Buying a complete bike versus buying separate components.

ben@31

I was wondering, at this time of the year with end of season sales. Would it be more economical to buy a complete bike or buy a frameset then buy all the components separately?

Some complete bikes look like they have cut costs by mixing lower end components and wheels into their package. But then if I bought everything separately theres a lot of the little stuff that will soon add up... skewers, inner tubes, pedals, stem. I suppose the advantage of buying everything separately is at least I can upgrade the wheels and groupset.

Does anyone have any experience of building your own bike from scratch rather than buying a complete package?

sloppyschleckonds

No it's not more economical

ben@31

Basically I was looking at buying a secondhand frame set for a reasonable price and then look for discounted a groupset. Maybe Ultegra 6800 and light-ish wheels.

Or would this be too good to be true and not as simple as that?

I don't want to fall in the trap of buying the frame, groupset and wheels only to find there's more and more small bits I need to buy. I reckon I can use the saddle, seatpost and bars off my old bike.

sloppyschleckonds

Buy best shifters, f&r mechs. Lightest/ best quality chainset (rotor etc)

The rest on wheels, most people I know have 2+ sets

krogort

Compared to the like of Cannondale, it is more economical.
Compared to the like of Canyon, it's not worth it as it end up costing the same.

DKay

A lot of it depends on how soon you want to be able to ride your bike. Case in point; by scouring the classified and bargain sections of the forum and scooping up good deals over a good number of months, I've been able to build a Scott Foil for around half the price it would have cost off the shelf for an equivalent spec. Plus, it has contact points which I know work well with my arse and hands.

However, sometimes complete bikes can be had at absolute bargain prices. For instance, Merlin Cycles are currently selling Felt F5s at the crazy price of £899, which would be pretty much impossible to beat if you bought the parts separately. Even if you bought the bits secondhand.

If you're building up yourself, also factor in the cost of tools and new cables. Do you already own a workstand? Building up your own bike is pretty satisfying and you learn the ins and outs of your bike. My Foil was the first complete build I've done and I really enjoyed the experience and if anything needs attending to, I'm secure in the knowledge that I can sort it easily, quickly and best of all, cheaply!

me-109

It can be cheaper buying the bits, but that depends on how good a deal the pre-built is and whether or not it is available in your size. At least, as some one earlier said, you get to choose the components, so you avoid having to upgrade the bars/stem/saddle etc.

cattytown

Generally buying components will cost more than a complete bike. Where buying components wins is it lets you spec what you want.

I recently built a bike up, but the frameset was a niche frameset, but I also got to put Racelite CDRs on, the right width for me, I got to put on the Fizik saddle I get on with, I got to spec the crank length I wanted.

I also wanted the interest in building the bike.

Paul.

housemunkey

If you do it right and use your noggin you can save a lot of money, but if you just buy willy nilly you can spend more. Either way though, as others have said, you do get the bike how you want it.

I personally prefer getting a frameset and building it up as I'll back myself to get some good deals to make it less expensive. However, again as has been said, its not something that works in a rush.