tips for building a bike?

Matt Hoyle <[email hidden]> wrote in news:cCZed.25387$qH3.14777
@bignews6.bellsouth.net:

Quoted message said:

I realize this is probably a very open-ended question, but does anyone
have any tips (or pointers to online resources) for someone interested
in building their own bike? I've kinda got the itch to try building my
next bike. It would be a road bike.

www.parktool.com

Quoted message said:

I realize this is probably a very open-ended question, but does anyone
have any tips (or pointers to online resources) for someone interested in
building their own bike? I've kinda got the itch to try building my next
bike. It would be a road bike.

And by building, I mean assembling components. I'm not interested in
trying to make my own frame.

There's a lot of useful information out there, but really, the best thing to
do is get ahold of a cheap used bike, tear it apart and then rebuild from
the ground up. The first time you do something is all about learning, and
sometimes you learn by breaking things. And if you don't break things, you
might not have learned how tight to make something.

Getting that first bike "under your belt" will make you feel a lot more
confident when you're dealing with the real thing, with expensive components
that you don't want to be approaching with fear & trepidation.

And yes, that's exactly what I did, many years ago. Rebuilt my first road
bike, an Orly "Tour de France", from the ground up. Then moved on to better
stuff, with a lot of first-hand knowledge that made it a whole lot easier.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

"Matt Hoyle" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Greetings,

I realize this is probably a very open-ended question, but does anyone
have any tips (or pointers to online resources) for someone interested in
building their own bike? I've kinda got the itch to try building my next
bike. It would be a road bike.

And by building, I mean assembling components. I'm not interested in
trying to make my own frame.

I checked the rec.bicycles FAQ but didn't see anything that looked
pertinent.

Thanks in advance,
Matt Hoyle

Thanks for the (very prompt) replies, Ken and Mike.

Gives me something to think about.

Matt

Everyone else may remember stuff better than I, and be more adept at working
on bikes, but sometimes when working on my bike in the garage I need to
refer back to instructions for bottom bracket torque, derailleur set-up,
headset set-up, etc.

I have taken the instruction sheets that come with my components (Shimano
Ultegra) and added instructions from the Park Tool website and put them in
some clear plastic 3 hole binder protective sheets with the English side of
the instructions where I can read them.

I then put them alphabetically in a 3 ring binder and keep them in the
garage where I can easily reference them without having to look for them. It
has made my mechanic work much easier!

It is also nice to have an already built up bike to look at as a reference
when building up the other one.

Frank

"Matt Hoyle" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Greetings,

I realize this is probably a very open-ended question, but does anyone
have any tips (or pointers to online resources) for someone interested
in building their own bike? I've kinda got the itch to try building my
next bike. It would be a road bike.

And by building, I mean assembling components. I'm not interested in
trying to make my own frame.

I checked the rec.bicycles FAQ but didn't see anything that looked
pertinent.

Thanks in advance,
Matt Hoyle

As a relative newbie and someone who has done this recently - if you are
buying components new make sure they are all compatible. Things like BB,
chainset etc. You can buy groupsets which have all the compatible bits in
one set.

I found buying all the bits and doing it yourself is not cheap, but I am
very pleased with the end product.

I agree with the others that rebuilding a cheap second hand bike might be a
good way to get some initial experience, as is having a pre-built bike on
hand to refer to.

HTH
Jerry
"Matt Hoyle" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Greetings,

I realize this is probably a very open-ended question, but does anyone
have any tips (or pointers to online resources) for someone interested in
building their own bike? I've kinda got the itch to try building my next
bike. It would be a road bike.

And by building, I mean assembling components. I'm not interested in
trying to make my own frame.

I checked the rec.bicycles FAQ but didn't see anything that looked
pertinent.

Thanks in advance,
Matt Hoyle

"Matt Hoyle" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Greetings,

I realize this is probably a very open-ended question, but does anyone
have any tips (or pointers to online resources) for someone interested
in building their own bike? I've kinda got the itch to try building my
next bike. It would be a road bike.

Don't do it!

Seriously, before you do, shop around a little bit. Make up a list of *all*
the parts you will need (don't forget: tubes & tires, rim & bar tape,
chain, cables & housing, etc.), total that list up, and compare it to the
prices of some new bikes. It's really hard to get close to new bike prices,
even with careful shopping. It's nearly impossible even to build wheels
from components as cheaply as you can get the same (or equivalent)
components already assembled.

I needed a new frame last summer. I discovered it was cheaper to buy a
complete bike & disassemble it to get the frame. I scattered the components
among the family's bike fleet, with the lowest grade components trickling
down into the spare parts bin. If you have a lot of bikes, you can always
use the components somewhere.

In article <lZ5fd.313354$3l3.124456@attbi_s03>,

Peter Cole said:

Don't do it!

