Building/Buying off Ebay

se99paj
se99paj Posts: 22
edited July 2013 in MTB buying advice
So now that the weather has got better in the UK, I've decided to get out the old mountain bike and try some off road trails near my house. I already have a road bike but wanted to get some variety.

Unfortunately my current mountain bike is ancient, so after going out on the bike for the first time last weekend in probably 10 years it was a pretty bumpy ride. I'm interested in getting a better bike.

I've had look on the market for buying a new bike but I don't really have much cash, I know Halfords have a few bikes for £100 but I'm guessing they won't be that reliable.

I'm keeping an eye on Ebay for complete bikes but its not easy winning a bid.

I've noticed that there are quiet a few people selling 2nd hand components on ebay, so I was thinking would it just be cheaper to buy the individual components and build a bike myself? I've done a bit of research and the general feedback is either (a) its not that difficult to do or (b) its very difficult and you should just take the parts to a local bike shop to put together by someone qualified..

I'd be interested to hear your opinions?

Comments

  • Giraffoto
    Giraffoto Posts: 2,078
    Building a bike up from components is relatively straightforward - an advantage is that the components often come with instructions. If you've always done your own repairs, go for it
    Specialized Roubaix Elite 2015
    XM-057 rigid 29er
  • Barrelmaker
    Barrelmaker Posts: 188
    Building a bike is easy. I built both my bikes up and the only thing I didn't do was the headset and crown race. Everything else was installed using a 30 quid bikehand toolkit.
    456 Evo
  • mcnultycop
    mcnultycop Posts: 2,143
    Barrelmaker wrote:
    Building a bike is easy. I built both my bikes up and the only thing I didn't do was the headset and crown race. Everything else was installed using a 30 quid bikehand toolkit.

    As above, although I let the LBS do my bottom bracket too as it needed facing.
    Nerve AM 7.0
    Scandal
    Felt Roadie
  • The Rookie
    The Rookie Posts: 27,816
    Building a bike is easy, but for best value get a good used one, with patience you can find one on ebay for circa £120, look for auctions ending at funny times, badly listed or 'requiring work' and be patient.

    Gumtree is worth considering as well.
    Currently riding a Whyte T130C, X0 drivetrain, Magura Trail brakes converted to mixed wheel size (homebuilt wheels) with 140mm Fox 34 Rhythm and RP23 suspension. 12.2Kg.
  • thelonegroover
    thelonegroover Posts: 1,073
    I think you'll struggle to build any sort of bike for £100. Even with parts from ebay.
    Planet X Kaffenback 2
    Giant Trance X2
    Genesis High Latitude 2x10
    Planet X n2a
    Genesis Core 20
  • Bishbosh10
    Bishbosh10 Posts: 268
    And don't buy any bike with "Apollo" written on it!
    2011 Giant Trance Ltd, 2016 Revs, XT bits etc.
  • se99paj
    se99paj Posts: 22
    Thelonegroover wrote:
    I think you'll struggle to build any sort of bike for £100. Even with parts from ebay.

    I think I could stretch to £200 but anymore and I might as well buy a prebuilt bike.
    Bishbosh10 wrote:
    And don't buy any bike with "Apollo" written on it!

    Most of the bikes I had as a kid were Apollo, won't go anywhere near them though.

    Thanks for the advice guys, I'll keep an eye on Ebay for the time being and do some research on components, etc

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