What kind of frame should I select as a beginner?
Kiki001
Posts: 29
I am a beginner and want to build a road bike for myself. Steel? Titanium?Or Carbon fibre?(P.S: Budget is enough) Hope you guys can give me some suggestion. Tks. 
0
Comments
-
You forgot aluminium...!0
-
What type of riding will you be doing?
Do you want to use the bike all year round?
Do you envisage wanting to fit mudguards and/or a rack?
You can make a case for any of the main materials, just depends on what your intended use will be.0 -
What do you want to build it out of ? If you're a beginner you might HATE cycling. So I'd go for a cheaper steel frame.0
-
Set an objective context for your question you are asking as each poster will have their own idea of what needs a frame should cater for.
Personally I would suggest you make a visit to your local shop and start a conversation around what you think you want. What you think you want and what you need may be two different things so set a objective context for you and overlay your personal preference once you've gained more informed insight“Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime. Teach a man to cycle and he will realize fishing is stupid and boring”
Desmond Tutu0 -
Kiki001 wrote:I am a beginner and want to build a road bike for myself. Steel? Titanium?Or Carbon fibre?(P.S: Budget is enough) Hope you guys can give me some suggestion. Tks.
Frame material is irrelevant to a beginner status. Geometry is the important thing.0 -
markhewitt1978 wrote:Kiki001 wrote:I am a beginner and want to build a road bike for myself. Steel? Titanium?Or Carbon fibre?(P.S: Budget is enough) Hope you guys can give me some suggestion. Tks.
Frame material is irrelevant to a beginner status. Geometry is the important thing.
I wouldn't say geometry per se. Just make sure its a correct fit and comfortable. Just cos someone is a novice rider by no mean suggests they cannot get comfortable on a low fronted aggressive bike instead of an endurance geometry which is more sit up and beg.0 -
^ Well said
This obsession with upright 'comfy' road bikes is odd. A CAAD would be fine.
You don't start off upright (/bouncy) and work your way down lol.
If you know bugger all about someone then surely starting with something in the middle would be the best bet?
Comfy bikes are a fairly new thing. They are effectively a niche market that has got out of control!
OP (if not a troll) should just go to a bike shop, buy a sale bike thats not too big, and get out and ride it.
Why build a bike if you do not know what you want?0 -
To be fair I think building a bike up from scratch would be an excellent way to learn about bike maintenance from the ground up, so to speak. The learning curve would be steep for sure, but satisfying.0
-
markhewitt1978 wrote:To be fair I think building a bike up from scratch would be an excellent way to learn about bike maintenance from the ground up, so to speak. The learning curve would be steep for sure, but satisfying.
If this is a major factor in the type of bike then the material can have a bearing as an Alu frame with external cables will be easier to fit assemble than a carbon with internal cables. There are not many taxing things to putting a bike together. I would say setting up a fork and the steerer is the easiest to mess up. But once its done its done. Gears can be fettled and played with to set up right. gear and brake cable routing can be pretty straight forward. Apart from that there is very little else to get stuck on. Wheels are wheels. chains are chains. stems and seatposts are just bolt on jobs.
The troublesome areas are gears and brakes which are something you should really know how to maintain on a regualr basis if your intention is to do it yourself (which would be quite bizarre to not do if you build it up then send to your LBS to service)0 -
bernithebiker wrote:You forgot aluminium...!
You remind me of it. Ha ha. I just not that know about the frame material.
0 -
MrB123 wrote:What type of riding will you be doing?
Do you want to use the bike all year round?
Do you envisage wanting to fit mudguards and/or a rack?
You can make a case for any of the main materials, just depends on what your intended use will be.
Thanks for your suggestion. I want a bike for commuting to work and long way riding at weekends.
I plan to use it all year round. Maybe sometime I will cross somewhere with sand so I need mudguards and a rack.0 -
Well said. Your advice does help. I will consider visiting a bike shop first.Slowmart wrote:Set an objective context for your question you are asking as each poster will have their own idea of what needs a frame should cater for.
Personally I would suggest you make a visit to your local shop and start a conversation around what you think you want. What you think you want and what you need may be two different things so set a objective context for you and overlay your personal preference once you've gained more informed insight0 -
Geometry? It sounds complicated. Could you tell me more about it?markhewitt1978 wrote:Kiki001 wrote:I am a beginner and want to build a road bike for myself. Steel? Titanium?Or Carbon fibre?(P.S: Budget is enough) Hope you guys can give me some suggestion. Tks.
