Cost of switching parts to new frameset

Mike39496

Quick question,

I'm looking at buying a new frame and switching all the parts off my old one onto the new. What is a reasonable cost for my LBS to do this? I haven't had an ask around yet but just want a rough idea. Will probably get a new set of cables for this.

Lets assume all the parts are compatible on the new frame too!

Cheers

Mike

wishitwasallflat

I don't know the costs but why not do it yourself - loads more fun and the best way to get to know your bike?

Zendog1

Somewhere about £100 would be about right. Obviously depends what your lbs hourly rate is.

Why not DIY ? You should be able to get the tools for about the same money and then you have them for life. Plus an in depth knowledge of how a bike goes together.

Mike39496

I'm pretty confident with sorting the gearing, braking etc. The two things i'm not too keen on are pressing the headset and fitting the BB, particularly because of the tools you need. These should only cost about £30 though right?

jordan_217

+1 DIY. Buy a workstand, a tool kit (Merlin do a bundle deal) and a book, Zinn for example. This will cost roughly the same as your LBS but you'll be in a position to service your bike in future saving you a fortune.

wishitwasallflat

Mike39496 wrote:

I'm pretty confident with sorting the gearing, braking etc. The two things i'm not too keen on are pressing the headset and fitting the BB, particularly because of the tools you need. These should only cost about £30 though right?

You sound around the same mechanical level as me but I recently replaced my BB and found it dead easy (screw in one though) - the tool was less than a tenner. The only thing I haven't done on my bike is headset but if needed I would. The only thing left I don't think I would touch is press-fit BB or headset parts as I get the impression you do need a very specialist tool to get it right and I just wouldn't use it enough.

Why not get a trusted lbs to fit the headset and do the rest yourself?

pkripper

I guess it depends how you value your time. I do all my own spannering usually, but on a new frame recently I got the shop to do it as I wanted that new bike feeling. From memory it was about 120, but the job they did was bang on and I was able to go riding on another bike instead!

There's a lot to be said for home mechanics, not least its massively cheaper, but if you're not 100% confident and have the right tools (you do have a torque wrench, right?) You can end up with a much bigger expense.

nunowoolmez

This is really a great opportunity to get to know about components & how a bike is assembled. Too many people just think "Oh, i can't do this, i'll just take it to the shop". In reality it is not very difficult to build up a bike. It will take patience, a few tools (which you may be able to borrow), & watching a few YouTube vids while you do it. There are a few things which are still beyond my skillty which i prefer LBS to do but in time i will learn to do these myself. You will feel an enormous sense of achievemnt & it will be good fun too. Otherwise, depending on which shop you take it to, it might cost somewhere between £100 -150. If you have a good rapport with a shop you use lots, then they might do a decent price for you. But then this means that they think you will always use then for your mechanical needs, which is a bad habit of getting in to. There are good books out there which can help too.

redvee

I've just swapped parts from my old Allez and bought new and the frame went to the LBS for the headset, they will get the task of inserting the SFN and tensioning the wheels when I've laced them. The cost I'm looking at is £20 for the wheels, the headset fitting was a freebie

js14

I second the argument that building you own bike is an option to consider if you have a modicum of practical skills. You will need to invest in some tools and it will certainly take a fair amount of time the first time, but it is an investment that pays in the long run.

I bought a frame from Condor and swapped the bits myself and learnt as I went along. The frame came with the headset fitted, so no problems there and Condor cut the fork steerer to the right length. Cost wise, you need a torque wrench, cassette lock ring tool, chain whip tool, bottom bracket tool and depending on your chain set, a special tool for fitting/removing the cranks and a chain tool. A quality cable cutting tool comes in handy as well. Most of these tools will also be needed for basic bike maintenance tasks, so they’re a good investment.

The most time consuming tasks were fitting the cables and making sure they were cut to the right length (cutting a housing too short is a surprisingly expensive mistake) and taping the handlebars. I only had one unexpected hitch: attaching the front brake to the fork for which I had to buy an extra long hex nut by mail order.

Since then, I've also replaced an all carbon fork on another bike where I had to saw the steerer. Sawing a £200 fork is not a job that I would recommend for the faint-hearted as getting it wrong would be a very costly error .