A friend of mine is getting into mountain biking and is going to get himself a hardtail for about a grand or so. Question is would he end up with a better bike by buying something off the peg or by building something up from scratch as I can give him a set of clean 130mm Vanilla RLCs and a pair of decent wheels (Mavic 719 on Hope XCs).

So what do people reckon, always works out cheaper buying off the peg but which way do you reckon would end up with a better bike?

My thoughts are something like a P7, a 456 or a PA.
Any other thoughts most welcome.

If he’s ‘just getting into it’ wouldn’t something more neutral like a trek ht be better for him?

Is your mate certain he wants a hardtail?
This will obviously depend on where he’s likely to ride most and whether its for long rides etc.
You could get a reasonable new or 2nd hand full susser frame and drivetrain etc for £1k, especially if you’re willing to throw in your forks and wheels.

Cheapest is building up with a careful mix of second hand and new stuff – if you’ve got the time.

For some parts in particular, there’s no advantage to buying new so buying second hand will save lots (eg stems, seatposts, handlebars (usually), saddles, shifters, brakes etc)

Frames can also be bought much cheaper second hand though obviously there’s some risk depending on use.

I almost always put a new drivetrain (cassette, chainrings/cranks and chain) on though – careful internet shopping can get all the parts for low cost if you’re not absolutely fixated on the latest parts or a particular brand, etc.

Maybe but I reckon his progression will be pretty quick, he used to be a cycle courier so knows one end of a bike from the other.

South east based so nothing too radical, pretty set on a hard tail too as he has been using my full suss and finds it a bit OTT for what he reckons he will be doing, Swinley, Surrey Hills etc.

A lot of the custom build pleasure comes from knowing all the components and speccing it yourself- if you don’t know what you are looking at and don’t know enough to make the choices, it could be less satisfying. A 2008 complete build or the like would probably work out better quality wise esp if you reserved a few quid so swap out dodgy tyres or stems etc. I’m in the same boat myself, my sister want a new £500 bike. I’d rather get her a good 2nd hand one or build up a frame but I think she will insist on a new one even if the components are shonky.

I’ve just build a bike up with some ebay purchases a few online bargains and a massively good deal on a bunch of Hope kit from my LBS. They did RRP-20% as I was buying quite a bit and its good to build up a reporte with the LBS as they have only known me as the tight git who buys a single spoke or a pair of emergency pads before.

it’d be even cheaper to buy a 500£ bike if he’s just getting into it