How easy is it to build a bike from scratch?

swelsbyuk

My daughter has a 24" Orbea mountain bike which will probably last her another few months but after that she will need a new bike. I am thinking of a xs or s size (13.5" or 15").

I am not particularly technically minded (I can change a lightbulb and, at a push, a fuse) but quite fancy, as a father/daughter bonding exercise, building her next bike from scratch.

As I said, it doesn't have to be ready until summer and my budget will probably be around £700. I have around £300 now, with an extra £100 to be added every month for the next four months.

So, is it doable for a novice? Any advice welcome!

cooldad

It's easy, accumulate parts (preferably compatible parts) and bolt them together.

A few basic tools, one or two specialist ones and job done.

Read Parktools and ask for advice here.

poah

piss easy - only thing I've got LBS to do was headset

swelsbyuk

Sounds promising. I think I know which on-line stores and auction sites to trawl for most parts. The one (quite important) struggle I might have is acquiring the frame - any places I should look that aren't necessarily immediately obvious?

poah

check the german sites

The Rookie

All my bikes, and all the families current bikes, are home built, very easy, no step is hard, so take it one step at a time.

My fastest build (all bits ready to go) was just under 50 minutes from a bare frame, including fitting the headset.

swelsbyuk

POAH wrote:

check the german sites

I do, but rarely for bikes. Boom, boom! Sorry. :roll:

I know of bike-discount, Rose and Canyon. Can you suggest any others I should be checking out?

Clockworkmark31

Easy to do, just take your time.

Biggest headache will be making sure parts are compatible, ie BB and Headset.

Other than that no problem, if your confused ask, or look at how it should be done. It is fairly plug and play. But.....

I've seen countless attempts of what people call good or adequate wiring for just a plug even by some trades, and I was appalled.

As above German sites for discount frames and just think before you do it.

Not sure why people don't do this more often, rather than buy a bike ten upgrade parts......but that is a different subject.

Enjoy.

One last thing I would say is use the best tools for your budget, an Ikea allen key will not do

Chunkers1980

It will if you're not tool

swelsbyuk

What are the German sites I should be checking out for bike frames?

Thanks

The Rookie

Rose and Bike Discount....

Thewaylander

Clockworkmark31 wrote:

Not sure why people don't do this more often, rather than buy a bike ten upgrade parts......but that is a different subject.

Because for some bikes its cheaper to buy complete, I remember deciding on Dune XR when test riding, then figured I'd build it up like I wanted, finished specing looking at the german sites and so on and got to the same price as the bike but worse spec. so just plumped for actual bike and saved £500 haha

Back on topic, as clockwork said, invest in good tools, you don't need all that many tools so what you get make sure is quality it will repay in the long term

The Rookie

One good way of building a bike cheaper is to get the frame you want and then buy a bike that is unpopular but with decent components that will swap over, some of the Hardtails on Paul's will give you the majority of components you will need for much less than buying them separately.

97th choice

swelsbyuk wrote:

What are the German sites I should be checking out for bike frames?

Thanks

You'll be lucky to get a bargain women's specific frame. May be better looking at a standard frame in a small size

E.G. http://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/cube ... wg_id-8672

Steve-XcT

Very few things are technically difficult...(fitting headset ?) some just need special tools....

Youtube will have a video.... and you can always ask.

You will need certain tools or be able to borrow/beg etc. such as BB tool, cassette tool, crank remover (technically you don't need it to build, just to get them off) and as someone else said... as you can afford...

Good set (or two) of Allen Keys, Good screwdriver and set of bits (PH1, PH2 and TORX .. for 6 mount brakes...)
Set of sockets and spanners (if you don't already own them) and a few special spanners might be required like cone spanners...chain splitter

The beauty of this is once you bought them you have it for maintenance and once you have built a bike its easier to maintain.

Some tools are "optional" but a missing link splitter for example is around £10 and saves a lot of frustration and means you can take the chain off easily to clean (so it and your whole drivechain last longer)

Steve-XcT

forgot to say.... fleabay has loads of used 26" frames and wheels (and some are XS)

Unless your buying carbon its not that risky getting a used frame or even a bike with mostly what you want on it ??

