today i learnt a lesson

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DCLane

Found in the Yorkshire hills ...
True. But a good learning experience.

My first one was a total disaster (I split the head tube). As was the second, which at least was usable for a while. The third however turned out to be quite good and is still being used in youth racing. I've built 26 to date since 2012.
 

tyred

Legendary Member
Location
Ireland
Putting a bike together, admiring the finished article and going for that first ride is such a rewarding and satisfying experience.

I've always maintained that anyone with an interest in cycling should pull an old bike out of a skip, take it to bits and rebuild it and try not to have too many bits left over. It doesn't matter what the bike is - old, new, cheap or expensive, the skills learned will put you in good stead for the future and the cost is marginal (unless you try to upgrade everything).
 
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?
 

Globalti

Legendary Member
You spend months agonising about what frame to buy, what size, colour etc. then what components and wheels etc. then more time looking for the best deal.

The only time I ever built a bike myself was my Global titanium hardtail, hence my forum name.
 
You spend months agonising about what frame to buy, what size, colour etc. then what components and wheels etc. then more time looking for the best deal.

The only time I ever built a bike myself was my Global titanium hardtail, hence my forum name.
And how did that bike go? How does it compare with your other bikes? How did you go about assembling it? I'm guessing it's not by following a video tutorial :laugh:
 

Milkfloat

An Peanut
Location
Midlands
Assembling a bike is easy - a pleasant afternoons work. Agonising over which frame and parts to buy and crucially what you actually need is a little harder. Not many people build a bike, we simply put them together.
 

Globalti

Legendary Member
I loved riding it, it was buttery smooth off road as titanium often is but after 21 years of mud and wet I lost my mountain biking mojo and went over to the more subtle joys of the road.
 

DCLane

Found in the Yorkshire 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:

DSCF2107.JPG


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:

DSCF1437.JPG


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:

IMG_7511.jpg


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:

DSCF7019.JPG
 
@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:

View attachment 560289

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:

View attachment 560291

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:

View attachment 560292

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:

View attachment 560293
What other bikes have you built?
 

DCLane

Found in the Yorkshire hills ...
What other bikes have you built?

Loads, but mainly road bikes with the odd TT bike. It's usually because a) I'm bored and/or b) my son's grown out of what he was using. I forgot to bid on a TT frameset last week to try a frame swap with my Principia; I'll find something else though for that next.

It'll be everything from a lightweight hardcore carbon fibre race bike with Dura-Ace (his BeOne Raw Comp) through to a 'fun' re-build of a badly-battered Carlton into an all-orange fixie.

Current build projects are a Dawes Kingpin multi-geared TT bike attempt plus an old Raleigh 1972 thing and a ladies bike I picked up yesterday; that may be parted out instead.

Anyway, haven't you got studies or something? :whistle:
 
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Sharky

Guru
Location
Kent
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?
BITD and before aluminium and carbon were discovered, you rarely bought a complete bike. It was the norm to buy a new frame one year, then maybe a new pair of wheels the next and all components were transferred onto the new frame.
 
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