Viewing 27 posts - 1 through 27 (of 27 total)
  • New build from frame, rubbish with spanners – realistic?
  • hunta
    Full Member

    I’ve been kicking around the idea of a svelte hardtail ever since I clapped eyes on the steely lines of a Cotic Soul. Trouble is I really don’t know that I’d succeed in getting it past the management, so I was wondering whether I might try the old trick of submitting piecemeal by undertaking a home build from frame up (though that would clearly have to be the last item through the door for the plan to work 🙂 ).

    When I say I’m rubbish with spanners I’m not properly rubbish, just not hugely experienced. What are the tricky jobs? Bottom bracket, forks, headset? Hubs / spokes / rims? I don’t really want to spend a fortune on tools I’m only going to use once, so which items might I consider doing myself vs. paying the LBS to do for me (less fun and more money)?

    Finally, what frames should I be looking at? The likes of Cotic and Ragley might be upper end of the spend, but at the same time On One seem a bit here there and everywhere – I’d quite like something a bit unusual if I’m going to approach this as a long-term self-indulgence kind of project, rather than an instant quick-fix.

    jamiep
    Free Member

    I did it. Watched a lot of youtube videos. In my view, the most tricky it arent really tricky but are expensive if you balls up – bottom bracket fitting and steer length cutting. Not yet done wheel building or brake bleeding

    grum
    Free Member

    I’m not that great at spannering and I’ve built up a couple of bikes which are fine. Nothing too tricky really – though from your post it sounds like you might be thinking about building wheels which I think takes a bit more skill (I didn’t do this).

    Setting up and indexing gears so they run perfectly can be a bit of a faff but I’ve got the hang of it now I think. It takes a bit of confidence to whack the headset in with a piece of wood! I bought one of these instead when they were on offer.

    http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/tools/cycling-tools/headset-cup-press/product/review-cyclus-home-headset-press-10-39493

    Maybe someone on here can lend you one. I would if you’re anywhere near Lancaster. You will probably need something like this for you bottom bracket depending which one you get.

    http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/raleigh-bb-ht2-tool-with-shimano-adaptor-p137476

    I’m not sure what’s tricky about fitting a BB but maybe I just got lucky.

    Personally I reckon with most stuff the price of the tools is not far off what you’d have to pay a LBS to do it, so you might as well get the tools and be set for life.

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    wwaswas
    Full Member

    Also worth getting the Park Tools Blue Book – easier to use ‘mid job’ than the laptop and keeps grubby fingers off the keyboard.

    alfabus
    Free Member

    easy peasy, just take your time and don’t ‘force’ anything. (you shouldn’t need a hammer at any point!!)

    Where are you based, you may be able to exchange biscuits for headset and BB fitting from a forumite 😉

    I wouldn’t bother with wheel building yet, walk before you run 🙂

    Dave

    sparksmcguff
    Full Member

    If you go for a Cotic they’ll fit your bottom bracket and headset (if you buy the components from them). I bought a solaris like that from Cotic the rest was straight forward. (Though I did go to a LBS to have the steerer cut to length – cost £15 quid and they dropped swarf on the seals!)

    howellj1
    Free Member

    Building a wheel with no training I’d say is going to be the weakest spot in your plan; but I’d love to hear if anyone has built a great set of MTB wheels with just youtube to coach them. Headset and BB fitting usually needs special tools and some frame prep; so you could get the LBS to do this. If you service an existing bike regularly, can set up gears, bleed brakes etc. then you should be OK building a bike from standard parts.

    wwaswas
    Full Member

    I’ve built 3 sets of wheels now, self taught.

    I used Roger Mussons (sp?) book for coaching on the first set. Biggest worry is calculating spoke lengths and then workign out how to get the spokes laced ‘right’ with the valve hole opposite the hub logo and a couple of parrelel spokes where the valve hole is.

    It’s no worse than trying to get gears indexed, really and less stressful than taking a fork apart for an oil change and service.

    Northwind
    Full Member

    Hardly any need for spanners, it’s all allen keys these days 😉

    Assuming you’re buying complete wheels etc, there’s not much that’s hugely difficuly in a pushbike, and most of it is things that you might have done/might want to do in future just for maintenance- fitting and setting up mechs, bleeding brakes etc. And as mentioned above, if you don’t have the kit then it’s not expensive to get headsets fitted by a pro, or just get it done by Cotic.

    It’s hard for me to judge really, because I’m good with spanners (and allen keys) but apart from *&^*$@% front mechs building a bike isn’t that much harder than building an ikea wardrobe.