If you really want you can get a full powder respray for £35-£50

and forgot I'd seen these .(unused old model frames).. both 27.5 frames (£25-£299) but you could build as a 26er (probably need to find the right forks) and then change to a 27.5 later ???


http://www.jejamescycles.co.uk/orange-c ... 89994.html
http://www.jejamescycles.co.uk/giant-xt ... 80999.html

Or about the same you could try/risk a Chinese Carbon frame....

and found this .. when looking at Frames for my kids new 24" ...

http://www.poison-bikes.de/shopart/0015 ... .html?&d=1

(but in the end I bought a whole bike for the frame and forks cheaper)

Angus Young

Mmm... hate to be the bearer of bad news, but don't get too carried away based on the answers you're getting here. It's not quite as easy as everyone is making out. Now, it's not the hardest thing in the world, but nor is it just plug 'n' play. For a start, wait till you start figuring which components are compatible with each other. Just as an exercise pick a random front fork, take the specs, then go to Superstar Components, go to the wheel section and try and spec a set of wheels. See how you get on with the various hub and axle combinations. That should give you a reality check. So, no, if you're at lightbulb changing level it's not gong to be just a matter of throwing a pile of parts on the kitchen floor and then bolting them all together one by one.

Having said all that, please don't let this put you off. Just trying to give you a more realistic view of how it's going to be. As I said, it's not the hardest thing in the world and it will be a great thing to do with your daughter and you'll feel a great sense of satisfaction once you've done it. And, of course, you can always come here and ask questions and people will practically walk you through the process. There are a lot of guys on here who really know their onions (including the ones who've answered above) and they're all very helpful. Plus, there's a video for just about everything you're going to come up against on YouTube.

The Rookie

I'm not sure it's as hard as AY says either.

Yes you do need to make sure you get the right parts, but it's not hard, I use a cheap toollkit from Lidl that is the same as many of the mid £20 offerings (such as the On-one jobsworth) and some basic home tools, I've never used a headset press, just a block of wood, a hammer, and some care.

When I got back into cycling in 2009 I built my first bike up from scratch, I then built up my first MTB, reframed the commuter and haven't looked back since.

Angus Young

The Rookie wrote:

I'm not sure it's as hard as AY says either.

But it's certainly not as easy as most of the respondents are saying. Just trying to add a dose of reality.

Remember, the OP admits he's at light bulb changing level. Fuses at a push. Take, for instance, cutting own he steerer tube on a fork. Yes, essentially a very easy job. Get it wrong, though, and your fork is farked. Now imagine tackling that if changing a fuse is your idea of adventurous DIY. It's all about context.

step83

If you have the frame get a tape measure out or better a metal rule or caliper vernier so you can measure things like the headset an how big the rear axle needs to be or drop out size. Ten minutes with those an youll have the numbers you need to make decisions.
Tools, yes one or two specific tools like a BB spanner for example so a basic bike tool kit usually covers all bases. Also time and patience dont think you can bash a bike together in an hour or so if youve not done one before.
Also grease, get some normal white bike grease youll want it on threaded components like pedals bolts etc.

It is a hugely satisfying thing to do though, knowing you put something together. It also give you knowledge of how things work.

Steve-XcT

Step83 wrote:

If you have the frame get a tape measure out or better a metal rule or caliper vernier so you can measure things like the headset an how big the rear axle needs to

I don't think that's really what Angus is saying, what i understand is he's saying you need to know WHAT to measure and I have to agree and his example is real.

You have a frame and you want a BB...
First which TYPE of BB? Lets assume given my recent adventure with building my kids bike up...its square taper ... is it English or Italian/Spanish Threads ? Then what do you measure (I now think I know its the frame then the end of the BB to the other end) .. then its is it Japanese Square Taper or European ??

