one the same spec would cost upwards of £1.5k new and not much less second hand for the spec. I have bought all the parts over 8 or 9 months and have spent so far £521.46. 85% roughly brand new and most of them in sales.

If I had bought a better frame and hadn't done my back in twice since Xmas it would have been done by now but its getting there. V slowly.

Only things left to buy that I "need" are bar tape, B17 and some tubes. Changed my mind with the colour of tape so already used it.

 

[youngoldbloke]

Building my tourer at the moment. To buy one the same spec would cost upwards of £1.5k new and not much less second hand for the spec. I have bought all the parts over 8 or 9 months and have spent so far £521.46. 85% roughly brand new and most of them in sales.

If I had bought a better frame and hadn't done my back in twice since Xmas it would have been done by now but its getting there. V slowly.

Only things left to buy that I "need" are bar tape, B17 and some tubes. Changed my mind with the colour of tape so already used it.

Where did you make the biggest savings? And would you still have saved much if all the parts were new?
Edit: Noticed you say 'if I had bought a better frame' - if it is not the same as on the £1.5K version it can't be the same spec, can it?

 

[Peter Armstrong]

訂購大量的中國碳配件！(Order a large number of Chinese carbon parts!)

Mods you ruined that joke!

 

[Kins]

Where did you make the biggest savings? And would you still have saved much if all the parts were new?
Edit: Noticed you say 'if I had bought a better frame' - if it is not the same as on the £1.5K version it can't be the same spec, can it?

Well the Frame + forks is probably the biggest saving. Its a 520 Dawes Horizon which cost me £60 but had a stuck fork tube and a sheered off rear mudguard mount bolt. A surly long haul trucker 2011 frame + Forks is around £300. Using exactly the same crankset as Dawes Galaxy 2014 top model and better hand made wheels (though not disc brakes) , 10 speed shifters are 2nd hand though fairly good condition, Brakes are 2nd hand Crane Creek SCX-5s, other than that all new.

Spec wise because of the frame, probably not, but the Dawes Ultra Galaxy is £1799 and uses 30 speed tiagra (same crank set) and I've used Ultegra, so some is better. But if Dawes sold the frame for even £600 I would still have saved money (which I wouldn't because I prefer the Horizon frame)

 

[wintergreen]

Well the Frame + forks is probably the biggest saving. Its a 520 Dawes Horizon which cost me £60 but had a stuck fork tube and a sheered off rear mudguard mount bolt. A surly long haul trucker 2011 frame + Forks is around £300. Using exactly the same crankset as Dawes Galaxy 2014 top model and better hand made wheels (though not disc brakes) , 10 speed shifters are 2nd hand though fairly good condition, Brakes are 2nd hand Crane Creek SCX-5s, other than that all new.

Spec wise because of the frame, probably not, but the Dawes Ultra Galaxy is £1799 and uses 30 speed tiagra (same crank set) and I've used Ultegra, so some is better. But if Dawes sold the frame for even £600 I would still have saved money (which I wouldn't because I prefer the Horizon frame)

I fail to see how you have made savings on the price of a Galaxy buy building a Horizon (albeit a better spec than usual Horizon). That's like saying you saved a fortune buying an Audi A4 buy building a Volkswagen Golf.
A new Horizon can be had for a little over £500, So far you say you have spent roughly the same on a second hand frame with some new parts.
Im not knocking you, I have no doubt it's a great bike.

 

[Kins]

I fail to see how you have made savings on the price of a Galaxy buy building a Horizon (albeit a better spec than usual Horizon). That's like saying you saved a fortune buying an Audi A4 buy building a Volkswagen Golf.
A new Horizon can be had for a little over £500, So far you say you have spent roughly the same on a second hand frame with some new parts.
Im not knocking you, I have no doubt it's a great bike.

Its fine. A new Horizon is v low spec so I wouldn't even compare them myself, although I can see why you would. Easier way to look at it in my eyes is I have an £1700+ spec bike in an inferior frame (in your eyes not mine) for less than £1000. Hows that?

The Horizons that you can buy now, cost £800 but are old stock, so same spec as mine would probably cost easily £1300+, so still cheaper in my opinion.

 

[wintergreen]

Its fine. A new Horizon is v low spec so I wouldn't even compare them myself, although I can see why you would. Easier way to look at it in my eyes is I have an £1700+ spec bike in an inferior frame (in your eyes not mine) for less than £1000. Hows that?

The Horizons that you can buy now, cost £800 but are old stock, so same spec as mine would probably cost easily £1300+, so still cheaper in my opinion.

I still don't see it myself and I don't think the Horizon is an inferior frame.
What you have is a souped up Horizon, I don't see where the £1,700 comes into it. A new complete Horizon from Spa is £500, add a couple of hundred for wheels and £300 for the Tiagra running gear it still doesn't come near the price of an Ultra Galaxy. I have no doubt your bike is every bit as capable as a Galaxy but its a Horizon with different wheels and chainset.

