Is it unwise to build a bike?

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Comments

  • earth
    earth Posts: 934
    You may not be wise when you start building your own bike but you will be wiser once you finish. Either way I think it is a good idea. You get to choose exactly what you want and buy it once. With an off the peg bike you undoubtedly get some parts that are there to meet a price point and I always end up swapping them. So it doesn't have to be much more expensive. And if there is extra cost you get tools and knowledge for that. But it might take longer than you expect.
  • bobbydazzla
    bobbydazzla Posts: 289
    I want to build a £6k bike, but on a £4k budget. Am thinking of accumulating the parts I need over the next few months, then buying the frame from my LBS and paying them to assemble the bike. I'm not mechanically minded and struggle with the most basic of DIY tasks, so don't fancy building a bike myself.

    Looks like I can source parts from a range of places and get the exact spec I want but with big savings on each item. I'm unlikely to get a discount on the frame, so will buy from the LBS.

    Anyone had problems doing it this way ? Main disadvantage I can see is that the LBS will only be able to offer support if something goes wrong with the frame, if any other parts develop problems I'll need to deal with the retailer I bought them from.
  • lesfirth
    lesfirth Posts: 1,382
    bobbydazzla wrote:
    I want to build a £6k bike, but on a £4k budget. Am thinking of accumulating the parts I need over the next few months, then buying the frame from my LBS and paying them to assemble the bike. I'm not mechanically minded and struggle with the most basic of DIY tasks, so don't fancy building a bike myself.

    Looks like I can source parts from a range of places and get the exact spec I want but with big savings on each item. I'm unlikely to get a discount on the frame, so will buy from the LBS.

    Anyone had problems doing it this way ? Main disadvantage I can see is that the LBS will only be able to offer support if something goes wrong with the frame, if any other parts develop problems I'll need to deal with the retailer I bought them from.

    I have never run a bike shop but I have run a car repair business. There are similarities. I would want you as a customer as much as I would like an extra hole in my backside. I learned very early in my career that customers supplying their own parts was a recipe for a disaster. If parts are not compatible the job stops. Spend half the day contacting customer. Wait while customer tries to supply replacement. If parts are faulty/ knackered repeat process. After job is done and for ever after any problem with finished job will be your fault not the parts supplied.
    Any bike shop agreeing to this is short of work or learning. These are not a good signs.
  • bobbydazzla
    bobbydazzla Posts: 289
    lesfirth wrote:
    bobbydazzla wrote:
    I want to build a £6k bike, but on a £4k budget. Am thinking of accumulating the parts I need over the next few months, then buying the frame from my LBS and paying them to assemble the bike. I'm not mechanically minded and struggle with the most basic of DIY tasks, so don't fancy building a bike myself.

    Looks like I can source parts from a range of places and get the exact spec I want but with big savings on each item. I'm unlikely to get a discount on the frame, so will buy from the LBS.

    Anyone had problems doing it this way ? Main disadvantage I can see is that the LBS will only be able to offer support if something goes wrong with the frame, if any other parts develop problems I'll need to deal with the retailer I bought them from.

    I have never run a bike shop but I have run a car repair business. There are similarities. I would want you as a customer as much as I would like an extra hole in my backside. I learned very early in my career that customers supplying their own parts was a recipe for a disaster. If parts are not compatible the job stops. Spend half the day contacting customer. Wait while customer tries to supply replacement. If parts are faulty/ knackered repeat process. After job is done and for ever after any problem with finished job will be your fault not the parts supplied.
    Any bike shop agreeing to this is short of work or learning. These are not a good signs.

    I can understand your point with cars given the degree of complexity and the level of specialist knowledge required to repair one, but we're talking about bikes here. Look at the amount of people on this thread who've built a complete bike themselves.

    I think the only bit I'm not capable of doing myself is installing the groupset. I'll be buying mainstream components that are definitely compatible and I can check with the LBS that I have all the relevant parts before starting the build.

    The LBS would be selling me a £2500 frame and making a decent profit on both that and the labour costs, if they're willing to turn that business away then fair enough. And if they can source the components for the exact build I want and get it within my £4k budget then I'll happily buy everything from them.
  • neeb
    neeb Posts: 4,473
    A bike is a bit simpler than a car. A good mechanic should be able to see immediately if there are any compatibility issues in a collection / list of modern, new parts. Bike shops do build bikes from supplied parts. Just make sure you do your homework before buying anything, or if you are not sure about compatibility ask the builder/shop for advice.
  • cubedean
    cubedean Posts: 670
    I would always build over buying. You can build it completely to your spec/budget, I find it very therapeutic building or working on them.

    Nothing better than a bike built on a Friday night fueled by takeaway and alcohol.........apart from the laugh in the morning when you see your achievement/disgrace (delete as applicable).
    Transition Bottlerocket

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