Frame material is irrelevant to a beginner status. Geometry is the important thing.0 -
Maglia Rosa wrote:markhewitt1978 wrote:Kiki001 wrote:I am a beginner and want to build a road bike for myself. Steel? Titanium?Or Carbon fibre?(P.S: Budget is enough) Hope you guys can give me some suggestion. Tks.
Frame material is irrelevant to a beginner status. Geometry is the important thing.
I wouldn't say geometry per se. Just make sure its a correct fit and comfortable. Just cos someone is a novice rider by no mean suggests they cannot get comfortable on a low fronted aggressive bike instead of an endurance geometry which is more sit up and beg.
Yes. Of course I hope the bike can fit me and makes a comfortable ride for me. 0 -
You are right. Maybe I take the thing of building a bike too easy. But it is really hard for me right now cause I have no idea about the one I want and what's there in the market.Carbonator wrote:^ Well said
This obsession with upright 'comfy' road bikes is odd. A CAAD would be fine.
You don't start off upright (/bouncy) and work your way down lol.
If you know bugger all about someone then surely starting with something in the middle would be the best bet?
Comfy bikes are a fairly new thing. They are effectively a niche market that has got out of control!
OP (if not a troll) should just go to a bike shop, buy a sale bike thats not too big, and get out and ride it.
Why build a bike if you do not know what you want? 0 -
That's also my thought at first. But I changed my mind after seeing you guys' advice.markhewitt1978 wrote:To be fair I think building a bike up from scratch would be an excellent way to learn about bike maintenance from the ground up, so to speak. The learning curve would be steep for sure, but satisfying.0 -
Maglia Rosa wrote:markhewitt1978 wrote:To be fair I think building a bike up from scratch would be an excellent way to learn about bike maintenance from the ground up, so to speak. The learning curve would be steep for sure, but satisfying.
If this is a major factor in the type of bike then the material can have a bearing as an Alu frame with external cables will be easier to fit assemble than a carbon with internal cables. There are not many taxing things to putting a bike together. I would say setting up a fork and the steerer is the easiest to mess up. But once its done its done. Gears can be fettled and played with to set up right. gear and brake cable routing can be pretty straight forward. Apart from that there is very little else to get stuck on. Wheels are wheels. chains are chains. stems and seatposts are just bolt on jobs.
The troublesome areas are gears and brakes which are something you should really know how to maintain on a regualr basis if your intention is to do it yourself (which would be quite bizarre to not do if you build it up then send to your LBS to service)
It seems you guys have two different opinions. Thanks for sharing. I will visit local shop first and then decide whether I build a bike or simply buy one. 0 -
Good luck in building something that you have no idea of what it is.
If you see something in a shop that you do want to build, personally, I would just buy it.
A lot of people build stuff because they cannot buy it, but they know (because of riding shop bought bikes) exactly what it is that they want.
Saying it would be a good idea for you to build a Bike sounds very very very idealistic to me.
Coming back into the real world. Buy a bike first, and then tinker about with it or build a second one if you want.
Disasemble and rebuild the bought bike if you really want the technical knowledge ;-)0 -
+1 on Carbonators advice.
You really seem to know not much about bikes. Building one up is a great exercise - but its easy to get the wrong components and then it gets expensive very quickly.
Plus its pretty much always cheaper to buy an off the shelf than in bits.0 -
I'm confused the op has asked in another thread what bike he can get for a 2day ride and how tight his budget is (200 quid) but on here he said his budget is enough for carbon? And he is also 6"8 are you wanting one used bike, and also an extra bike frame?0
-
Different dude. That was ed90. I think he's been scared off. At his height he's not going to have many second hand choices and even more so for a budget of £200.0
-
Yeah sorry my bad! I can't read
0 -
Carbonator wrote:Good luck in building something that you have no idea of what it is.
If you see something in a shop that you do want to build, personally, I would just buy it.
A lot of people build stuff because they cannot buy it, but they know (because of riding shop bought bikes) exactly what it is that they want.
Saying it would be a good idea for you to build a Bike sounds very very very idealistic to me.
Coming back into the real world. Buy a bike first, and then tinker about with it or build a second one if you want.
Disasemble and rebuild the bought bike if you really want the technical knowledge ;-)
This is exactly what I think about now.Thanks for all your suggestion. 0 -
I get it now. Thanks a lot.Fenix wrote:+1 on Carbonators advice.
You really seem to know not much about bikes. Building one up is a great exercise - but its easy to get the wrong components and then it gets expensive very quickly.
Plus its pretty much always cheaper to buy an off the shelf than in bits. 0
