Hi all, this is my first post on here.

I’m going to build my very first bike from scratch – It’s going to be a high spec hardtail. However, i can’t afford to buy all the parts at once. It’s going to be a gradual side project buying 1 or 2 components every month. Just wondering if anyone had some tips regarding ordering priorities?

Expensive items such as forks are going to be a big chunk of the budget. What is the best time for good deals online? If I buy the forks early I may get a good deal, but by the time the bike is finished, what I paid for them may end up being a rip off compared to the sale prices in the future. Do i wait and buy the forks as the last item?

I’m guessing any other components that dont tend to fluctuate in price that much can be bought at any time during the build. Any tips / experience would be most welcome.

Importers buy at a point in the year generally. The exchange rate has a big influence on the price in the UK and that means the sale prices too.

Simple solution is don’t look at prices once you have your parts.

buy 2nd hand. Why buy new?

Why buy new?

For me it’s warranty
Droppers – well worth having
Shimano Brakes – well worth having
Forks – well worth having

Buying everything new you are better off getting a full bike, as manufacturers get things much cheaper than we do. You can change things as you get more money! Some shops do 0% finance too

Only watch out would be warranty issues on brakes and forks so maybe leave these a bit longer? . If you get Shimano brakes you get 2 years, so if you wait a year before the bike is built you effectively only have a 1 year warranty left. Same for Forks, fox only give you a year so no point spending that sat in a cupboard. Most other bits don’t tend to need a warranty (dropper maybe)

Financially you’ll be better off saving up over that period and then buying a complete bike. Boring but practical!

I already have 2 complete bikes. This will be my dream build titanium hardtail. The frame is already on order and they don’t sell complete bikes.

Forks in particular are very expensive new but 2nd hand wouldn’t be an issue for me if they have been serviced annually (at least) and no pitting on the stanchions.
Brakes; there are always good deals on new but have a look on ebay for new, generally there are lots of bargains to be had.
I take your point about a dream build and can understand why you’d be wanting new but after 6 months of plugging through the mud they’ll be the same as 2nd hand anyway. I guess you have to weigh up your priorities against your bank balance.

I’m going to build my very first bike from scratch – It’s going to be a high spec hardtail. However, i can’t afford to buy all the parts at once. It’s going to be a gradual side project buying 1 or 2 components every month. Just wondering if anyone had some tips regarding ordering priorities?

I’m in a similar position, first time doing a build, and can’t afford a new bike and don’t want to take out more finance. My current estimate is it will take a year to get all parts together.

I’m ordering parts based on some kind of feel of importance and offers, so far, frame, groupset, forks, wheels.

Pleased I got the groupset, and on a deal. A good price, and means I have lots of small parts I won’t suddenly realize I need when it comes to putting the bike together.

I’m not going for a dream build though, just capable components for what I want it for. Forks were ex-demo.

Definitely sales start coming as we get towards the “end of the season” eg September !

As above I would be tempted to buy at least some components second hand to get riding although maybe you are aiming for Speing / Summer 2018

If it’s a dream build you probably already have a good idea of the actual components you want to fit. So purchase order goes out of the window, just wait til one/some of the parts you want come up at a price your happy with and snap em up.

You’ll just need to spend hours a week checking the stock and prices of the bits you want……

Its worth checking the classifieds on here, pink bike and Ebay to see if a good condition, second hand version of what you want comes up as well, just in case…

0% credit card?

APF

Expensive items such as forks are going to be a big chunk of the budget. What is the best time for good deals online? If I buy the forks early I may get a good deal, but by the time the bike is finished, what I paid for them may end up being a rip off compared to the sale prices in the future. Do i wait and buy the forks as the last item?

If you have a specific make/model of fork then buy it while it’s still current & available.

Reductions tend to apply to forks that either you or no-one else wants and in many cases NOS will be marketed as ‘new’ with a lower price. This is especially true of Rock Shox who have a huge aftermarket/OEM range and it’s only when you dig deep (or even worse buy) that you realise what you’ve actually got

Financially you’ll be better off saving up over that period and then buying a complete bike.

This is good advice. Even if you build a bike up from components, you are generally going to be better to save money until you have enough to build a complete bike.

Building a bike up isn’t just a means to an end though.

Building a bike up isn’t just a means to an end though.

At the end of the process, you want to have the best bike you could afford. Way to do that is to save money until you can buy either a complete bike or all the parts to build one. Then assemble it and go riding. Buying some old model forks and brakes because they’re cheap then sticking them in the cupboard for 2 years while you accumulate all the rest of the bits doesn’t seem like a very good strategy.

Buying some old model forks and brakes because they’re cheap then sticking them in the cupboard for 2 years while you accumulate all the rest of the bits doesn’t seem like a very good strategy.

We all make our choices. It’s a suitable choice for me at the moment and as I mentioned earlier I’m estimating it will be a year. Nothing gets any cheaper. I started keeping a record of my bike spending to maintain my commute bike. A chainset that was on offer for £40 two years ago is now £60 – and that’s a triple.

You’ll possibly be wanting my stem then…Thomson Elite x4, 50mm, fits 31.8 bars, only used once so condition is excellent. Nicest stem money can buy – £45 posted, £40 collect from Calderdale. PM if you’re interested or want pics. Thanks.

I think it can work, but not for a full on “dream” build.

e.g. the forks which will go cheap are those that fewer people wanted to buy than the importer expected. They might happen to be just what you’re after, but then again they might well not.

I built up a hardtail I’m very happy with, prioritised on things and I reckon I paid less overall than I would’ve if I had got a build as good (for me) as a full bike (or a full bike plus changes), even excluding the fact that I used an old drivetrain and rear hub. If I hadn’t reused things, I think I would’ve still come in a touch cheaper, but only because I had my own priorities. If your priorities are “nice everything please” this won’t apply.

Ive built up a few bikes from scratch and have found that…
a) Ive ended up paying far more than off the shelf bikes with similar build
b) You need to get the right forks, not those with best discount so spend money here
c) you can get it quite light as you can compare all the components individually
d) ignore bling premium branded parts and you can save a fair bit of money
e) self build is quite rewarding so enjoy it

are you going to build the wheels?

Potentially doing myself out of a sale but…sack the self-build – Orange P7s are on offer.

Thanks for the input everybody.

Only watch out would be warranty issues on brakes and forks so maybe leave these a bit longer? . If you get Shimano brakes you get 2 years, so if you wait a year before the bike is built you effectively only have a 1 year warranty left. Same for Forks, fox only give you a year so no point spending that sat in a cupboard. Most other bits don’t tend to need a warranty (dropper maybe)

I had not considered the warranty on forks / dropper etc.

ignore bling premium branded parts and you can save a fair bit of money

Funnily enough I was wondering if the Chris King headsets are worth the high price.

self build is quite rewarding so enjoy it

Yes, looking forward to it.

PayPal are doing 0% for 4 months I noticed yesterday.

OP, trying to do exactly the same thing.

Frame was new from manufacturer, but other parts I am less fussy about. Fork kindly donated by STW legend on here, found a deal on pedals (online), wheels (LBS old stock but excellent Mavics), stem (online). Bar is off another bike, using a spare on the older bike. Got the cranks coming from another online shop.

Paid top dollar for decent brakes though (LBS) and need to get Groupset, which I probably will get online.

I think it is just a question of looking on eBay and on the classifieds here, but also generally keeping an eye open for bargains online.

There will always be a better deal, but don’t worry about it once you have got what’s going on your bike. Building a bike up is part of the fun – it is not cheaper, but I think you can get decent parts from the start. Also helped me learn a lot about looking after the bike when things go wrong.