    Cheezpleez
    Full Member

    The first thing to get right is your choice of bits. There are millions of standards out there so make sure your seatpost, fork, headset, bb, front mech, chainset, etc etc will fit your chosen frame before buying. If in doubt, talk to the LBS or frame manufacturer.

    The only remotely tricky things are fitting a headset and fitting a star-fangle nut. Both are perfectly do-able if you take your time and either get the right tools or bodge some of your own from nuts, washers, blocks of wood and threaded rod, etc.

    A good tip is to bung the headset in the freezer for a few minutes before fitting – it makes all the difference.

    Cutting steerers, etc is a doddle as long as you take your time and check your measurements before cutting. Hacksaw and an old stem are your friends.

    Everything else is just following instructions and tightening up allen bolts.

    Wheelbuilding is a step up from just putting a bike together. It’s a bit more complicated but not that hard. For a first bike build, I’d start by buying some ready made wheels. But if you want to give it a go, get Roger Musson’s Wheelpro book and take it from there.

    The golden rule in all these tasks is to stop if things seem to be going wrong, take a breather and either go to your LBS or try again calmly.

    Have fun – there’s nothing like building up a new bike.

    grum
    Free Member

    apart from *&^*$@% front mechs building a bike isn’t that much harder than building an ikea wardrobe.

    I used to hate setting up front mechs, but the last couple I’ve done have been a complete doddle. No idea what I’m doing differently.

    Northwind
    Full Member

    Oh aye, that’s the other thing- as long as you don’t destroy anything, the worst case scenario is you have to take it to a shop, which is just where you’d be if you didn’t even attempt it.

    So don’t destroy anything 😉

    loum
    Free Member

    I really don’t know that I’d succeed in getting it past the management, so I was wondering whether I might try the old trick of submitting piecemeal by undertaking a home build from frame up

    This will not work.

    You’ll be fine building the bike, no worries. And if you get stuck youtube helps, as do the kind folk here.
    But don’t expect it to be a “stealth operation”. You’ll have bits everywhere, tools, and more packaging than you can imagine. It may well look like you’re building a fleet of bikes. But good luck, and have fun. (I reckon you’ll get more fun from ‘fessing up from the start,there’ll come a point when you need help with an extra pair of hands.)

    trail_rat
    Free Member

    anyone can make a BSO

    its the fine tuning so it all works 100% is the bit that takes time/effort/skill

    some people have a knack for mechanical things and can follow instructions others just cant and might as well be looking at a cake instead of instructions.

    Id give it ago but be aware that if you take it to a shop you may end up paying more for them to take apart your work and assemble it right

    Big-Dave
    Free Member

    apart from *&^*$@% front mechs building a bike isn’t that much harder than building an ikea wardrobe

    Not just me who finds front mechs can be a faff sometimes. Good to know I’m not alone.

    I’ve just finished building my fifth bike project. I would consider myself a complete numpty with a set of tools but most modern components are very easy to fit and adjust.I just tend to buy complete wheels though.

    For suff like the headset it may be worth getting your LBS to do it if you aren’t confident or don’t want to buy a headset press. I bought a cyclus headset press and it has now been used enough times for it to have paid for itself.

    If there is one tool you should spend decent cash on I reckon its a cable cutter. There is nothing more frustrating than having a cheap cutter constantly fraying the ends of cables. Oh yes, and good quality allen keys.

    One job you may need to get your LBS to do is facing the bottom bracket shell. I’ve never bothered before on any of the bikes I’ve built in the past and have had no problems. With the last bike I built (a Planet X Uncle John) the edges of the shell were on the wonk so much so that you could see it and the chap in the bike shop reckoned he had never seen a BB shell that needed so much material trimmed off it. If I’d pressed on with the build I’d probably be needing a new set of bearings by now.

    As said above, prepare yourself for an avalanche of cardboard and bubble wrap.

    Northwind
    Full Member

    Big Dave – Member

    Not just me who finds front mechs can be a faff sometimes. Good to know I’m not alone.

    I’ve rebuilt engines, no bother. Will I ever get a front mech to shift right first time? No.

    m1kea
    Free Member

    +1 to CheezPleez

    Definitely sort out what bits you want in advance and make sure they are compatible / fit / the right size. Bottom brackets and headset types are generally the ones that need the most research and don’t forget things like front mech band dimensions, IS/postmount adapters and so on.

    This year I’ve changed my TT bike, full suss and brought a new hardtail.

    Parts transplants are relatively straightforward but you can never have too much gear cable (inner and outer).

