[Crazy Sweeper]

So I've been looking at getting a new bike. Either later this year or building one during the winter months. Building one is almost more economically feasible because I can buy my bike in parts as I get the money, and since I've never built a bike I'll need the time in between part buying to figure out what I'm doing. I'm a pretty hands-on type of person, so learning to build the bike is not an issue to me. It's actually an aspect of mountain biking I'm interested in.

So, I guess what I'm asking for is some pros/cons of building vs. buying a bike.

 

[narlus]

i would question your ability to undercut the cost of a built bike when the big boys get huge OEM discounts. what a build gets you is the ability to customize and spec exactly what you want. also, as you will build it yrself, you save on labor.

one pitfall to avoid is to make sure of parts compatibility, as "standard" is a loose word in the bike industry.

 

[jmeperu]

building a bike = fun, custom bike that fits your needs perfectly.
buying a bike = saveing about 1/3 of what you would spend on a bike you build. these fit most peoples needs fine

 

[Wumpus]

Build it:

pro: you get to spec whatever you want.
con: usually ends up costing quite a bit more.


Buy it built:

pro: cheaper.
con: you don't get much choice (some shops will let you change an item or two).



I've custom built all my bikes except for my first mtn and first road bike.

 

[Crazy Sweeper]

I'll give you an example.

I'm looking at a marin attack trail bike. The MSRP on the frame is $900. But the whole bike MSRP is $3300. That seems like quite a bit. Although I'm still pretty green to bikes and parts so I dunno. Cost isn't really an issue to me with building, because like I said I can get parts from month to month.

 

[dwaugh]

Building is nice because you get to decide on what you want in particular. Plus its fun.

 

[douglas]

I wanted a new bike / I was going to build it, but I found an equivalently spec'd bike for less than the parts would have been, and I already had a fork and still would have had to buy a frame.

 

[golgiaparatus]

Building a bike is usualy far more expensive than buying.

 

[DVNT]

I'll give you an example.

I'm looking at a marin attack trail bike. The MSRP on the frame is $900. But the whole bike MSRP is $3300. That seems like quite a bit. Although I'm still pretty green to bikes and parts so I dunno. Cost isn't really an issue to me with building, because like I said I can get parts from month to month.

It sounds like a good idea in theory, but trust me you'll be staring at that lonely frame for a few days .....wanting to ride it ........ look at it some more....... hear about your friends going on rides........... neaky: then bam! eventually you'll cave in to the pressure and get all the goodies at once.

 

[arboc!]

there is really only one way to get all the parts you want and thats build

 

[mack]

Keep in mind there are no good shops around where we live man... So building you own seems the best bet. Unless you want to drive to mass or somthing.

 

[BuddhaRoadkill]

Building .... new tools ...

 

[Ciaran]

I love building my own bikes. I can choose each component down to the cables, and it's more fun! I get a lot of parts off of ebay so my build ends up being not too expensive.

 

[Pau11y]

If you build it, you won't want to ever buy a complete factory spec'd bike again unless it's the very top end.
Your built $3300.00 bike will cost you around $4K or more if you build it. At that price, I'd look into things like hand built (custom) frame, wheelset, ect. $900.00 will get you a very high quality hand built steel HT frame.
The other thought is buying a built bike someone has pieced together w/ high end parts. The tend to be cheaper than you buying the same parts and they tend to be very well taken care of.

 

[arboc!]

most experienced rides know that alot of complete bikes are cheap, because they have lower end parts... they may skimp on bbs or head sets, usually cranks and somethimes forks on cheaper bikes. handle bars are often cheap on complete bikes too.

 

[Toshi]

most experienced rides know that alot of complete bikes are cheap, because they have lower end parts... they may skimp on bbs or head sets, usually cranks and somethimes forks on cheaper bikes. handle bars are often cheap on complete bikes too.

and these cheap parts often work just as well. complete is the way to go if you're shopping for a deal.

that said, i bought my road bike complete, xc bike off ebay, and built up my evil and canfield from the frameset. building up bikes is a luxury that one can afford once the garage is already stocked with miscellaneous parts from older bikes...

 

[LOOnatic]

Buy.
Ride it like you stole it.
Enjoy.
Then destroy.
Then build it.