New Frame or a Complete Build?

[lancito brazofuerte]

Number 1- What’s your budget?
You don’t have to actually say what it is. Is X amount of dollars enough to cover frame/group/everything else, along with labor to slap everything together? If you’re mechanically inclined enough to assemble it yourself, you’ve just save a Benjamin or two.
Custom builds ALWAYS cost more than buying a complete. Unless you’ve got some sort of pro-deal ebay-fu.

Number 2- Test rides
I’m sure you have an idea of what bikes are flipping your switches right now. And I’m sure 99% of them are available as a complete. These you can test ride to see if you like the way the crabon/aluminininininium/steel rides. Unfortunately most (big) manufacturers don’t offer a frameset only option on most of their models. They typically will only offer framesets for their halo/high dollar models.

Now that you’ve dismissed all that as TL;DR, my .02:

Custom builds are wonderful things. you get to poke your nose into every aspect of your build. It allows you the freedom to put what you want on a bike, not what the factory thinks is “cost effective”. Buy as much bike as you can afford. Then see if it’s okay with the SO to spend a little more. Remember- you get what you pay for. Just make sure the frame fits you. RESEARCH! Look at the geometry specs. Check the materials. Get all bike nerdy. Can the frame fit those bad ass Zipp Firecrests you’re gonna buy? Is there a LBS near (within 50 miles) you that is a dealer for Brand X? Do they have any in stock? Go look at the frames close up. touch them inappropriately. Do the frames on your list have BB30/PF30/BB96 blah blah blah?

I spent 9 months looking at frames before I decided on my Cinelli. I wanted a frame with similar geo/dimensions to a frame I used to have and loved. But I also wanted it to be a solid crit bike, group ride bike, and barhopper on occasion.
I got a killer deal on 2012 Force right after SRAM intro’d the “new” Red and all the distros were discounting SRAM groups. I got my wheels from an extremely rich u17 racer who’s daddy just bought him some Zipps and wanted to unload my wheels. They had maybe 100 miles on them and one crit race.

Take your time, do your homework, skip the $2 coffees (except for FCC), and build YOUR bike.

[Dickie]

I always loved the experience of assembling my own custom bikes when I had plenty of time, money, and other bikes I could ride while the process lagged on. Now that I have other responsibilities and less time to invest I have found buying a complete bike to be far more practical for ME. Here’s why:

1) Test ride – you are free to ride as many assembled bikes as you like and often LBS’s will swap some parts if you have preferences.
2) Cost – Manufactures receive large discounts for bulk orders from the component manufacturers, this is passed along to you.
3) Incompatibility of parts – You might find that many of your components from your Fuji cross bike will not translate to a road bike, leaving you to spend more than you expected
4) Two bikes is better than one – Buying a second complete bike and leaving your Fuji intact will leave you with riding options, such as on rainy days when you don’t want to soak the road bike, or lock it up at a coffee shop.
5) Warranty and Service – Unless you have an LBS assemble your custom steed you will have no representation should something go wrong with your build. With a complete bike you get service help and a warranty.
6) Cost of tools – If you plan to build a bike yourself you need to take into consideration the cost of very specific tools that you would not commonly own for basic maintenance.

best of luck!

[lancito brazofuerte]

Dickie makes all valid points, but I have to respectfully disagree with the advice on warranty. I don’t think Dickie’s 100% wrong, just vague on some important points.

The full manufacturers warranty against manufacturing defects is still in place. So if your new crabon Cracknfail does, The dealer you purchased it from can warranty it.

If you decide to tighten the BB to a million ft/lbs and strip the threads, you are the proud owner of wall art. If your LBS does this they get you a new frame and the junior mechanic probably gets fired.

If I purchase a crank to install on my bike, I still have the full manufacturer’s warranty against defects, just not against poor install skills.

That having been said, if your new bike is pieced together from used/off-brand/suspect ebay components, then good luck to ya.

I know we are all guilty of jumping on the screaming ebay deal, and 99.9% of us have never had an issue. But I enjoy building the relationships that come from bopping into my LBS once a week or so to pick up my next part/shoot the breeze etc.

Also remember bike shops run on beer. Bring the crew who hooked you up something nice.

[creadinger]

@mwhatley 50382 wrote:

Hi everyone, When I first got into this, I bought a Fuji Cross Comp as a first step into road biking and have since made small upgrades to make it more of a road bike, less cyclocrossy (is that a word?).

I also got started in the cycling lifestyle with a Fuji Cross Pro actually. I got mine in 2005. I used it for commuting, touring, and weekend rides. Only ever did 1 cyclocross race and it became a bit of a Frankenbike by the end.

