The Components of a Geared Bike

I'm thinking of building a geared bike and I can't think what I need. I was originally going to buy an off the peg Bianchi or similar for £700 but would prefer Campagnolo and so I then thought about getting a bike made up by ribble which works out costing just shy of £700 for a Mirage equipped bike with fairly standard components.

I'm now thinking about getting a steel frame and building the bike from their (I love the feel of steel)

If I'm building a bike from scratch I need to know all the components I need. I'm thinking about the little things too here like whether or not you get skewers with a set of wheels and brake & gear cables with a boxed groupset.

I'm thinking of getting a Xenon groupset, pretty cheap components and a Bob Jackson Audax Club frame.

Any advice would be great.

I've built and own 5 geared bikes. Only 3 have new frames, and I personally recommend buying second hand components in good condition, or new old stock. There are added advantages in doing this, for example I prefer the old Campag Record brakes before they launched skeleton, and the 2006 crankset is timeless. Lots of cat 1 and 2 racers change their gear all the time and swap for tech advantages like ceramic bearings etc. I have found that unless you get a sale bargain, the new equipment loses its value by nearly a half the moment it's assembled. My policy has been to go for top range even if second hand, rather than a low end new groupset. Again it depends what you want to use the bike for. My aim was to enter sportives, which demand lightness and climbing ability. I also built a time trial machine and a pursuit. Up to you and your budget eventually, but try to choose wisely things you will remain content with for five years. Also read reviews at Road Cycling, Bike Radar and Bike Forums. Finally good luck! It is a very rewarding feeling riding a machine you have specced out yourself.

But good second hand bars for £12 are hard to find. I might have to go for cheap, new components for some of it. I may try to get old centaur/chorus/record group parts but I'd be risking my budget.

by my flatmates genesis. i want the fucker out of the house! =D

Frame + gears + flamboyant pink paintjob + NoBrakes = byke!

.... or buy my condor posted in the classifieds today (smile face here). Those polished alloy / chrome components would look nice on a 531 frame.

I'd tend to agree - the xenon / mirage stuff is cheap, black and will lose the little value they have. 50/14 has made a good suggestion. Maybe the London Dynamo boys will have stuff for sale in their classifieds section.

This s really good value : http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=25459

You can buy complete road bikes off ebay or BC website for almost any price range. If you don't know what you need or don't want to build this is a better way to go since it's often cheaper to buy as a whole unless you really scour the 'bay. I paid £400-something for a full Ultegra Ribble Winter bike and I'm sure putting Campag on instead wouldn't be too much diff £.

I'm trying to shift my nice nice Bianchi Mega SL Pro gearie, 105 shifters, rear mech, tiagra front mech, 105 crankset, carbon bianchi forks with alloy steerer, spinergy wheelset (can't find em on tinterweb but they were 300 new), brand new rubino tyres fitted tonight,it's a 58 i think... It's a really nice ride, maybe getting a bit dated now but still performs very well, just the odd commuter chips, and a tiny flatspot on the front rim but it's still fine, probably true that out honestly. Looking for 400 ono, which is a steal as it was probably about 850 for the bike then the addition of the 300 quid wheelset.

Shimano 105 is a seriously good groupset for the money and you can usually get a second hand 105 specced carbon/half carbon bike for around the £700 mark.

Campag and SRAM will cost you more and the benefit of either is negligible until you get to Record or Red.

Groupsets aside, the best and most noticable improvement to a bike is always your contact points; bars, stem, saddle (for riding position) and then wheels and tyres.

My link has 105 at £499.

this spesh looks like ok value

My link has 105 at £499.

Definitely a good deal.

This will go for less than a grand and probably closer to the £800 mark

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Bianchi-Racing-Road-Bike_W0QQitemZ190268150096QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Bikes_GL?hash=item190268150096&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1298%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Vintage-Raleigh-Record-Ace-12-Campagnolo-Reynolds-531_W0QQitemZ190269416542QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Bikes_GL?hash=item190269416542&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1298%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318

Check out the sale page
http://www.wilsoncycles.co.uk/

58cm Raleigh Special Products Reynolds 853 tubing of any interest?

this spesh looks like ok value

I have the same model and it is a decent bike. Two gripes though, handling is too quick for my liking (used to road bikes with loads of rake), secondly the front brake feels gritty all the time (maybe cheapy pads?). Apart from that those minor gripes, it is a really nice bike.

Buying a complete bike is usually the cheaper option, but building one up from scratch can be a satisfying experience. If you have beer to hand.
If you are building it up from scratch you'll have thought of frame, forks, wheels and groupset. When you're costing it up remember you'll also need; cables, bars, tyres/tubes, rim tape, handlebar tape, headset*, headset spacers, starfangled nut/bolt/cap, stem, saddle, pedals, seatpost, seatpost clamp. And yes, some wheels need skewers.
From personal experience you'll be wanting some shiny new bottle cages too.

*cost of pressing it in if you don't have access to a headset press.