today i learnt a lesson

[Blue Hills]

@oreo_muncher - I learn by doing. Bikes are quite simple; frame/forks, groupset - which can be sourced in components and don't have to match exactly, bottom bracket, headset, seatpost, stem, bars, wheels/tyres/tubes, saddle , chain and cables.

My first was this Raleigh SP250 - I crracked the head-tube installing the headset but didn't realise until after it was finished. Rode about 3 miles and it went off to be re-framed:

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Lesson learnt I then tried a road bike, re-building an old Ammaco including a basic re-paint with different decals. Rode OK but not perfect and sold on:

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Bike no. 3 was my son's Giant TCR, built from a frameset with sourced parts. Tiny little road bike and he'd grown out of it here, but his race bike was out of action. No 'bike only' photo as word got out we were selling and the buyer just went "I'll have it, how much" so I suggested a nominal figure as my son had used it for over 6000 miles. Weight-wise it was 6.7kg:

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Like @Milkfloat has put; the assembly is easy, or rather easy-ish. Collecting parts is both fun and frustrating. My latest was this back in August:

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how did you crack the headtube?
have serviced headsets but never put one in - will probably avoid.
(Have built two bikes up but both already had headsets in them - second hand bikes I used for frames. About to start on a third)

 

[DCLane]

how did you crack the headtube?
have serviced headsets but never put one in - will probably avoid.
(Have built two bikes up but both already had headsets in them - second hand bikes I used for frames. About to start on a third)

Trying to put a headset in without properly checking the levels and angles. Just pure inexperience, although fortunately the frame cost me only £20

 

[Blue Hills]

Trying to put a headset in without properly checking the levels and angles. Just pure inexperience, although fortunately the frame cost me only £20

thanks for the reply but am afraid I'm not techie enough to understand.
Did you hit something too hard?
My two builds were built on donor bikes that cost £30 each.
The one I'm about to do cost £21 and has already provided a free wheel to another bike.
All came with tough steel ball bearing headsets - 1 inch threaded.

 

[Gravity Aided]

I built a Schwinn Passage touring bicycle from a frame I bought on Bike Forums and then built up using contemporary parts. i had one of those same frames and rode it to noodliness, so unless I wanted to re-solder the frame, I had to discard it. Someone else took it for the Columbus tubing, he was a framebuilder making a smaller bike. I also took a crash damaged Raleigh Sojourn touring bike frame from the co-op and built it up nicely after straightening the frame

 

[ianrauk]

My own current self build. The only thing I got the LBS to do was the headset. I loved every minute of the build and love every minute of riding it.

 

[DCLane]

thanks for the reply but am afraid I'm not techie enough to understand.
Did you hit something too hard?
My two builds were built on donor bikes that cost £30 each.
The one I'm about to do cost £21 and has already provided a free wheel to another bike.
All came with tough steel ball bearing headsets - 1 inch threaded.

I got the headset bearings in, together with the bottom crown race. However because I didn't have a headset press - instead choosing the 'impact' approach - the top race didn't go in straight and cracked the head tube at the top slightly. These days I would use a press. It may have already had a crack before the bike build, I don't know, but it certainly did after the bike was built.

 

[Once a Wheeler]

building a bike is a lot different to repairing one ..

My father bought me my first serious lightweight. Two years later I saw him looking at it quizzically. 'Is this the bike I bought you two years ago?' I gave him an honest answer: 'Well, the wheels, the saddle and the handlebar extension are the same.' He laughed; and at that point I think he realized I was serious about cycling. Good repairing involves building your dreams.

 

[delb0y]

I quite fancy doing a full build. I stripped the Tricross down to it's last nut and bolt and rebuilt it with new gears, front and back, and an associated new bottom bracket and one of those cams (forget the manufacturer) to make a mountain bike front mech work with all the Tiagra shifters. Quite pleased overall, but where I would struggle in a new build would be to know what forks go with what frame, and what front shifter fits the geometry of the frame and what front chainset would fit. Trying to get my randomly bought front mech to work with the triple front chain set I bought was the hardest thing.

