building a ss from scratch, how much $?

aekeroo

ive been wanting a bike for city riding,fitness and just fun. i dont have any bikes lying around i can convert so i'll have to buy every piece. does anyone have an idea of how cheaply i could build a ss with frame and parts i wont have to replace for a long time?

10timesbetter

if you're efficient, you could make one for the cost of a bmx freewheel and a chain, i'm sure you can find someone that has an old bike just sitting around, or an anbandoned one somewhere, so it all depends, your cheapest betwould be to buy a normal bike, and just replace the freewheel and chain, instead of building one up from parts, so it just depends on how nice of a bike you're looking to get, as far as how much you'll spend

rykoala

Well, I am doing basically that, building one from scratch. Here's what I've got into it so far, and what I have yet to do. Mind you I'm going further than one has to go, but I'm not going as far as some have gone.

$20 60cm Frame w/ fork and headset, used.
$25 27" Wheel with Suzue Basic hub (Normally $100)
$50 Seatpost, Seat, Tires, Rebuild for front 27" wheel, tubes
$100 Cranks, 42T Chainring, Bottom Bracket, platform pedals
$20 Shimano 16T freewheel

That's all approxiamate, though fairly accurate. This does not cover a small ($40?) investment in tools that I've made. Overall I would say $300 would cover you, if you had to buy a new wheelset. You can do it cheaper, if you re-use a threaded hub and re-dish and re-space it, and use the current chainrings and stuff like that. But if you were to do it from scratch, not having anything to work with (such as how I'm doing it) then you'll need alot more.

I also didn't cover brakes or brake levers.

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aekeroo

thanks. that makes me feel a lot better about being able to afford it. that still sounds really cheap tho, where did you get those parts for that much money?

rykoala

Well I got a deal member at bikeforums.net, for the rear wheel. The frame I got locally from a mechanic at a local bike shop. If I were to get all new parts I could easily spend $450 on the frame alone. Used is the way to go, IMHO. If I were to do it over again... I'd actually do the same thing. The most expensive part is the wheelset and the cranks. I could go used on the crankset and make it cheaper, but I decided to buy new.

Also there is a more active board at bikeforums.net, you'll get alot of help there too.

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ryko
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roguedubb

Converting a new/used bike is usually the cheapest and easiest option. If your after ideas you might want to try Brunswick Street Cycles as they seem to be the best place for SS in Melbourne. If you do convert a bike, just make sure you don't get one of those Surly chain tensioners, they suck sooo bad.

ahimsa

I've never had anything but good experiences with a Surly chain tensioner. I've used them, and so do several of my buddies.

Closner05

WHAT A GREAT IDEA! I think i'm going to start building ass from scratch.

How exactly do you go about that?

10timesbetter

How much do you need to go, do you need a list of parts from us that you need to get, or just specifics on how to make it a single speed instead of a normal road bike

Tmax1

A scratch ss will cost you as much as you want to put into it.

Sheldon's website is a good place for info.

A wheelset was my biggest exspense. I prolly could have got something inexpensive but had to just had to try and lace them up for myself. I did, again, with the help of www.sheldonbrown.com. They are 36 hole and bombproof.

I got a thrift store frame rattle can painted and scavenged parts from all over.

I probably will have about $500 bucks in the bike when all is said and done.

1- scavenged frame- $10.00
1- wheelset- $250.00
1- box re-purposed parts ???
1- super ride- priceless!!

Closner05

Obviously the joke was not understood.

Dark Alley Dan

...maybe too busy scratching the asses they just built?

Just a thought,

Dan

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Tmax1

Took me what, a month, but I got it now...

JG

neverclimbed32

Hey you live in Melbourne right........Check out the hard rubbish or Ceres.
I got a cruiser with coaster brake off the nature strip oiled the chain and rode in the ASSC the following week. Cost.........nothing. This has got to be a record for someone competeing at an elite level. The frame on this baby was a bit small however (probably contributed to my poor placing on the day). Four more scrounged bikes and I've built "Bluey". Big frame, biopace, coaster brake, MTB wheels. Cost........... $15 for new hand grips. I've done my 25km commute on this one day week (just for fun) for the past 5 months. Currently have just finished my best effort yet. Old hybrid, junked as the wheels were buckled. Ditching all the heavy metal and replacing with alloy saves a bit of weight too.
Cost
V Brakes............................$42 ebay
levers................................$20 ebay
16T bmx freewheel...............$16
spokes...............................$5
Pedals................................$70 ebay
exage crankset w/ 42t CR......$4 ceres
road headstem.....................$1 ceres
TOTAL................................$148

Single speeding.....................I'm loving it