How long have you taken from buying a frame/parts to having a full bike? Hours? Years?

Just thinking about it as I preordered my dialled alpine mk3 frame in July, still have; headset, stem, saddle, post, BB, tyres, cables and chain to buy before I can build it all up.

Hopefully be ready for spring. Mostly been money limiting my progress…

So how long have you taken? Still got a frame you have been meaning to build up since the 80’s?

Took me a few months to build up my heckler as kept buying bits as I seen deals as well as a transfer of parts. At the time though I was looking after our youngest who was about a year old during the day. This was whilst on nights and days off so slowed things down somewhat.

Guessing kids slowing progress will be a common theme 😉

Even when I have the parts will be building it whilst they sleep trying to be quiet and not shouting profanities

This looks like quite a long bike build:

Took delivery of a dialled bikes PA frame last Xmas, just had the headset and BB fitted this week as figured it’s been sat in the corner of my back room for far too long.

Mine generally take 12 months….3 months to get the parts…9 months to realise i dont have the the time to build it and get the lbs to do it lol! Darned kids!!!

I’m not the only one then. Annoying thing is I have forks and frame, but no headset and cranks/pedals but no bb. So not much building I can do yet.

Frame purchased Jan 13, all parts now ready to make it up, hopefully ready before Jan 14………just remembered still need grips!

Keeping three other bikes in good condition has prolonged the build

9 months to realise i dont have the the time to build it and get the lbs to do it lol! Darned kids!!!

Eh, according to many on here (previous thread about paying an LBS to build a bike), it’s only 2 hours work. And even I can do it in an evening.

ive been buying parts over the last 3 months to build myself another (n+1) bike. thought it would be a nice thing to do on christmas day…..forgot brake pads, rotor bolts, and cant find the cable cutters. bum. oh well maybe build it for my birthday in may……i think this is why the classifieds are so cheap

No time to build bikes? Takes about 2 hours…

Agreed. A build full of new parts takes about 2 hours. I reckon if I had double checked that everything was ready and at hand and brakes were blead I could do it in under an hour.

My Liteville was probably the longest I’ve built. Took ages for the seatpost to arrive.

Warranty replacement frame arrived November 2010. Got team bike for 2011. Team folded at the end of the year, frame built up March 2012, so 16 months.

An upgrade rather than a build. I ordered a 9 speed cassette and shifters in 2009…. still haven’t gotten round to fitting it 😯

Had a full set of parts ready to go since July. Still waiting for a frame to hang them all on (no pre-order but am on a waiting list).

You want to try restoring retro bikes. Got one of the first DMR Trailstars ever made and it’s been months waiting for bits to become available. Not a question of money a lot of the time, just waiting for a part to come up for sale. Needed a DMR saddle and I even went to DMR themselves who had a hunt in the dusty corners of their website to find me a NOS saddle.

Bought some forks about two months ago as they were a good deal, since then I’ve bought everything except a few minor bits. Undecided and lack of funds stopping me getting a bb, oh and a frame.
2014 project.

It took me about 4 months to build my 224- but I had all the parts the day the frame arrived, I just got kinda sidetracked into polishing it til you could see your face in it, servicing every last part, respraying things, replacing parts before it’d ever been ridden then replacing the parts I’d replaced…

Intended to take months building the whyte I bought on here last winter, but got carried away and put it together in about two weeks with a load of brand new parts I’d previously insisted I was going to buy 2nd hand

Bought one of the marley frames a little while back and have most of the parts I would need to build it 90 % new already put by for a previously planned upgrade of my current hardtail.
But I dont need or want a new bike right now as I am happy with what I have got, so it is safely boxed and filed until that situation changes, if it changes.

So could be built next year, 10 years or never.

My last build took 6 months to source all the parts and then built over a few evenings as at the time I had no knowledge or understanding of the process.
So googled the job in hand whether installing the chainset or fitting a deraileur, then did so once I understood what had to be done.

Some sites instruction was better explained than others but by far parks online guide was the best .
Step by step instruction that was easily grasped.

Got a N.O.S 2006 Scott nitrous jr20 frame in September..
Just laced up the 240s hubs on 20″ rims. Still need 140mm cranks, pedals, forks, rear shock, drivetrain and brakes.. Fortunately my kid is only 3½ so I’ve a good couple of years to get it built 🙂

When i say LBS doing it…i didnt mean all of it. On both my last two builds the bb needed facing, so got the bb installed along with the cranks. It just seemed easier and it was done while i talked to the mechanic/owner…he now lends me the odd tool so having him do little things does have its advantages in the long run.

My latest build will be done by me…bar having a couple of coloured spokes changed on my wheels as i have no clue about wheels and not taking any chances. 🙂

And as for 2 hours…try doing it a house with no room to swing a cat and an infant screaming with either colic or teething and wife that hates all things bike related! The only 2 hours i get a week is actually to go cycling!

My Christmas present to myself this year was all the bits for a bike build, having sold off my old full susser and a couple of bits.

Frame is second hand so BB facing and headset pressing are already taken care of.

I’m sure there will be some unforeseen glitch or bit missing that will have me tearing my hair out. I’m already at the “Are Halfords open and do they sell headset spacers?” stage.

Bit I’m least looking forward to – cutting steerer tube to length.

Cutting the steerer was easy with a fairly cheap stanly adjustable pipe cutter.
Just took my time adding a little pressure at a time.

What I did do was drop the forks in a black bag and taped it closed around the bottom of the steerer so just the steerer was exposed and poked a little cloth down blocking the steerer just past where I would cut.
As I was paranoid swarf from the cutting or filings from cleaning up the edge would find there way on to one of the new lightly oiled stanchions only to cause trouble later.

I am sure most people would have just cut it and given them a wipe down.