took my mate round the pennine x on sunday. he absolutely loved it, and lives in hadfield so on the doorstep of some awesome riding. he borrowed my gf's dad's orange G3, which is obviously a decent bike.
the problem is, his brother had donated him a bike which he was pleased about, but when i saw it it is a complete piece of &*!$. everything on it's falling to bits, there's nothing on there or the frame that you'd keep for safety reasons. so, he now wants to get out on a bike, but not that one.
he's got a one month old daughter so has no spare cash for his new hobby, understandably! i suggested getting a complete classified build and getting decent but cheap stuff and building something up from there. what would you guys reckon the minimum you could spend would be, to get something that's not going to be too heavy to put off a newcomer, but will be up to the task?
(i'm donating a set of xt hubs and a pair of pedals - all i've got in the spares box!)
it depends how lucky you are, if you are going SS/geared or rigid/front suspension or disks/vbrakes route.
I have seen a on-one going for 80£ on the classified. Then you can probably get a stem/bar/rear mech/seatpost for around a fiver each, maybe a tenner for saddle.
So I reckon around 200 mark, maybe
£200?
Dunno. Trying to build a cross bike on a similar budget.
well i would be inclined to go for geared but rigid and rim brakes for reasons of cost at first, with the option to build on that...
Mrs TJs bike with a mix of secondhand and new bits was £400. Thats rigid on one 1x9 new avid cable discs xtr mech new saddle.
I think a decent bike could be got for £300 using the classifieds wisely.
Its really hard building a budget bike, I got the wife a new frame from fleabay for about £35 quid and thought I was off to a good start.
£35 frame
£55 wheels
£50 forks
free bars
free seatpost
£25 saddle
£15 chain
free cassette
£25 chainset
£15 BB
£20 shifters
£16 skewers
£10 tubes
free tyres
£20 headset
£45 brakes
£10 cables
£28 RR mech
£30 FR mech
£400 Total
For a deore/SLX 9 speed bike, just marginally better spec than just going to Halford for a whole bike. Building something even half decent really adds up.
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Your better off finding a bike in servicable condition, or even a new bike, I once got a trailworthy bike for my dad, a brand new Dawes Silkstone for £250.
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I've recently bought a frame, h-set, stem, bars, and seatpost from the Bay for £160.
Then got a new rear wheel for £40.
Then got am SS cog for £7.
ALready have a front wheel, crank, pedals, saddle, and other bits.
Ideally looking to build ap the SS for about £250, plus all the spare bits lying around.... It's never as cheap as you think!
DrP
no that's the conclusion i was coming to adding it up in my head, once you get to things like wheels, chainsets and bottom brackets on top of the frame itself...
Edinburgh bike co op stuff is very good value
http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/ebwPNLqrymode.a4p?f_ProductID=0&f_WebLinkID=2909&f_SortOrderID=1&f_bct=c003155c002909
£300 for a disc brake 100 mm fork bike
Its the little things that add up fast, cables, grips, tyres etc. Best bet is Ebay special then add whats needed from here. Or I'll sell you my 20inch GT singlespeed for £150 with Judy XC forks, LX Hubs on mavic 521 rims, RACE face double and bash chainset, easton stem, bontrager bars and deore v brakes... (could be converted back to geared with a new mech hanger and front mech, rear mech deore rear mech providing tension at the mo)
Yup its a nightmare, if he isnt a brand whore, and he shouldnt be unless you send a link to STW, there are bikes out there trailworthy for sub £300 new, at least that way it wont want building and working on every 5 minutes...
edit.. some good priced bikes there TJ...
by the way, if anyone has anything to sell/suggest he's probably about a 16"/17" frame or thereabouts (sorry meehaja!)
I reckon it's pretty possible (I've done it three times now, and half way through another for the father-in-law) to put together most of a bike for around 150 squids, especially if you have a few bits lying around that you can use - and all the tools you need to put it all together.
The problem is the little bits at the end that add up - like the cabling, then I have found that a new chain and cassette are almost always required. The little bits at the end seem to tack about 50 quid on. Also, I find I lose patience towards the end of the project and ending up buying full price kit to finish up.
But, if you can afford the time and are patient enough to wait for the things you need, you'll sped a good deal less.
Total build price for me is normally around 200 with deore level kit and (normally V-Brakes).
It's a great project - especially if you get the bloke involved in the build. Nothing beats the feeling of building your first bike up and going for a ride!
Crispy
I did buy this for my daughter for £80, was a mates price I guess, but not worth much more.
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I've built a half decent hardtail for £300 for a mate - all second hand but it took a lot of searching out parts to get them at that price and quality.
where u based?
i've got a centrelock front wheel (with rotor) and a matching rim for the rear (disc only) one one rims you can have for postage cost/ free collection southampton/ eastleigh area.
mail in profile.
I built a rigid single speed bike up for less than £100 just from buying bits off mates! a semi decent frame and forks are undeniably the most expensive bits, wheels next. Hes better off buying cheap machine built wheels than building those hubs you gave him into wheels. If he finds an older frame I have a pair of 98 Bombers in almost immaculate condition he can have for cheap, though as they only have 70mm travel they are quite short and wouldnt feel right on new frames!
thom, that's an extremely kind offer. i/he'd be more than happy to pay the postage of those if you're sure you wouldn't mind?
Hes better off buying cheap machine built wheels than building those hubs you gave him into wheels.
yeah that's a good point - wheel builds are expensive, whatever the quality of the parts...
just need to fins some cheap spokes though
I've used aci and they're ok.