Equally I view myself as a little above changing a fuse... rather I rewire then get an sparky to come and give me a building regs approval ... (or anything else other than gas which I don't **** about with). I rebuilt pretty much of the internals of my house from tiling to wiring to plumbing) and I've got a pretty large selection of non bike specific tools .... and just drilled out, cut and tapped some custom cranks for the kids bike....

I just had a embarrassing and expensive incident with a height restriction barrier and carbon frame on a roofrack!
As part of that I had to strip the bike completely to get a frame repair (well I could have paid but that was even more money)

It took less than an hour to strip the bike down to just the frame and headset. (which got ziplocked and plastic bag)
Wait - Pay money - cry - get frame home
and less than an hour to reassemble.

But that's really quite different because you know you have all the right bits (and the reason it took an hour to strip was cleaning and plastic ziploc bags) ... I spent much longer trying to work out WHICH brake adapter, WHICH hub and WHICH BB .....so I really think Angus has a good point


On tools.... again I try and use better quality (not Ikea Allen keys) ..... if you damage the bolt heads through cheap tools then you need to find a replacement. (btw anyone got a spare M6 x 30 mm Allen taper please pm me as my integrated saddle bolt got rounded off and my saddle was barely tight and my nuts ended up taking a real battering last Sunday - bloke stopped to ask if I was OK and I squeeked "yes", pointed to my kid and said "but I might not be having any more of those") (If the price of the carbon rapir made me cry, imagine the effect of slamming my nuts into the saddle when it collapsed and the water that came into my eyes - :oops: )

The Rookie

M6 x30mm eBay item 121239906572 simples.....

Vanishingly rare for an MTB frame with threaded BB to not be English thread.

apreading

Usually cheaper and easier to buy a complete bike which may need some parts replacing and/or servicing and/or upgrading. That way also allows you to know what parts to replace them with as you need the same fit in the new parts as the old ones. Having some parts that you intend replacing also gives you parts that you dont care about to practice servicing, for example servicing cup & cone bearings - better to try it on some wheels you dont care about before doing so on something nicer.

FishFish

I can see the reticence on advising people to just have a go. The first one that I built I scratched the frame when banging in the headset, made a mess of cutting the cable outers and had messed up ordering the bits to fit my calipers to the frame. I think I could have avoided the errors if I'd been a bit more patient and took better advice or watched the vids on You Tube. I learned a huge amount though and can competently service a bike. So In a way I agree with Angus but really recommend doing it for the sheer reward.

Angus Young

FishFish wrote:

I learned a huge amount though and can competently service a bike. So In a way I agree with Angus but really recommend doing it for the sheer reward.

Definitely. Just come at it with realistic expectations. Some of the replies here are a little gung-ho.

Stumpypaul70

Easy, the hardest part is researching the compatible parts...

rockmonkeysc

FishFish wrote:

The first one that I built I scratched the frame when banging in the headset,

Banging in the headset was where that went wrong. Using a press is more traditional.

Angus Young

RockmonkeySC wrote:

FishFish wrote:

The first one that I built I scratched the frame when banging in the headset,

Banging in the headset was where that went wrong. Using a press is more traditional.

I had a terrible time getting that stupid star nut washer thing into the top of the steerer tube. I wanted to kill something by the time I'd finished with that!

FishFish

RockmonkeySC wrote:

FishFish wrote:

The first one that I built I scratched the frame when banging in the headset,

Banging in the headset was where that went wrong. Using a press is more traditional.

I quite agree! I bought some ebay home made thing which did not work and could not afford a proper one and the LBS which put my crown race on was closed so did it with hammer and bits of wood. I mean it did work and I learned from it so I'm not complaining.

Clockworkmark31

Think the hardest part about building a bike is speccing it out or choosing the right components.

Decide on the frame first, and then look at the "data sheet" and spec it out accordingly. Just be pragmatic about it and don't be afraid to ask if you don't know.

Headset press never needed one, but that depends on your level of adaptability. a few blocks of wood and a steel rod and nuts do the same job.

Chunkers1980

SFNs are a complete PITA without the proper tool, so easy to set wonky