Frame price in relation to parts

weescott

Because I'm not man enough to ride through 3 foot of snow I'm spending my spare time scouring the internets looking for a new AM frame for next year. I decided on a budget of between £900 and £1200. Then thought, hold on...I could potentially be putting the forks I have already onto a frame that cost the same amount of money! :shock:

You read bike reviews where they say the frame is worthy of upgraded parts....but to what point? How much do I have to spend on a frame for it to be "worthy" of top end parts?

:?

MountainMonster

*cue Dr. Evil voice* 1 MILLION DOLLARS */Dr. Evil voice*

The Northern Monkey

Depends on the type of frame.

Hardtails are generally cheaper as frames and can cost the same as forks.
FS frames are over twice as much as a HT frame, but you get a rear shock.

nicklouse

as little as possible.

supersonic

i have to agree with nick's philosophy; or to expand my point of view, I think given that a frame fits the actual importance is not as high as the forks, and possibly other parts.

Stuy-b

ok i know im talking in roadbike bits but,

frame - planet x £400
fork - ec90slx £300
group - record 10 £1300ish new?
wheels - easton ec90slx £1000ish
finishing kit - easton £300ish
saddle, cables + other bits and bobs £400ish?

so... parts = far too good for frame HAHA

DCR00

Mine

Frame = £600
Forks = £200
Wheels = £330 (i didnt pay that)
Parts = £700 ish

That said, most of that is 2nd hand with the exception of the wheels

My original plan was to keep the Rockhopper frame i had and just replace the parts, wheels and forks, but an unused Scott carbon frame for that money was too much to resist

At the end of the day, a lot of this is about personal choice. If you choose not to upgrade the bike, its still a bike and will still perform as intended.

bails87

If the frame's light enough, strong enough and it fits then any frame is good enough isn't it? I'd rather spend the extra on good wheels and forks.

gezzza

A frame is the building block of the bike.

theres no point putting top parts on a buget frame IMHO.

bails87

gezzza wrote:

A frame is the building block of the bike.

theres no point putting top parts on a buget frame IMHO.

But what if the budget frame is good? :?

What's the point in buying a Yeti ASR5C and plastering it with steel bars, 7 speed Shimano Tourney stuff and crap plastic v-brakes? I'd rather have a £2k bike with amazing spec than a £2300 frame with crap on it.

Budget frame with top notch spec will be lighter and more enjoyable to ride than a top notch frame with crap spec, IMO.

Bar Shaker

And there is certainly no point putting cheap parts on a good frame.

Its all about finding a balance that fits your budget.

gezzza

bails87 wrote:

gezzza wrote:

A frame is the building block of the bike.

theres no point putting top parts on a buget frame IMHO.

But what if the budget frame is good? :?

What's the point in buying a Yeti ASR5C and plastering it with steel bars, 7 speed Shimano Tourney stuff and crap plastic v-brakes? I'd rather have a £2k bike with amazing spec than a £2300 frame with crap on it.

Budget frame with top notch spec will be lighter and more enjoyable to ride than a top notch frame with crap spec, IMO.

A On-one inbread is good but hanging DTSwiss XRC100 race forks off it with XRC 1250 wheels and a full XX group set is a bit of a waste IMHO its a good frame but not that good

Its about balance if you can only afford an inbread frame but can afford XRC100 race forks then i think you would need to go back and have a rethink.


Im not dissing the on-one here just using it as an example

miss notax

Mine worked out to be....

Orange 5 Diva frame £450 (god bless Ebay )

Everything else £1,450 :shock:

This included Fox forks, Mavic wheels, Chris King headset, Formula brakes, XT groupset etc etc. It is fair to say thatI got a tiny bit carried away... :roll:

bails87

miss notax
But I'll bet you've got a better bike than if you'd spent £1450 on the frame and £450 on everything elsse.

Not that it matters, people can spend their money however they want.

miss notax

bails87 wrote:

miss notax
But I'll bet you've got a better bike than if you'd spent £1450 on the frame and £450 on everything elsse.

Not that it matters, people can spend their money however they want.

True

I should probably also say that it was a new unbuilt (but a bit dusty!) 2007 frame, as opposed to one that was battered and literally only worth £450. I personally wouldnt have spent all that money on parts if I didn't think I had an equally top-notch frame!

As you say though, each to their own

MountainMonster

gezzza wrote:

bails87 wrote:

gezzza wrote:

A frame is the building block of the bike.

theres no point putting top parts on a buget frame IMHO.