Seriously, before you do, shop around a little bit. Make up a list of *all*
the parts you will need (don't forget: tubes & tires, rim & bar tape,
chain, cables & housing, etc.), total that list up, and compare it to the
prices of some new bikes.

I agree that you're not likely to save money by buliding up a low end bike
by yourself. That might be a little different with a high end bike that
the shop would have to build up anyway. The main reason to build your own
bike is that you get to choose exactly what components you want to use (brands,
models, sizes, etc.). You're not stuck with the off brand or house brand
stuff that most companies use these days (though off brand doesn't necessarily
mean garbage). Some people also think this is fun. If you think it is hard
work, you're probably better off not doing it.

do not spam said:

In article <lZ5fd.313354$3l3.124456@attbi_s03>,

Peter Cole said:

Don't do it!

Seriously, before you do, shop around a little bit. Make up a list of *all*
the parts you will need (don't forget: tubes & tires, rim & bar tape,
chain, cables & housing, etc.), total that list up, and compare it to the
prices of some new bikes.

I agree that you're not likely to save money by buliding up a low end bike
by yourself. That might be a little different with a high end bike that
the shop would have to build up anyway. The main reason to build your own
bike is that you get to choose exactly what components you want to use (brands,
models, sizes, etc.). You're not stuck with the off brand or house brand
stuff that most companies use these days (though off brand doesn't necessarily
mean garbage). Some people also think this is fun. If you think it is hard
work, you're probably better off not doing it.

Yes, I thought it would be fun, too. And I felt like, in the end, I
would be able to save some money and get the exact components I wanted
in the process. Granted, I can understand that it might not be a LOT of
money, but I still thought it would be cheaper in the end.

Thanks to everyone for their replies.

Matt

While we're on the subject, does anyone have any recommendations for
vendors when it comes time to purchase build kits? I found
pricepoint.com, but their prices didn't really knock my socks off.
(Maybe I don't have proper context for them yet.)

Thanks,
Matt

Matt Hoyle said:

Greetings,

I realize this is probably a very open-ended question, but does anyone
have any tips (or pointers to online resources) for someone interested
in building their own bike? I've kinda got the itch to try building my
next bike. It would be a road bike.

And by building, I mean assembling components. I'm not interested in
trying to make my own frame.

I checked the rec.bicycles FAQ but didn't see anything that looked
pertinent.

Thanks in advance,
Matt Hoyle

Hi Matt,
I built-up my first road bike earlier this year (based on a custom-painted Rivendell Romulus frame) and found it very satisifying and worthwhile. It enabled me to hand-pick the components I wanted and now I can do all the maintenance myself. I have a few of my build tips/observations on a page on my website:

home.earthlink.nettips.htmlOpen ↗

Good luck and have fun!

Matt Hoyle <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<ehbfd.54683
<snip>

Quoted message said:

Yes, I thought it would be fun, too. And I felt like, in the end, I
would be able to save some money and get the exact components I wanted
in the process. Granted, I can understand that it might not be a LOT of
money, but I still thought it would be cheaper in the end.

Thanks to everyone for their replies.

Matt

It depends on what you want whether you will save money or not. If
your idea of getting the exact components you want is 10 speed Ultegra
(or any current complete group), you will not save money. It may be
worth it anyway just for the joy of doing it. But it won't save
money.

If on the other hand your choice of components involves mixing
campy/shimano/whatever parts together with oddball collections of bits
which appeal to you based on price, looks, or just weirdness factor;
and doing it all on the cheap built onto an old schwinn paramount
frame that some mainiac painted rattlecan pink for no adequately
explained reason.... then you are clearly on the right track.

In terms of where to get stuff, again it depends on what you want.
Modern parts (i.e. 9 and 10 speed), check nashbar, performance,
airbomb.com, supergo, pricepoint, etc. www.chucksbikes.com can be a
good place to find good deals on some semi-odd stuff. Ebay is always
popular, but make sure you research what something should cost before
buying it. It's not uncommon to see people buying a relatively common
part for 20% more than it can be found elsewhere. Otoh if you want a
set of vintage campy pista cranks... it's all about how much you want
them.

The best places are often bike shops that specialize in older parts.
The one I go to, Kraynicks, is a goldmine of everything old, odd, and
pre-9speed.

In terms of learning how to wrench, read sheldon's pages
(www.sheldonbrown.com) and invest in a decent bike maintenance book.
Zinn's guides are pretty good, Barnetts are clearly the best. But
really you won't use it much after the first bike. If you local
library has a copy, use it.

HTH

-Tim

Matt Hoyle said:

While we're on the subject, does anyone have any recommendations for
vendors when it comes time to purchase build kits? I found
pricepoint.com, but their prices didn't really knock my socks off.
(Maybe I don't have proper context for them yet.)

Warning: Shameless Tout
I don't know what you had in mind, but these are complete
except for pedals:

http://www.yellowjersey.org/cakit04.html

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971