Newbie Bike Building

PaulC7

Hi All

Names Paul 28 from Liverpool

Been a keen biker since my teens but had a break of a few years once i learnt to drive, been back on a bike for a good while now though and enjoying it once again.

Currently have this...

Dunlop DoubleDisc 26



Its ok for getting around on but i dont like the frame, plastic chain guard, gear shifters or the rear derailleur so i popped to Halfords to see what they had when i realised i like a bit of everything so thought why not make my own.

For a frame i want something a bit different like a 2004 Specialized Enduro S-Works...



but not too expensive.


Would be grateful if anyone could tell me a list of parts needed to build my own apart from the obvious...
wheels, tyres, gears, pedals and so on.


Thanks for reading.

Holyzeus

A start here
viewtopic.php?f=40043&t=12627966

1mancity2

May be cheaper to get a full bike of ebay or classified ads.

Holyzeus

True but then you start changing everything on it....

cooldad

You need to get/decide on a frame first to make sure the bits you get fit.

1mancity2

Holyzeus wrote:

True but then you start changing everything on it....

I've bought a few frames and built them, but I find it better to buy a bike then add your preffered bits as you go along, that way you have a bike you can ride straight away and not a box of bits.

PaulC7

I thought about buying a complete bike but most of the parts would be standard, i wouldnt be using them and selling them on fleabay wouldnt bring me much money back as you can pop down your local shop and buy them... you never know though i may just see one complete and buy it.

Also after reading up a bit more about building it seems there is more to it than just adding bits and tightening it all up but it will be fun and im looking forward to it.

A few bits that have caught my eye are...

Shimano Hone M600... but with green cogs.


Shimano XT M770


Time Z Control


Pit Bike Brake Disc Type 1


Shimano Alfine



As you can see theres a bit of an edgy theme going on.

Once i get going will post my build as i go along for those who might be interested in knowing how it is for a first timer.

cooldad

Edgy or confused?
AFAIK Hone fits on a specific freehub, not standard dropouts.
Alfine is hybrid type stuff, not MTB.
And you'll struggle to find 4 bolt hubs for those rotors.

delcol

i thought the alfine were road/hybrid parts... :?

what hubs are you using that have 4 hole i aint seen any :? ..

PaulC7

cooldad wrote:

Edgy or confused?

Edgy is how i want my bike to look.
Confused is what i will be when it comes to choosing parts as you already found out i know nothing.

delcol wrote:

what hubs are you using that have 4 hole i aint seen any

Im not using any hubs yet as ive only just made the first step towards building the bike i want...
and hat first step is looking for a frame and reading about how to build one.

delcol

good luck with this...

i would recomend you go for a complete bike then do the build as your next bike when you have a bit of knowladge

from expeierance you always overlook something small but important. like headset spacers....

PaulC7

delcol wrote:

from experience you always overlook something small but important. like headset spacers....

Ive learnt that lesson before... stripped an engine then rebuilt it after starting it up engine temp was high so had a look and found oil all over the engine because i forgot to refit the oil dipstick tube.

So i will be reading up properley on whats needed and how i go about it as i dont wish to be going downhill with my handle bars not connected.

PaulC7

Been reading up here and on parktool.com and im wandering....

Is it just a case of getting a frame then fitting 26" wheels

fit disc brakes then a caliper to them

fit handle bars then gears and brakes

and so on

or...

will the axle on the wheels determine what size discs i can fit and therefore calipers

and the size of the handle bars determine what gears and brake levers i can fit

Therefore limiting my choice of parts

cooldad

Er sort of, maybe, kind of sometimes.

kasandrich

your frame will have to be suited to the wheel and tyre size you want, it will also need to be disk ready if thats the brakes you want.

The hubs will have to suit the disks, the rear hub will need to be suited to both the rims and the rer sprocket.

There are many pitfalls and it would be very easy to get yourself into an expensive hole, with for instance a set of brakes costing several hundred pounds that will not fit either your expensive wheels or your frame.

jayson

Have a look at Merlin, they have some good deals on groupsets for mtb's like the SLX 10 spd set fro £250. They do good wheels aswell so could get alot of parts from them then the rest of the finishing kit from the usual suspects depending on who has the best deals at thetime.

Aslong as you dont rush it building a bike up is pretty straight forward.

supersonic

Is it just a case of getting a frame then fitting 26" wheels

fit disc brakes then a caliper to them

fit handle bars then gears and brakes

and so on

or...

will the axle on the wheels determine what size discs i can fit and therefore calipers

and the size of the handle bars determine what gears and brake levers i can fit

Therefore limiting my choice of parts

You are half way there... but you need to read more. The answer to all your questions is usually 'no'.

The Rookie

I've built a few bikes, the easiest way is to get the frame and forks you want then search ebay/gumtree for a suitable donor bike for all the little bits and pieces, build it and then change it later, that's how I built a bike for my wife with new frame/forks/saddle and headset for less than £60, selling on what I didn't need.

Right now your bike is going to cost you in excess of £1000 on top of the frame because of how your looking at and getting bits.

The Alfine crankset will work as long as you don't want any gears at the front by the way, which rules out your XT front mech (it only has one chainwheel, so clearly no front mech required!)

List of bits you'll need taken from my own build listing
Frame
BB
Crankset
Shifters
Front gear cable
Rear Gear cable
Rear Mech
Front mech
Chain
Front brake
Rear brake
Seatpost
Clamp
Saddle
Headset
Forks
Stem
Bars
Grips
Spacers
Wheelset
Front disc
Bolts
Cassette
Rear Disc
Bolts
Tyres/Tubes
Pedals

Plus the specila tools!