But what if the budget frame is good? :?

What's the point in buying a Yeti ASR5C and plastering it with steel bars, 7 speed Shimano Tourney stuff and crap plastic v-brakes? I'd rather have a £2k bike with amazing spec than a £2300 frame with crap on it.

Budget frame with top notch spec will be lighter and more enjoyable to ride than a top notch frame with crap spec, IMO.

A On-one inbread is good but hanging DTSwiss XRC100 race forks off it with XRC 1250 wheels and a full XX group set is a bit of a waste IMHO its a good frame but not that good

Its about balance if you can only afford an inbread frame but can afford XRC100 race forks then i think you would need to go back and have a rethink.


Im not dissing the on-one here just using it as an example

You also need to realise that at the end of the day the frame is still just a frame. If you buy a stupidly expensive frame, and fix it up with average level wheels and forks, it will probably ride like a turd. Fix I medium price bracket frame up with really good forks and wheels, and it will ride like a dream.

You don't need the most expensive frame to be worthy of good parts. After all is said and done, the majority of the ride and feel of the bike come from the wheels and forks. Without those, you won't be as happy, even if riding the most expensive frame.

Northwind

gezzza wrote:

theres no point putting top parts on a buget frame IMHO.

Bad frame, sure, but budget doesn't mean bad. My Mmmbop's draped with about a grand and a half's worth of top end kit but it doesn't come close to being "too good" for the bargain basement frame.

Northwind

gezzza wrote:

A On-one inbread is good but hanging DTSwiss XRC100 race forks off it with XRC 1250 wheels and a full XX group set is a bit of a waste IMHO its a good frame but not that good

Problem here is more that it's not very appropriate kit for the bike. But stick all that stuff on a £200 Scandal and you're rocking.

gezzza

Northwind wrote:

gezzza wrote:

A On-one inbread is good but hanging DTSwiss XRC100 race forks off it with XRC 1250 wheels and a full XX group set is a bit of a waste IMHO its a good frame but not that good

Problem here is more that it's not very appropriate kit for the bike. But stick all that stuff on a £200 Scandal and you're rocking.

i still think the kit would be too good for the frame.

Raymondavalon

I'm sure this has been discussed before

My new build is based on an On-One 456 Summer Season, a rather budget long travel HT frame at about £190 with headset included
So far the wheels (custom builds with WTB Hubs at DTS rims), forks (Revelation Race Air U-Turn 150 w/Maxle) Blackspire AM cranks, chainrings, Dewlie guide and Avid Code [185/203] brakes make it a great build with the frame being the budget part.
Add in SRAM X9, bars, stem, seatpost and other odds and ends.. cables, clamp etc.. but I have no idea what the actual cost of the rest of the build cost, as I did it all on a piecemeal basis over time... Circa £1600 all in

If I don't get on with / outgrow the frame I have decent components to migrate over to the next build.

No components are "too good" for a frame IMO and there's nothing wrong with good, cost effective frames being shod with good components

VWsurfbum

Raymondavalon wrote:

No components are "too good" for a frame IMO and there's nothing wrong with good, cost effective frames being shod with good components

This ^

getonyourbike

VWsurfbum wrote:

Raymondavalon wrote:

No components are "too good" for a frame IMO and there's nothing wrong with good, cost effective frames being shod with good components

This ^

+1

rhext

Speaking personally, I'd be less worried about 'too good for the frame' and more worried about 'too good for the rider'.

I reckon once you pass a certain quality threshold (works reliably, doesn't wear out or break too frequently), then you very quickly run into diminishing returns on both frame and components. And once you're in the area of diminishing returns, you have to start questioning what value you get from spending more.

Sure, if I had the cash, I'd buy a top-end bike kitted out with top-end gear, but I'm pretty sure that any extra enjoyment I got out of it would be more related to pride of ownership than any tangible improvement to my actual riding experience. A spectacular view is a spectacular view whether you're sat on a £500 bike or a £5,000 one. Unless you're actually racing, does it matter if you get down a brilliant piece of singletrack a handful of seconds faster as long as you've enjoyed the ride?

As far as matching component to frame is concerned, if the frame fits you and it doesn't weigh a ton, why not kit it out with high-end parts if that's what gives you pleasure. I have a Swiss watch: it doesn't tell the time any better than the Casio I could buy for half the price of a new battery, but I still enjoy owning it!