I fancy a new road bike (endurance/comfort focussed).
I don't have a massive budget maybe £2-3k for an outright buy. Not much is floating my boat off the peg.
Am I totally mad for considering a frame and parts build at home (I have the skills/tools)?
I am in no rush so could maybe stretch the budget along the way (bit of extra from each month's salary).
Priorities for me would be nice wheels, robust and a middling weight.
Or am I going to spend more time and money and end up back where I could have started 🤔
Short answer = yes.
Long answer = no, if that's what you want to do?
I'll never buy or build another road specific bike again. That's my current thoughts on road bikes. I'll happily ride my gravel/commuter/folder on the road tho if needed.
Aagh edit not updated first post. The missing bit was something like.
Am I totally mad for thinking a frame and parts build would be a good idea (given I have the skills and tools).
No massive rush so I can scrape some extra budget from income along the way. I do like nice wheels, I'm not a groupset snob.
Am I going to spend more to end up back where I started with something that's not really any better but poorer for time and money🤔
Edit and the minute my back is turned and I typed it all out again the missing bit arrived in the first post. So STW!
Depends what you want, but most of the time frames seem to be at least as expensive as the cheapest build. E.g. looking on sigma sports an SL8 frame is only £90 cheaper than a build with 105Di2. A similar story for the super six, although the frame only option is the posh carbon if the hundred grams or so is worth it to you.
There is a lot less potential for customisation with a road bike, but then again there are some good deals around currently so you can build a better bike for the same price - Shimano Ultegra di2 groupsets can be had for just over a grand. Frame could be something like Mason Definition or a Fairlight Strael for around £1500. Wheels I would probably buy on ebay - you can get some great prices for wheels that people have taken off new bikes.
This is what i'd do. Buy the cheapest group on the nicest frame, then update and rebuild with stuff you want.Depends what you want, but most of the time frames seem to be at least as expensive as the cheapest build. E.g. looking on sigma sports an SL8 frame is only £90 cheaper than a build with 105Di2. A similar story for the super six, although the frame only option is the posh carbon if the hundred grams or so is worth it to you.
It's what I plan to do. Then I realise that spending hundreds of pounds and the faff of selling the new stuff properly isn't worth it when I won't be able to tell the difference without getting out the scales so never quite get round to it!
That budget buys a lot of someone's Sunday best hardly used top end road bike. Or last of the line on sale before next year's shiny stuff arrives.
Does it have to be new?
No idea on your size, so first pick from eBay
Or
when I won't be able to tell the difference without getting out the scalesYou're not going low enough (or high enough) then!!
Am I totally mad for considering a frame and parts build at home (I have the skills/tools)?
Depending on what you're buying and what tools you have, I'd be looking at things like internal cable routing (especially if it goes through the headset), integrated bar/stem fitting etc. You might find there are sudden PITA moments that require more specialist tools.
I built as I knew I’d end up upgrading bits on an off the peg purchase.
Was a great winter project shopping around and choosing bits, some stressful moments but I have my own unique build.
Helped that I got a bargain on a frameset, spent about 6.5k all in.
On a road bike I would go off the peg or second hand and hold out till you find what you want within your budget.
Allow a bit of leeway for a new bar or stem.
Not much is floating my boat off the peg.
In what way? Function, specification, fit or just aesthetic?
All my road bikes for the last 20 years have been trigger's brooms and I've built up all my wheels in that time too. But my summer bike is still on rim brakes so if and when I fancy a change the next bike will be a more profound switch.
From a financial perspective building yourself only really makes sense if you buy at least some elements (frameset, groupset or I guess wheels) at a heavy discount or secondhand. Or I suppose if you are really fussy and know you'd be swapping a load of components.
I've got a friend who always factors in a respray if buying off the peg for something a little more custom aesthetically.
I built up a road bike 3 years ago, it was good fun, and I was pretty chuffed with myself. I wasn't in a hurry so took my time and used offers to keep my costs down. I was lucky that i picked up an ex-display Orro Gold Stc frame for the crazy sum of £300, and the total cost was about 2k. Ultegra 11sp mechanical, Deda cockpit, wind40 Fulcrum wheels for 800 instead of 1600.