Simon

PaulC7

The Beginner wrote:

the easiest way is to get the frame and forks you want then search ebay/gumtree for a suitable donor bike for all the little bits and pieces.

Right now your bike is going to cost you in excess of £1000

Im not going to go down the donor bike route as they wont have what im looking for... i really am being fussy,
im after a nice frame then green cables, grips, cogs (will do paint job myself), derailleurs a bit different from the norm and so on so i doubt any donor bike i see will have any of what i want.

And parts i will be buying will be of the cheap or reasonable price range £1000 or close to that is way out of my budget.

I got my Dunlop which is doing me for my riding around town so in no rush to have my new ride asap (which is a good thing cause still got to get my head round all the tech side of things), but once built i will look at getting down a few trails but nothing too serious just a weekend out no competitions hence why i dont want to spend a fortune.


Thanks for the list Simon

The Rookie

From what you're now saying your best bet is to buy a bike that fits the essence of what you want and then change cables/grips etc which is a much cheaper and easier excercise! None of my bikes have cost me a fortune yet both are fairly well specced as a I buy the right parts (used mostly) and fit them as I go, being patient to get the right part at the right price.

Almost anything you build will be better than that generic full suspension cynically rebadged by Dunlop, they are seriously rubbish

Ghostt

Are you more concerned about how it will look or how it will ride?! Really, I'd go and test ride a few bikes in your budget range, find one you like riding and start from there. It's also much easier to learn how to 'build' a bike by taking an existing one and swapping over parts. That way, if you put something on incorrectly, you're more likely to notice the difference between the component before and after replacing and be able to fix it.

Rebuilding a complete bike is also makes it a lot easier to buy new parts, as everything has to be compatible! I don't think any of the parts you listed were compatible with each other, they simply wouldn't work together.

PaulC7

Probably more looks.

My job involves driving a lot of expensive cars and sports cars so understand and feel the difference between a Astra and an M3 as they have different components, setups and computers controlling all the suspesnion... but when it comes to bikes i cant see how the ride/handling could be poor on some and good on the others.. as the components are the same... steering, wheel and suspesnion.

I await to be corrected lol

cooldad

Awesome you must be the Stig.
So the only difference between an Astra and a Ferrari is a computer?
I call troll.

bails87

PaulC7 wrote:

Probably more looks.

My job involves driving a lot of expensive cars and sports cars so understand and feel the difference between a Astra and an M3 as they have different components, setups and computers controlling all the suspesnion... but when it comes to bikes i cant see how the ride/handling could be poor on some and good on the others.. as the components are the same... steering, wheel and suspesnion.

I await to be corrected lol

By that logic all cars are the same. They all have a few seats, 4 wheels and a steering wheel!

bails87

Also, what do yuo actually want?

You want gears that aren't the 'norm'. Why? What do you mean by that.

Going 1x10 would drop some weight, or you could get a hub gear, but that's about it in terms of 'edgy' stuff.

Ghostt

In that case, why not just tell your LBS what you want and let them build it?
Alternatively: http://store.ferrari.com/en/sports-game ... cycle.html

or http://www.porsche-bike.com/us/porsche-bike-rs/ (this one's RRP is £6000)

Chunkers1980

PaulC7 wrote:

Probably more looks.

My job involves driving a lot of expensive cars and sports cars so understand and feel the difference between a Astra and an M3 as they have different components, setups and computers controlling all the suspesnion... but when it comes to bikes i cant see how the ride/handling could be poor on some and good on the others.. as the components are the same... steering, wheel and suspesnion.

I await to be corrected lol

Are you really that much of a fool?

PaulC7

bails87 wrote:

By that logic all cars are the same. They all have a few seats, 4 wheels and a steering wheel!

Yes in a way cars are the same but how the suspension is put together and controlled by the computers determines how good or bad they handle... what im trying to understand is how can a bike be good or bad at handling without such aids.

Chunkers1980 wrote:

Are you really that much of a fool?

Im not a fool and nor am i trying to tick anybody off im simply a novice trying to learn from the many knowledgeable people on here... and if you have been a member for a good while then im sure you have had many novices ask dumb questions and i apologize if im asking another stupid one.

cooldad

PaulC7 wrote:

bails87 wrote:

By that logic all cars are the same. They all have a few seats, 4 wheels and a steering wheel!

Yes in a way cars are the same but how the suspension is put together and controlled by the computers determines how good or bad they handle... what im trying to understand is how can a bike be good or bad at handling without such aids.

Chunkers1980 wrote:

Are you really that much of a fool?

Im not a fool and nor am i trying to tick anybody off im simply a novice trying to learn from the many knowledgeable people on here... and if you have been a member for a good while then im sure you have had many novices ask dumb questions and i apologize if im asking another stupid one.

Balls. Just balls.

bails87

So, what makes an expensive bike better than a cheap one.

Weight - makes it easier to move the bike, stop it, and turn it. This is a massive factor, heavy bikes (like the Dunlop) are horrible, anything decent will be a revelation.

Stiffness - The bike goes where you point it

Control - Better forks and brakes. For example, cheap forks are just a spring in a tube. Hit a bump and they (might) compress, then they 'ping' back with no control. Good forks will have low speed compression damping to tune out pedal bob, high speed compression damping to deal with big hits, adjustable rebound damping to stop the fork springing back to full extension uncontrollably. Exactly as you say, the way the suspension is put together is different.

cooldad

TBH if an expert on cutting edge sports car technology couldn't work that out for himself, you probably should have used simpler words.
Like some bits are better.