build a bike?

markjbanks

im new to road, but have done alot of mtb, i have been looking at road bikes for a while but cannot find the right one for me. so thought about building my own. have about £1000 to spend and just woundered if their is anything im missing or its not the best thing to do as im new to road? below is what i have assembled so far looking around.

mavic ksyrium elite £120
105 black groupset £300
handlebar easton ea70 £50
seatpost easton ec70 £50
stem easton ea70 £50

i already have a saddle, tubes, tyres and pedals

im just not sure what sort of frame and fork i could get for around £500 - £600

im 6'1 and will be mostly riding sportive and for fitness

cheers for any and all advice

mark

Slow Downcp

If you're competent with a spanner, building your own is the best way. You get exactly what you want re saddle, tyres etc.

Frame I'd recommend this if the large will fit you - I'm six foot and I ride a large Kharma. Superb frame, and at this price it won't be there long:

http://www.dooleys-cycles.co.uk/product ... ductID=941

Re groupset, make sure you want Shimano, test bikes out for feel of the hoods - I find them really uncomfortable but find Campag really comfortable.

Most of all though, make sure you get something that fits.

Mettan

markjbanks wrote:

im just not sure what sort of frame and fork i could get for around £500 - £600

im 6'1 and will be mostly riding sportive and for fitness

cheers for any and all advice

mark

How about the Ribble (Deda) Nero Corsa for £378 quid ?

http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/productde ... IBBFRAR910

You could get an adequate pair of carbon forks for £100-£120.

For £1000 though, there's plenty of choice for buying a new bike.

Eau Rouge

Slow Downcp wrote:

If you're competent with a spanner, building your own is the best way. You get exactly what you want re saddle, tyres etc.

I thought (so please set me straight if I'm wrong) that full bikes cost less than the sum of their parts, as the bike companies get huge discount on the huge bulk orders of the parts.
So, the "build your own" option is probably a little dearer for the same bike, though as you say, you use what you want rather than having to replace stuff straight away.

But, a new rider (like me) has nothing to compare stuff to. I don't really know what size or make of handlebars I'll like, or what saddle or even what type of peddles. Is it not a better idea to get the cheaper bike fully made first, find out what I do and don't like, and over time how to actually put the bike back together, and then build my own after that?

The-Dude

I'd have thought the cheap bike to begin with would be a better idea. Or look around for a bike with a good frame and cheaper components to get going and then over time pimp the components up to the same level as the frame. You start of with a cheap bike and end up with a pretty good one.

System_1

A complete bike will almost always be cheaper initially, but there's always some component you're not happy with that will need upgrading at some point which will negate any initial saving. Much better to get it right from the start.

That's a fairly good spec you've got so far (though you seem to be missing the headset at £20-£30). £500-£600 will get you a cracking frame and fork though, which along with good wheels is the heart of any bike. Building your own is also one of the most satisfying things you'll do. It's dead easy as well, just don't forget to budget for the tools to put it together.

Here's a couple of suggestions for frames:

Kinesis Gran Fondo. This comes with a seatpost so you can subract that from your budget. Built specifically for sportives, this would suit you down to the ground. Comes with rack and mudguard mounts as well which is always beneficial if you fancy a bit of touring/commuting. Kinesis build great VFM bikes and they're amazing to deal with. If I had the money, I'd have one of these myself.

Kinesis KiC2. No, I don't work for Kinesis but I am a bit of a fan of their bikes. :oops: You'll need to budget for forks on this one. Kinesis suggest the Attack (shallower rake than most). It's a bit racier than the Gran Fondo but it's an amazing frame. I have one and love it to bits. Fairly cheap too so you could probably get better wheels or groupset within your budget.

Kiron Nero Corsa. Exactly the same as the Ribble mentioned previously, but cheaper. Again, a bit racier than a proper sportive bike but good VFM and with this one better wheels or groupset is definitely possible within your budget.

To be honest, at £500-£600 the world's your oyster. Just keep in mind that carbon doesn't always = good. I made that mistake with my first carbon frame and have since gone back to Aluminium. Aluminium, steel and scandium are very capable machines and now that carbon is the lastest must have at this price there are some cracking frames out there in your budget that will do an equally good job.

giant_man

markjbanks wrote:

im new to road, but have done alot of mtb, i have been looking at road bikes for a while but cannot find the right one for me. so thought about building my own. have about £1000 to spend and just woundered if their is anything im missing or its not the best thing to do as im new to road? below is what i have assembled so far looking around.

mavic ksyrium elite £120
105 black groupset £300
handlebar easton ea70 £50
seatpost easton ec70 £50
stem easton ea70 £50

i already have a saddle, tubes, tyres and pedals

im just not sure what sort of frame and fork i could get for around £500 - £600

im 6'1 and will be mostly riding sportive and for fitness

cheers for any and all advice

mark

Just make sure the frame fits you. Period. All very alluring seeing a good frame at a good price on the net, only to find the thing isn't the right size when you take it out on the road. YOu have quite a choice for that kind of money, be it alu, steel or otherwise, so do your homework and get your measurements right. A fitting service (you won't have to spend more than £50 in the right places) will get your measurements in check then you can get the right size frame. A test ride, depending on where you get it from of course, would be ideal.