I don't swap bikes v often, so it's not an opportunity that will come round again any time soon, very pleased that i had done it
Edit - reading some of the comments above, i reckon mine is still good value even w some of those crazy end of line discounts, but I don't think i'd get a frame so cheap again. It was tail end 2022 so there were still not many full bike bargains around post covid
There is a lot less potential for customisation with a road bike, but then again there are some good deals around currently so you can build a better bike for the same price
That's probably my thought; but the crux is the frame cost. As above, in most places you can get a full bike on special for the same as full frame cost. And at that point you could later sub in a different groupset if you want and sell the parts it came with.
2020 for me, got in just before the prices and supply went silly.
Frameset was a RC Addict Ultimate, picked it up for 2250…not long after they were 3.5k
Thanks all
Short version is it appears I would be a lot better off buying a whole bike.
To answer a couple of bits.
New? No it definitely doesn't need to be new but I'm impatient at eBay. Maybe I need to post less on here, search more on there. I think I'm a 54/56, depends on reach. Short legs, long body.
Boat floating point -
I am not sure what's not to like but it's a bit like when I change cars. I start by spending ages researching and looking for something that looks exciting while stubbornly resisting buying a generic grey Euro box with comfy seats as it just seems a bit "bland". I look for ages on Auto trader, get fed up and spot a nice grey mid range estate with a towbar for a sensible price and a few days later it's on the drive and I decide it's really what I needed all along.
Some colour would be nice.
I typed all that and realised and basically I am in the "Autotrader phase". 😂
Unless doing it C2W, thus getting the tax savings, I'd be inclined to look 2nd hand, nearly new... Someone else's expensive best intentions that have depreciated more than they expected (now we're well out of COVID) is where the smart money goes...
Or if you're savvy and patient enough to wait for the right frame & groupset when they come up for a bargain (wheels and finishing kit are always in the sales these days, so not so important if you're not too picky)...
Bought my current road bike at barely 500 miles old, was someone else's pride and joy COVID purchase, but barely got ridden... It was pretty much exactly what I wanted, in the right size, and I gave £2600 for it when it was around £6k new...
Bought my current road bike at barely 500 miles old, was someone else's pride and joy COVID purchase, but barely got ridden... It was pretty much exactly what I wanted, in the right size, and I gave £2600 for it when it was around £6k new...
There were a fair few post-Covid bargains knocking around. I remember seeing a post on a forum somewhere asking "is this a scam?" about a Pinarello but it was legit. Someone had bought it in the height of lockdown, used it half a dozen times around Richmond Park then decided it was too much like hard work. It was on ebay for a 1/4 the price of a new one.
Same thing happened a year or so after the London Olympics - all the bikes bought in the glory days of Team Sky / Team GB ending up on ebay a year down the line.
2.5k Di2 TCR bikeinn
If you want a western mainstream brand then it makes little sense building up from a frame from a cost perspective if it fits. If you want something from a smaller manufacturer or Chinese then frame only makes sense. With fully integrated setups it also allows you to buy the correct sized parts from the outset rather than having the faff of swapping and then selling the wrong parts.
A different perspective...
Id not buy a bike without a test ride for fit and feel purposes. Whilst its great to source a bargain, it's a bit useless if it doesn't feel right (especially if it's intended to be "Sunday best"). In other words, you need to baseline what geometry you need/want and (probably) material/construction*.
Mind you, I am an odd size, so maybe it's me...
(* I had what was otherwise a nice Kona Jake which had the most solid rear triangle of any bike I've owned and felt every single imperfection in the road. Comfortable it wasn't...)
I fancy a new road bike (endurance/comfort focussed).
What does that actually mean (to you) then OP?
To me the difference between an “Endurance” road bike and a gravel bike is a change of wheels and tyres these days, frame material is immaterial (IMO) and gearing can be 2x whatever gets the job done. But I know some people who can’t countenance anything but carbon or a drivetrain bellow Ultegra level… So where do you sit on that scale?
£3k can go a long way if you know what you actually want, or it’s a drop in the ocean if you’ve just got expensive tastes.
