How much to build a bike?

neilpartington

Looking to get a new bike, top of the list is a Trek Checkpoint but I dont understand the pricing.

Frameset is £1700 and the top of range Ultegra version is £3400.

If I buy the frame, an Ultegra groupset for £850 and wheels for £300 (same as what comes on the complete bike) I still have £550 for the contact points and everything else.

I cant help thinking that building a bike up myself will either get me much better components than the built bike or save some money.

I always thought a mass produced bike would always be much more cost effective than anything I could put together myself, can anyone tell me what I am missing?

londoncommuter

And you'll get the bar width, seatpost setback, crank length, gear ratios, stem length, saddle exactly as you want them first time round with no extra cost. No drawbacks.

You do tend to get carried away with those "little upgrades" to carbon bars etc so might add up to more than you think but that's half the fun. Add in a bit for tools but that's not real spend as you always need tools.....

Andymaxy

That's what I do when I buy a new bike, I compare the price if complete bike to the cost of me buying the frame and then building it up. When the complete bike doesn't offer more than $500 in price advantage, I deem it not worth it.

In your case this might be true, if you are a fairly skilled mechanic and already have 90% the tools required then go for the build, so you have the choice. Ultegra definitely will not cost you € or £ 850 though, here in the US I believe I can get the new ultegra for no more than $850.

StillGoing

I buy the bike and then strip it of all the standard components and sell them. I usually end up breaking even or underspend after fitting the frame with the components I want.

cattytown

Buying a bike at that price range, component build is exactly what I would do. As others say you get to make your decisions. Your choice of everything - saddle, bars, seatpost, stem, groupset - want 165 cranks on an XL frame - no problem.

Paul.

fenix

Trek have never been cheap. You do pay a lot for the name. I'd look at other places to see what your money buys you.

£3400 for an ultegra bike is definitely overpriced in my mind.

Something from Canyon is a grand cheaper -

https://www.canyon.com/en-gb/road/grail ... l-8-0.html

joey54321

Fenix wrote:

Trek have never been cheap. You do pay a lot for the name. I'd look at other places to see what your money buys you.

£3400 for an ultegra bike is definitely overpriced in my mind.

Something from Canyon is a grand cheaper -

https://www.canyon.com/en-gb/road/grail ... l-8-0.html

Lol, did you even read the OP?

fenix

neilpartington wrote:

I always thought a mass produced bike would always be much more cost effective than anything I could put together myself, can anyone tell me what I am missing?

Fenix wrote:
Trek have never been cheap. You do pay a lot for the name.

imafatman

neilpartington wrote:

can anyone tell me what I am missing?

Generalisations are often wrong. Whilst many bikes appear cracking value in comparison to the sum of their parts, many bikes are also poor value and cost much more than the sum of their parts.

Turns out that not every company is the same or has the same costs. Things cost differing amounts of money.

Find what fits the best value for your own requirements.

singleton

In some cases, a self-build costs a lot.
If you look at something like a 2018 Cervelo S3, the frameset is £2300 and an ultegra built bike is £3k - both from the same store.

joey54321

Fenix wrote:

neilpartington wrote:

I always thought a mass produced bike would always be much more cost effective than anything I could put together myself, can anyone tell me what I am missing?

Fenix wrote:
Trek have never been cheap. You do pay a lot for the name.

Ha, i'll take this as a 'no' then.

trek_dan

Personally I've never had a scenario where its cheaper to do a self build based around brand new frame and components. If is its a no brainer as you can get exactly the parts you want with no compromises.

slowbike

joey54321 wrote:

Fenix wrote:

neilpartington wrote:

I always thought a mass produced bike would always be much more cost effective than anything I could put together myself, can anyone tell me what I am missing?

Fenix wrote:
Trek have never been cheap. You do pay a lot for the name.

Ha, i'll take this as a 'no' then.

wooosh - over my head too ... care to explain why you think Fenix has missed the point?

joey54321

Because the OP is comparing the value of a frame sold by Trek to a complete bike sold by Trek. The OP is "paying for the brand" either way.

The OP isn't saying "Trek is a bit expensive, can someone recommend me some other bike brands".

slowbike

joey54321 wrote:

Because the OP is comparing the value of a frame sold by Trek to a complete bike sold by Trek. The OP is "paying for the brand" either way.

The OP isn't saying "Trek is a bit expensive, can someone recommend me some other bike brands".

but the OP did say "Top of the list" ... ie he's considering other options - possibly other brands ..
Fenix's contribution may not be exactly on message - but didn't think it was far off..
Personally I wouldn't consider Canyon - but there you go ...

One thought - are there different frame/fork options within the same model? I know Specialized do/did that with their Allez range - alloy frame and forks - change to carbon forks as you move up the price brackets.

neilpartington

Thanks for the replies.

I'm after a do-it-all gravel / adventure bike.

I have test rode a few either Titanium or carbon. I fancied a titanium but the Trek rode so plush it blew the others away. Going to try some more but as I say, its top of the list as it ticks all the boxes.

Just cannot understand how a complete bike could be more than the component parts hence the post.

As for Trek being expensive, doesnt seem much more than the competition and has a life time warranty on the frame, which seems pretty unique.

neilpartington

Fenix wrote:

Trek have never been cheap. You do pay a lot for the name. I'd look at other places to see what your money buys you.

£3400 for an ultegra bike is definitely overpriced in my mind.

Something from Canyon is a grand cheaper -

https://www.canyon.com/en-gb/road/grail ... l-8-0.html

The Canyon can't take a rack and the bars are a bit of a show stopper... if they work that would be great but if they dont then I dont think theres anyway to swap them out for a normal setup.

MisterMuncher

neilpartington wrote:

Thanks for the replies.

I'm after a do-it-all gravel / adventure bike.

I have test rode a few either Titanium or carbon. I fancied a titanium but the Trek rode so plush it blew the others away. Going to try some more but as I say, its top of the list as it ticks all the boxes.

Just cannot understand how a complete bike could be more than the component parts hence the post.

As for Trek being expensive, doesnt seem much more than the competition and has a life time warranty on the frame, which seems pretty unique.

Iirc, warranty on frames can come with the caveat that the build is carried out by a dealer/mechanic endorsed by a manufacturer. I know Specialized make this exception, not sure about Trek.