Anyway, a couple of years ago I spent some money and got myself a dedicated custom touring/weekend bike and the difference was phenomenal. It just fit me SO well…. so based mostly on that, this past fall I decided it was time to retire the Fuji and get something bigger and better for commuting and riding around town. I decided to go with a Surly Cross-check. I liked some of the components on my Fuji though, and did not like some of the stock components on the Surlys (bar end shifters), so I bought a frame and had a shop build it up from a combination of old parts off my Fuji (wheels, brakes, shifters, head set, etc..) and new parts (drive train mostly).

The end cost was slightly more than a stock Surly, but in the end I have an awesome bike that I really enjoy riding. The old Fuji frame has been lying unceremoniously under the spare bed ever since.

This was just my recent experience. I also don’t have the skills or know-how to build up my own bike so I was somewhat at the bike shop’s mercy when it came to some parts. All in all they did a great job though!

[americancyclo]

Given that a Shimano Ultegra Groupset runs about $900 and so does a SRAM Rival, I’d ask you to think about what components you want on your ideal bike, and then begin shopping accordingly. Might be cheaper to spend a bit more on your initial purchase, than to upgrade later (always think about labor costs, either the shop, or your time + tools)

[mwhatley]

Thanks for all the helpful feedback everyone! It seems I touched on a topic in which many have passionate opinions. I suppose I’m still up in the air as many of you have offered up great advice on both approaches. For the time, I may just keep learning/searching and seeing what becomes available (whether that be components or a nice frame). Cheers.

[vvill]

If you buy new from a LBS you can often get them to swap out parts when you buy (with probably free labour too), and it should be cheaper than upgrading later on. I did this with my Kona Jake, since I didn’t like some aspects of the stock spec.

[KelOnWheels]

@vvill 50873 wrote:

If you buy new from a LBS you can often get them to swap out parts when you buy (with probably free labour too), and it should be cheaper than upgrading later on. I did this with my Kona Jake, since I didn’t like some aspects of the stock spec.

If I go with a Space Horse I’m going to see if I can afford to swap out the crankset. That stock Tiagra 4600 is fuuuuuugly.

[Dickie]

@KelOnWheels 50875 wrote:

If I go with a Space Horse I’m going to see if I can afford to swap out the crankset. That stock Tiagra 4600 is fuuuuuugly.

Kel, you gotta buy that bike… it is perfect for you!

[lancito brazofuerte]

kelonwheels;50875 wrote:

when i go with a space horse i’m going to see if i can afford to swap out the crankset. That stock tiagra 4600 is fuuuuuugly.

ftfy…

[lancito brazofuerte]

Yeah that Tiagra is maybe good lookin’ in a dark light. Good thing is, a LOT of LBSs will have take off cranks laying around. Check your local racer/tri shops to see what they took off. I picked up a two month old set of Rotor 3Ds for $150. Or your fave LBs probably has something kicking around for dirt cheap

[KelOnWheels]

@lancito brazofuerte 50951 wrote:

Yeah that Tiagra is maybe good lookin’ in a dark light. Good thing is, a LOT of LBSs will have take off cranks laying around. Check your local racer/tri shops to see what they took off. I picked up a two month old set of Rotor 3Ds for $150. Or your fave LBs probably has something kicking around for dirt cheap

I wonder what crank that is in the glamour shots on A/C’s website? It’s quite nice looking.

[lancito brazofuerte]

@KelOnWheels 50954 wrote:

I wonder what crank that is in the glamour shots on A/C’s website? It’s quite nice looking.

SRAM Apex. Harder to find as a take off, but ALL over the fleabay for cheap. Also a bit lighter and available in standard road or compact.

[hozn]

On the topic of warranty, you can also warranty parts you buy from the internet through your LBS. Sure, your LBS may not love you for it, but if you’re an otherwise frequent customer, they’ll do it and probably without giving you any crap (you may need to pay some labor costs). I’ve warrantied several components over the years through stores from which I did not buy them. Same can be done with frames. You can also ship the parts back to the [online] store you did buy them from & have them take care of it. I wouldn’t use warranty as a reason to buy local or online, though service from your LBS should obviously be a factor.

As for building vs buying whole, the question I would ask yourself is whether you’re going to be happy with the stock bike if buying it complete. If you wouldn’t change anything about the stock bike, then definitely save yourself some $$ and buy it complete. As everyone points out, it’s always cheaper to do so; you can’t compete with the wholesale prices that bike companies get for their components.

That said, the only bike I bought complete was my first mtb. I love selecting the components for my bikes and putting them together. I’ve grown picker about the components/setup and while there’s always the chance that I’d discover new things I liked if I bought a pre-built bike, there’s also the more likely chance that I’d tear the stuff off and replace it. And that would definitely cost me more than I would have saved.

[Author]

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