Yeah I'd spend £2500ish on a 2x gravel bike and get a set of Elitewheels SLR gravel from their AliExpress store (about £400 inc. import stuff), but they work great as road wheels for fatter slicks (I run mine with 32's). Then £150 buys the rotors and cassette (just about) and you end up with a bike for two different uses.
I did a self-build a couple of years ago for my winter road bike. It was probably only financially worthwhile because I already had quite a few parts. The main value was the experience of choosing parts and building it myself, which was a process that took really enjoyed. I doubt the final bike is any better or worse to ride than anything I would have bought, but I got an extra couple of months of enjoyment from the project.
You can probably make a rough spreadsheet of costs for a self build to benchmark against the off-the-peg stuff available. It’ll likely cost a bit more spec-for-spec but once you see it in black and white it might help you decide if the extra value you would get from a self build is worth it.
What does that actually mean (to you) then OP?
A bit more stack height and a bit less aggressive geometry than a road bike, room for 32's for my inflexible middle aged body. Less weight than a gravel bike.
To me the difference between an “Endurance” road bike and a gravel bike is a change of wheels and tyres these days, frame material is immaterial (IMO) and gearing can be 2x whatever gets the job done. But I know some people who can’t countenance anything but carbon or a drivetrain bellow Ultegra level… So where do you sit on that scale?
I currently use a gravel bike (SRAM Rival 1x Free Ranger) for my road riding. That probably tells you about my taste for functional vs. fancy. The extra bulk is definitely noticeable when I put my bike away on the wall hooks and then lift up my son's old Felt F5 to do the same.
I do find the 1x a bit gappy on the roads to the extent I did toy with trying to retrofit a front mech using a bar end shifter at one point and then getting some nicer wheels. That got parked as an unsatisfactory solution and I don't really want to bin the rest of the groupset that still works.
£3k can go a long way if you know what you actually want, or it’s a drop in the ocean if you’ve just got expensive tastes.
Value for money oriented. Most of my bikes are On One/PX or Specialized.
What does that actually mean (to you) then OP?
A bit more stack height and a bit less aggressive geometry than a road bike, room for 32's for my inflexible middle aged body. Less weight than a gravel bike.
To me the difference between an “Endurance” road bike and a gravel bike is a change of wheels and tyres these days, frame material is immaterial (IMO) and gearing can be 2x whatever gets the job done. But I know some people who can’t countenance anything but carbon or a drivetrain bellow Ultegra level… So where do you sit on that scale?
I currently use a gravel bike (SRAM Rival 1x Free Ranger) for my road riding. That probably tells you about my taste for functional vs. fancy. The extra bulk is definitely noticeable when I put my bike away on the wall hooks and then lift up my son's old Felt F5 to do the same.
I do find the 1x a bit gappy on the roads to the extent I did toy with trying to retrofit a front mech using a bar end shifter at one point and then getting some nicer wheels. That got parked as an unsatisfactory solution and I don't really want to bin the rest of the groupset that still works.
£3k can go a long way if you know what you actually want, or it’s a drop in the ocean if you’ve just got expensive tastes.
Value for money oriented. Most of my bikes are On One/PX or Specialized.
Hmmm, My Bias would be towards a 2x build of a Fairlight Secan and a second set of wheels/tyres, but it sounds like a Strael might be closer to your desires (can apparently clear ~40c?).
As it is I'm a skinflint and I'm rolling about on a filthy Chinese thing with 2x10 RX400 and two wheelsets, less than a grand to do the whole "Endurance Road / Gravel" thing...
Buying parts, in my experience is always better than buying a full bike
If you are clever with your purchases and add in some used/discount components, you'll get a bike you actually want
I fancy a new road bike (endurance/comfort focussed).
What does that actually mean (to you) then OP?
To me the difference between an “Endurance” road bike and a gravel bike is a change of wheels and tyres these days, frame material is immaterial (IMO) and gearing can be 2x whatever gets the job done.
I think this would be a fair comment a few years ago, but more recently gravel bikes seem to have edged closer to offroad capabilities with 1x, fatter tyres, different angles, flared bars, big clearances and even suspension. I know that with a change of wheels they'll still do the job on the road, but they are different beasts to an 'Endurance' road bike these days (Endurance road being a road bike with less racy angles, room for 30cc+ tyres and mudguard mounts).