Good input about Kinesis frames, they make very fine alu frames, highly recommended. But as I say have a good look around, to see what takes your fancy.

ScottieP

I also think the Kinesis range look good - especially the GranFondo, which has had great reviews. Another option for your budget is the Planet-X SL Pro Carbon frame that a lot of people have and rave about. They are going for £550 from Planet-X including fork, headset and seatpost. Planet-X also do pretty competitive full builds.

Good luck
Scott

amaferanga

Are those wheels second hand?

New Mavic Ksyrium Elite will cost at least £300 for a pair. That would put a bit of a dent in your frame budget.

Monty Dog

Check whether your groupset includes headset, cables and chain. You'll also need handlebar tape, bottle cages and air for your tyres . There are plenty of people offering the Deda Nero Corsa carbon frame & forks for about £500, which is a good deal provided the fit is right for you.

keef66

I'd second (or is it third?) the Kinesis gran fondo; I got my racelight TK last year, and was kicking myself when they brought out the Gran Fondo not long afterwards. That's what I'd have if I was buying new now.

Slow Downcp

Eau Rouge wrote:

Slow Downcp wrote:

If you're competent with a spanner, building your own is the best way. You get exactly what you want re saddle, tyres etc.

I thought (so please set me straight if I'm wrong) that full bikes cost less than the sum of their parts, as the bike companies get huge discount on the huge bulk orders of the parts.
So, the "build your own" option is probably a little dearer for the same bike, though as you say, you use what you want rather than having to replace stuff straight away.

The last three bikes I've built have cost less than buying as a built up bike (or the same as but with better wheels etc).

I could have bought an Enigma Etape from Enigma last October with Centaur and Fulcrum 7's for £2,200 (now £2,385). I built up with the same groupset, but Kysrium Elites, Look Keo pedals, Two cages Arione saddle etc for £2,015. Quite a saving plus much better wheels, pedals included etc.

It's just a case of shopping round for the best deals, although in the end I ended up using just 4 suppliers - Enimga for F&F and finishing kit (bars,stem, etc), CRC for pedals, Merlin for saddle, and everything else from Ribble.

thiscocks

markjbanks wrote:

im new to road, but have done alot of mtb, i have been looking at road bikes for a while but cannot find the right one for me. so thought about building my own. have about £1000 to spend and just woundered if their is anything im missing or its not the best thing to do as im new to road? below is what i have assembled so far looking around.

mavic ksyrium elite £120
105 black groupset £300
handlebar easton ea70 £50
seatpost easton ec70 £50
stem easton ea70 £50

i already have a saddle, tubes, tyres and pedals

im just not sure what sort of frame and fork i could get for around £500 - £600

im 6'1 and will be mostly riding sportive and for fitness

cheers for any and all advice

mark

I think the Elite you mention is a price for 1 wheel... They are 330ish for the pair (more for the '09 ones). What about the cheaper Equipes? Ribble have some good price frames for your budget. Some good black-tail ones...

markjbanks

cheers for all the help,
i hav all the tools and built a few bikes before so thats not a problem, the groupset comes with everything including chain etc, as for the wheels yeah i was wrong. £260 for both 08 rims but still a gud price and alot better than what i think i would get for any factory build it seems.

1 more question what are the campagnolo and spam groups in the same range as 105 and whats peoples fav?

Slow Downcp

Veloce is the Campag 105 equivalent, Rival is the SRAM offering.

I prefer Campag, but it's all down to personal preference. Never tried SRAM.

I have Kysrium Elites on both my road bikes - very good wheels. I understand the '09 version is quite a weight saving, but the '08 ones are good for the money - '09s may see a big price hike

ride_whenever

are planet-x still doing the CF with some DA bits for a grand?

Either way look at those, they will supply unassembled so that'll save you some pennies and they ride nicely.

thiscocks

Veloce and Mirage are both good groupsets from campag at 105 price range. Id choose one of these over 105, but it is more due to personal choice. Heard the 105 is still v good.

Baytt

105 is a decent groupset, not had a problem with it mechanically, yet the hoods seem abit uncomfortable to me sometimes.But thats just me

alfablue

ride_whenever wrote:

are planet-x still doing the CF with some DA bits for a grand?

Either way look at those, they will supply unassembled so that'll save you some pennies and they ride nicely.

I think the current offer is for Ultegra, unbuilt. I was lucky to get one of the last £999 DA builds (supplied built). It only had DA shifters and mechs, but those are the most important bits, the other bits are all fine. I think the Ultegra build has shifters, chain, cassette and mech, and the bars and brakes are better than on my build. The Model B wheels are a highlight, very good.

A lot of people seem to have bought these and sold off the bits they don't want, it would be hard to get anything equivalent self-built (buying parts separately yourself).

markjbanks

sorry, does planet x do a self build kit then? if so i cant find it on their website? do like the frame and have only heard good things on this site about them! cheers

alfablue

The SL Carbon Pro page (under production bikes), it is unbuilt unless you select the build option, which is +£100.

markjbanks

after all the help and searching i am going to build a planet x with campagnolo veloce infinite componets.

the only problem is im try to order the groupset but not sure if the front mech is braze on, 32 or 35 mm and also if the bb is eng or italian? if any 1 can help please