    I’ve got tools for pretty much everything now but fork crown races can still be a pita to fit if you don’t have the right shims/drifts. You might find it easier to get a bike shop to fit the headset and trim the steerer.

    Pretty much got on top of brake bleeding but again this can become one of those endless fettling jobs to get right.

    However probably the most important bit of kit is a decent stand to work on. Make sure you have room around it, a clean floor on which to find all the bits you will drop, and a flat work surface to put parts and tools on.

    trail_rat
    Free Member

    “I’ve rebuilt engines, no bother. Will I ever get a front mech to shift right first time? No. “

    oh thats good news – i can do the front mech but the furthest ive ever gone with engines is replacing gaskets in a 2 stroke lawnmower.

    should be interesting when i rebuild my v8 shortly then 😀

    ddmonkey
    Full Member

    What CheezPleez said – I’m not very good spanners but have built up a number of bikes now and its very satisfying if you take your time, don’t rush and don’t force anything! Getting all the right parts ready to go and good clean working area makes life much easier, and if you can get or borrw a bike stand that really helps too.

    dh
    Free Member

    Hi Hunta

    I had the same idea as you, and we appear to be similarly hamfisted. Anyway, i managed it and the bike does appear to work ok. well the wheels go round at least.

    I took some pictures and documented part of it on my mates blog, but i do recommend you dont go with my instructions and buy a proper book

    build you own guide

    organic355
    Free Member

    Ive built 2 bikes this year, the only thing I didnt do is build the wheels of fit the headset as I didnt have the tools. Didnt have a crown race tool either but that got whacked on with a bit of wood with a hole cut in it!.

    Enjoy the build its very satisfying once its done, oh and you tube is your friend as is this place (sometimes). Ask lots of questions on here, however stupid and someone will help you out, equally someone will probably be a nobber, laugh at you and tell you to put the spanner down and take it to your bike shop, but just ignore them and learn from the helpful folks and wealth of knowledge on this forum. The truth is out there.

    vorlich
    Free Member

    I’d recommend picking up Zinn and the Art of mountain bike maintenance, better to get a book oily/greasy than a laptop or ipad mid-build. Most tools can be had cheap, see superstar and CRC, a bit of added expense initially, but great value long term. Just don’t spend mega bucks on a rubber mallet from CRC when you can get one for a couple of quid from a camping shop.

    *I’ve never attempted a wheel build.

    hunta
    Full Member

    All sounds very encouraging, thanks all. I’m up for a bit of a challenge so sounds about right, and good advice about not bending anything before allowing discretion to take the better part of valour and handing over to LBS.

    Any recommendations for what I might consider frame wise?

    zerocool
    Full Member

    It’s not hard to build a bike from frame up. There’s not actually many things that are difficult to do.
    Just make sure that you take time do do everything without rushing and use the right tools. And measure (at least) twice before cutting anything. It might be worth getting a decent shop to fit the headset (there are ways to do it at home with ghetto tools) as you don’t wan’t to risk wrecking your frame for the sake of a few quid. But other than that it’s fairly straight forward and you can find out how to do most things online or magazines.

    Also common sense helps.

    dantsw13
    Full Member

    I’ve built up 3 bikes from frames in the last year. You really get to know your bike, and it’s generally easier to fettle a bike you have built. A workstand and decent set of bike tools pay for themselves in lower service costs very soon. The other non specialist essentials are a large flat bladed screwdriver ( never used with screws, normally for chasing out bearings, drifting headsets, fitting/removing rown races and levering brake pistons back into calipers!!) and a rubber mallet.

    Specialist bike tools:
    Allan keys
    Torx25 key
    BB tool
    Chain whip/cassette tool
    Cable cutters
    Chain tool
    Spoke key
    7mm spanner for brake bleeding

    I bought myself the BikeHand Advanced Mechanic kit for £59 from Tredz (£79 now) and its pretty good.

    2orangey4crows
    Full Member

    I’m generally hopeless at DIY/tool-based stuff. But just ploughed on in with my old Kona Blast back in 2006, and every bike since then has been a self-build.

    As has been said, it’s an incredibly satisfying thing to do. And, most importantly, it’s not hard either. Get the right tools, be patient and go for it.

    As for a frame, it depends what you want. I do love the look of a Soul or Solaris personally…

    Cheezpleez
    Full Member

    Another essential is to negotiate some protected time for those fiddly jobs. Nothing like finding you’ve got to take the kids to a party RIGHT NOW when you’ve just pulled your forks apart 👿

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