[url= http://www.cyclebasket.com/products.php?plid=m9b87s454p0 ]these ones[/url]
well i'll mention it to him and see what he reckons about what he wants to do before i put you out. thanks again, though!
i just built my first bike up for about £350 - mostly 2nd hand stuff but i did end up getting a few things (still at good prices but) brand spanking. agree with the finishing kit being the most expensive; tyres, grips etc add loads to the cost so if you have stuff lying around to use you can cut corners.
My commuter was 100 quid, its a rigid and i had lots of spare parts paid 45 for frame (tange 2b sunn) and fork, headset and bb 35 for rear wheel and 20 for disc caliper. What you need is some good karma see if anyone has any freebies going , i can donate the left hand crank from a 96 GT LTS DH and some magura brake mounts... 😀
I bought mu first propper bike from halfords, a carrera fury in 2003/2004? Lasted a fair while in its original spec, the forks siezed but other than that it was good for a couple of years.
Then bought a profelx 857 form cashgenerator for £110, transfered the XT/317 wheelset, mazrocchi Z4 airs, hope C2's and a handfull of other bits accross, sold the frame on ebay for £130!
Forks needed a £40 rebuild (got to love DIY service 'zocchi's), but I sold them for £50 18 months later.
Brakes needed new seals and a bleed, £30
Wheels did fine untill i discovered how fast it was possible to ride in the peaks and get away with it! Shortly afterwards on my next bike i discovered how fast you can ride and not get away with it!
So yes, with some luck and good shoping its posible to get through a few years on very little cash! Even counting consumables my first bike cant have cost £500 over 4 years.
Surely it would be cheaper to buy something complete that hasn't been used much?
yeah quite possibly - finding such a thing's often pure luck, though. right place, right time.
I read this earlier theflatboy, and I like the challenge of a budget build, so thought I'd figure out how much my girlfriends bike had cost when put together with bits off here, spares from the shed, and a few new bits and pieces that were end of line etc. It's a 1X9 setup with v's and absolutely amazing to ride... So good in fact it is being upgraded as things wear out and I've even used it to race on as its insanely fast.
Here goes (adding up as I go along)...Old school steel frame, seatpost and pace forks -£crate of beer (stw), new headset £20 (merlin), V -Brakes £15 (shed and crc), wheels, tubes and tyres- £0 (old, from shed), Old XT mech and LX rear shifter £0(shed), XT chainset and BB- £50 (stw), SRAM chain and cassette £30 (merlin), Saddle £20 (?), Easton Stem £15 (crc), Flat bars £0 (shed), Grips £5 (crc), Time ATAC pedals £20 (stw)... In my head that makes pretty much bang on £200 with the price of a crate of beer and cables included. A veritable steal and a great riding bike that I'm happy with for riding all day if mine is out of order (if she'll let me).
Actually, come to think of it, a mate of mine has asked me to strip and rebuild a (new) bike for him (basically he wanted the frame and will be looking to flog the bits). If you can find someone like that and a donor frame (from somewhere like here), that is a cheap way of getting a good build.
If the above can be done for £200 with fairly 'bling' parts, I reckon that you should be able to do similar. There was a “build the best bike for under £500” thread on here a while ago using all new kit, and some fairly good sounding results came about. 2nd hand, anything is possible. Good luck in anycase, it's fun trying to keep to a tiny budget and making something great.
encouraging words, definitely. i had a look through the classifieds yesterday for some options, and there were definitely some bargains that were almost right but not quite. a case of monitoring for new additions is definitely in order. 🙂
Would he see a steel rigid canti braked Ridgeback of unknown vintage but clean condition and with shimano LX kit on it as a complete nail, or as a start?
a much better start than what he's got!
what size, and how much? 🙂
Might be a bit big, its at my local tip, needs wheels, I will try and rescue it tonight...
so cost will be £4 plus postage.
If its still there I had it put to one side for me at hte weekend but didnt go collect it. (I was on my bike at the time you see)
Got our lass a Specialized Hardrock Comp for £80 off ebay. V's and 100mm front sus. Nice tidy bike that will last her as is ready for discs.
Just keep a look out and you could drop on
skiprat has the best solution to be honest.
yeah i reckon - thanks for the suggestion about the ridgeback, though.
just a question about scouring the bay and on here.
Apparently you can convince everyone on here that your bike has been stolen and you can't possibly afford to replace it. Then loads of people will send you perfectly good bits out of pity and you'll have a great little bike for free!!
get down your local bike shop and see whats in the upgrade box/skip
usually for a small donation youll get rake in there as they have to pay
to dump it
free ads paper a good staring point or g*mmtree (if you dont mind suprising bargians )
I will see if the bike is there anyhow, but even if you get cheap wheels, cassette chain, its still going to add up, no idea on what cables are like etc, just play the waiting game something like the claud I picked up for £80 will come along and do some service for him...
"[i]Apparently you can convince everyone on here that your bike has been stolen and you can't possibly afford to replace it. Then loads of people will send you perfectly good bits out of pity and you'll have a great little bike for free!![/i]"
Which you can promise to write an article about for STW so folk could read about the build, the ride etc. You know a bit of a human interest story. Alternatively you can ride off into the sunset never to be heard of again.
[i]ride off into the sunset never to be heard of again[/i]
indeed...
Cheap bike if you can collect it, unknown to me, but looks a decent shape.