Damn building a bike is expensive!

So I'm thinking about building up a bike, was thinking £300 - £400, but after costing it all out, I was well surprised.

Dave Russel frame + forks from Roberto - £189
Powder coating frame (canary yellow) from Armourtex - £60
Pair of Deep V's (bright pink obviously) laced to Miche/Surly/whatever hubs - £180
Miche Crank + pedals + Chainring - £80
Bottom bracket - £20
Saddle + seatpost - £20
Stem + bars - £20
Chain + cog - £20
Front brake + lever - £20

Total - £609

I'm not after a build vs off the rack debate, cause I love the process of building up the bike, but I'm looking for advice on getting the price down? I mean, this a hardly a high spec bike, with most of the parts being 2nd hand or mid - low range. I just don't see how the full build could get much cheaper. Any advice from the experts out there is most welcome.

keep the original paintwork. that's saved you £60 straight away. use some parts from your current ride - just swap them over.

but yeah andy, it can be an expensive business

Don't bother powdercoating, replace deep-vs with cxp22s, buy second hand parts (I have a stem you can have for £2).

Don't use a brake.

That was a joke BTW.

deep v(ictims) = £70?
cxp 22 = £30

not sure if ribble's cheap stronglight cranks + a shimano BB would be cheaper too (done me fine for 9+ months of daily use)

Saddle + seatpost - £20
Stem + bars - £20

Is that a per item or pair?
Seems too cheap already.(New/2ND Hand?)

yep, i remember that paint was in good condition... and it has one hell of a nice logo on the headtube!

yes, i've been following that frame on ebay before roberto got it :P

thus if i were you i would cross out armortex and deep v's. the other vital bits looks well decent mid spec components it'll be worth it.

Have been wondering the same, so I also have listed all my stuff.

Frame - £90
Forks - £45
Powder coating frame (Pure Orange) from Armourtex - £50
Headset - £20
Hubs - £30
Rims - £20
Spokes - £15
Tyres - £45
Crank (my old Campag road crank) - free
Miche chainring - £7
Bottom bracket - £40
Seatpost - £10
Saddle - free
Bars & stem - £40
EAI cog - £17.50
Chain - £10
Front brake + lever - £37

Total £476.50

Personally though, I'd rather do this than buy one off the peg :0)

Yeah, could save some on the rims and the powdercoating for sure, but then I'd still be paying £500+ for a bike that really did look like it had been put together by a blind man. The new paint job and coloured wheels were going to mask the crap quality of the other components.

Which answers MA3K's question. All those parts were just 2nd hand stuff from ebay or this forum.

PS It's not finished yet.

Sam PS It's not finished yet.

Check out today's Bikesnob NYC for more in the same vein....

Here

andyf The new paint job and coloured wheels were going to mask the crap quality of the other components.

i personally think the bike would have looked a lot better if you went for silver rims and original paintwork. will look a lot more modest and original. by the time the summer starts you'll find yourself sticking a key into the wrong lock. know what i mean?

edmundane

i personally think the bike would have looked a lot better if you went for silver rims and original paintwork. will look a lot more modest and original.

this is the truth of it

edmundane [quote]andyf The new paint job and coloured wheels were going to mask the crap quality of the other components.

i personally think the bike would have looked a lot better if you went for silver rims and original paintwork. will look a lot more modest and original. by the time the summer starts you'll find yourself sticking a key into the wrong lock. know what i mean?[/quote]oooerr matron! ;)

Platini [quote]Sam PS It's not finished yet.

Check out today's Bikesnob NYC for more in the same vein....[/quote]

Very good! I have all the gear, it's just a case of setting aside a few hours to build this fucker up.

RPM [quote]edmundane

i personally think the bike would have looked a lot better if you went for silver rims and original paintwork. will look a lot more modest and original.

this is the truth of it[/quote]
+1

Wow, the early votes are in and it's not looking good for me.
I'm not too precious about the look of my bike (anyone who's seen my current red bastard can vouch) but it's the yellow fork on the Dave Russel that gets me. Blue frame, yellow forks, silver rims. It's all over the place.

But will definitely have to consider it to save money.

@Sam,

Where did you get rims and hubs for £50?

Paint/chrome/replace the fork?

mmm... powder coat the forks white coz matching that blue paint would be too difficult.
(group buy thread for shared powder-coating option..)
Nice frame - all proper bikes have blokes name on it.. ahem.
p.s. - I have a cheapo hub built on a black open sport you can have for a fiver / some crack..

andyf @Sam,

Where did you get rims and hubs for £50?

Second hand cheap bastards from eBay.

Maillard hubs (yes shit I know), and MA4 rims that were laced to some old ShimaNo 600 hubs.

andyf Wow, the early votes are in and it's not looking good for me.
I'm not too precious about the look of my bike (anyone who's seen my current red bastard can vouch) but it's the yellow fork on the Dave Russel that gets me. Blue frame, yellow forks, silver rims. It's all over the place.

But will definitely have to consider it to save money.
That looks great, I know what you mean about the forks. maybe spray them black yourself untill such times as you can get them done proper (maybe even chromed? :)

not to diss you mate just giving you some of our thoughts ;)

maybe you could have found a pair of chrome forks that would have solved the problem? and sell that yellow one?

Chrome that fork!