 

[KneesUp]

I don't think it is the cheapest way any more, if it ever was, because the parts aren't as interchangeable as once they were.

I have (in bits) a bike that was free. I've stripped the paint and primed it with primer I bought for sorting a bit of rust on the car, and will paint it up with paint I had for something else and never used, so we'll say the paint was free. But then I've spent probably about a tenner on meths, paint stripper and sandpaper.

But - for a tenner (and assuming the paint I paid for and didn't use is 'free') I will have a decent frame and forks.

The wheels are ok, but the back one could do with a few spokes replacing - £10 to £15 if I get the LBS to do it or a few quid plus the cost of the tools if I do it - we'll call it £15.

It's going from flat bar to drop bar, but I have a stem and drop bars, so that's free. I even have brake levers, which I don't like, but will do. But I need shifters - bar end shifters are about £40, so already we're up to £65 and I got a whole, free bike to start off with.

The saddle was worn out (and huge!) so I got one from Aldi - £9.99. It won't fit on the seatpost without a clamp though (£4) but I hate those clamps so will probably end up with a new seatpost with a micro adjust - £12 - total £87.

One of the cantilvevers was broken, and the other doesn't look far off, so £20 for Tektro replacements - £107 total.

All the cables were frayed and had to be removed - £12 - £119 total.

It could do with all three replacing, but one chaining is definitely knackered - £15 or £40 for a new crankset - probably the latter as it's cheaper in the end - £159 total.

Needs a chain - another tenner - £169

Rear derallieur needs new jockey wheels - £8 - £177

Needs a few other odds and sods - bar tape, a few bearings and so on - £20 - £197

so that's about £200 and a fair bit of effort to get a decent bike when I started with a whole free bike and already had paint, handlebars and brake levers.

Whilst I'm building it I ride to and from work on a perfectly functional MTB bike I paid £26 for ...

 

[Kins]

Ultegra

I still don't see it myself and I don't think the Horizon is an inferior frame.
What you have is a souped up Horizon, I don't see where the £1,700 comes into it. A new complete Horizon from Spa is £500, add a couple of hundred for wheels and £300 for the Tiagra running gear it still doesn't come near the price of an Ultra Galaxy. I have no doubt your bike is every bit as capable as a Galaxy but its a Horizon with different wheels and chainset.

OK, I'll do it another way, though, to be honest I am past caring. I could go out tomorrow and buy a Galaxy Ultra frame set for £699 (quick look and first I found) http://spoke.co.uk/DawesUltraGalaxyFrame.html and have a better bike than the Ultra that sells new for £1799 (mines Ultegra and XT 30 speed not Tiagra and LX for a start). Only difference is disc brakes. So probably £600-620 i will have spent + a £699 frame = £1319 so call it £1400. So yes you can build a Galaxy Ultra for around £1400 for a better spec than the £1800 you can buy from Dawes, which was the point that was trying to be made.

 

[wintergreen]

The prices you are quoting are full retail prices, the whole point of building your own would be looking around and sourcing cheaper prices, Ultra Galaxy = £1,290 for last years model, frameset can be had for around £400.
If you had said you got hold of a Galaxy frame and built it to the same speck as an Ultra and saved money then I could see the comparison but you have a 520 framed Horizon and have upgraded the parts so there isn't really a comparison with an Ultra Galaxy apart from the "Dawes" name on the frame.
Again I am not trying to put your bike down. I just cant see how you can compare what you have, which is probably a very nice bike, with a completely different bike. Its like saying oranges and bananas are the same because they are both fruit.

 

[Kins]

The prices you are quoting are full retail prices, the whole point of building your own would be looking around and sourcing cheaper prices, Ultra Galaxy = £1,290 for last years model, frameset can be had for around £400.
If you had said you got hold of a Galaxy frame and built it to the same speck as an Ultra and saved money then I could see the comparison but you have a 520 framed Horizon and have upgraded the parts so there isn't really a comparison with an Ultra Galaxy apart from the "Dawes" name on the frame.
Again I am not trying to put your bike down. I just cant see how you can compare what you have, which is probably a very nice bike, with a completely different bike. Its like saying oranges and bananas are the same because they are both fruit.

Its quite simple. See the name of the thread "Is Building a bike cheaper?" I am not trying to justify my build to you or anyone else. Who cares about last years model? I'll try and make this as simple as possible for you, you could buy a £699 THIS years model Dawes Ultra Frame and build it to a better spec than you can buy from Dawes for LESS money. So, as per the original title, YES, building a bike can be cheaper than buying one off the shelf. That was the only point I was trying to make.