 

[Shropshire65LW]

well mine i thought was going to be simple
as it was a unloved bike needing major repairs
so i stripped it down to the frame
my first problem was a lot of seized bolts , now sorted
2nd problem seems to be variations of fitments of parts
and finding replacement bits . that dont seem to have standard name ( see my other post )
went to fit the brakes today . but looks like i need different adaptors , the front needs backing off the rear is fouling on the frame

other stuff is going ok converted to Hollowtech and new crank on the way
going from a 3x to a 1x looks like some set ups require a spacer . fingers crossed
ordered new SLX derailleur and shifter ,should be simple
and new 11-42 cassette

so just one of those days stumbling blocks delaying while i source the bits i didnt have today

 

[Blue Hills]

I quite fancy doing a full build. I stripped the Tricross down to it's last nut and bolt and rebuilt it with new gears, front and back, and an associated new bottom bracket and one of those cams (forget the manufacturer) to make a mountain bike front mech work with all the Tiagra shifters. Quite pleased overall, but where I would struggle in a new build would be to know what forks go with what frame, and what front shifter fits the geometry of the frame and what front chainset would fit. Trying to get my randomly bought front mech to work with the triple front chain set I bought was the hardest thing.

to simplify things for a start I'd get the frame with the fork.
as for the chainsets/shifter, techdocs are available online.
Of course these things are simpler if:
you stick to flat bars
don't go beyond 9 speed.

(and in truth there is little reason to go beyond 9 speed for most purposes).

(bought myself a quality, XT, 9 speed front mech today for £9 including postage)

 

[CXRAndy]

How do you even go about building a bike? How many parts do you need to buy? How long does it take? How do people plan it? And what are those bikes built in a shed like compared to the stuff you buy from the shop in terms of performance and how smooth it rides?

Ive built a few bikes, from frame up. They're superior to anything store bought for the same money and a lot

more.

Building is a case of research of frame, gearing, shifting type and wheels. Once everything has been sorted, its a shopping list and sourcing via the internet. Most of my bike builds I have bought most parts from German bike supplies-cheaper and more parts available.

To do a decent build plan for a day or two for your first bike.

These are mine

 

[si_c]

Built up three road bikes and one MTB now from scratch, and several wheel builds. Both are straight forward if you take your time and don't rush.

The latter is made easier by not getting your spokes mixed up.

 

[All uphill]

You asked how a self built bike compares to a shop bought one?

In my experience the DIY bike starts out okay and then just gets better and better. Knowing every component means you can identify any little niggly things and modify them until you have something that fits perfectly and does exactly what you want.

Like others here I started with a decent, but cheap, steel framed bike and worked from there, using simple but functional parts.

It may not be your thing but it's a super comfortable tourer - exactly what I wanted.

 

[Blue Hills]

the front end looks a bit odd maybe (but then I'm a flat bar bod) but am still impressed.
Can I ask what the frame is?
I agree with you totally about the niggly thing and the satisfaction from sorting it.
A favourite build of mine had issues.
It was sorted by fitting a square taper BB with a spindle just 3mm longer.
And now it's perfect and I'm pretty sure I feel more in tune with it than many folks do on their new 352xpxiz squared bike which never feels quite right to them.

Building your own bike from a frame up confers a mechanical /physical sympathy/awareness even to a hamfisteded bodger like me.
So any future issues are a doddle to fix.
After all you build it from bugger all.

It also teaches/reassures you that bikes are essentially simple things.
Which is of course one of the great pleasures of cycling in a world which is often unnecessarily complicated, often by vested interests, and riddled with extraneous bullshit.

 

[All uphill]

the front end looks a bit odd maybe (but then I'm a flat bar bod) but am still impressed.
Can I ask what the frame is?
I agree with you totally about the niggly thing and the satisfaction from sorting it.
A favourite build of mine had issues.
It was sorted by fitting a square taper BB with a spindle just 3mm longer.
And now it's perfect and I'm pretty sure I feel more in tune with it than many folks do on their new 352xpxiz squared bike which never feels quite right to them.

Building your own bike from a frame up confers a mechanical /physical sympathy/awareness even to a hamfisteded bodger like me.
So any future issues are a doddle to fix.
After all you build it from bugger all.

It also teaches/reassures you that bikes are essentially simple things.
Which is of course one of the great pleasures of cycling in a world which is often unnecessarily complicated, often by vested interests, and riddled with extraneous bullshit.

It started life as a 1995 Marin Stinson hybrid, and has a Tange double butted frame.

The front end is the latest experiment - moving to drop bars, and I agree it's a work in progress!