Forum menu
Trying to estimate the cost of of building a road bike
Got a frame/fork kit in mind
Merlin seems the obvious place for a groupset for which £220-350 would be required
That leaves stems/bars and wheels I think
Stem/bars - no idea
What is good value wheels wise? Can you get anything reasonable for 100-150 quid?
At that price point Planet X model B wheels are hard to beat.
What size do you want? I have a pair of 46cm ITM Millenium bars and a matching 120mm stem which are for sale...(if you're new to road kit...that's old but nice kit).
Which groupset are you going for by the way? Shimano or Campag?
Shimano R500 wheels are £70 the set or something stupid.
ta
Shimano and SRAM are in that price range...
Sora, 105, Apex (SRAM)
Sora might be good enough? 105 and Apex are 350 quid
What campag would compare to these? will shimano be easier to find bits for and compatibility?
what tyres?
Shimano R500 wheels are £70 the set or something stupid
I just bought some of those , and a load of budget road Shimano stuff. Those wheels are much better than they should be for £70 ( I paid £63) and I reckon [u]actually [/u]better than Aksiums. And the new Tiagra looks just fine.
oldgit R500 or R500 "clincher" ? 63 £ where from?
thanks
Ribble cycles. Clinchers.
Edit; £67
R500 wheels are terrible. flexy as a wet noodle
you can get aksiums for just over a £100
What's the purpose of this road bike?
I have a knee-jerk reaction against Sora stuff based purely on being a bit of a bike-tart BUT I had a look at a couple of the new Sora bits on the club run today (rear mech and chainset) and I'm actually quite impressed with them.
That said...if you can afford to go to 105 then I'd do it without hesitation...partly out of a sense of bike-tartiness but also it's worth considering that the 105 stuff is 10 speed whereas sora is 9 speed...which basically means the 105 is a little more 'future proof'.
As for a comparison between Shimano and Campag... it used to be reckoned that 105 was roughly equivalent to 105 but I'm not sure how things have changed.
As regards how easy it is to source parts, shimano is undoubtedly easier purely because of market share, that said, I've yet to live in a major city which didn't have a bike shop which stocked Campag kit.
Now...wheels...I'm a boring gruff old traditionalist and I'm going to say...try and get a pair of hand built wheels. You'll go over-budget, but long term they're likely to be a better investment.
Just my thoughts based on my own experiences...doubtless someone will be along to flame me shortly.
The R500 wheels were a bit harsh for me - much harsher than the normal spoked wheels with shallow rims that came on the bike - but let's not forget the price. Mentally good value despite their failings. If the OP wants cheap he would be hard pressed to beat them.