Building up an MTB

ravendude

Hi lads,

I'm almost decided now that I want to have a go off of building up a new bike.
Its beginning to look like there is no cost saving in doing this, tbh, its even looking like it might cost more than buying a complete bike.
However, I'm thinking that there might be a certain satisfaction in riding a bike put together exactly the way you like it.
Unfortunately, there's a lot I don't know. About the most I've done is fit a new handlebars and stem, pedals and change tires. I'm thinking of building up a full suspension frame (eg. Morewood, santa cruz, banshee), over time with a budget of up to 3,000 (over time). Problem, is, i hardly know where to start.....
Wondering if anyone has any experiences to share? - good, bad or indifferent
I can't seem to find any websites that have much info on it, any references would be appreciated genuinely.
I'm thinking the hardest part might be fitting brakes, gears, cranks etc.

Cheers.

penexpers

You are correct - often building up a bike will end up costing more than buying a complete but there is satisfaction in building up your own bike. Don't forget to budget for tools.

Morgan

Here you go:

http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=132

ravendude

Morgan wrote: »

Here you go:

http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=132

Brilliant, thats just what I was looking for.

Just wondering, a question for anyone that has done it before, - are there any very tricky things to be done, that might be best done by a shop?
ie. installing the fork, headset (ie. sizing etc.) and bottom bracket seems fairly awkward.
Would I be better off seeing if I can buy a frame, fork, headset and bottom bracket from a shop and get them to fit them, - then take it there....

Also, what would the essential tools be? - assume you'd need more than a multitool...
Thanks again for the link above, I'll have a good read over it.

ednwireland

i took my mtb apart and rebuilt, got the frame repainted. getting 1 1/4 to 1 1/8th reducers for the headset and fitting it all. anyway it turned out like this:
although cos its a old fame it doesnt like 9 speed too much




probably cheaper to buy a new one but i used to race this in the mid 90'd

davgtrek

i can see the temptation but really you will prob end up paying double. 3k is a lot of money and would buy a sweet full suss with loads of change.

with that change you could have your workshop setup, buy a second hand ht and work/learn on it.

you dont want to be scratching your head over a €500 front shock as you battle to fit it to your frame etc.

take 2k and have the dream machine and have less stressful time messing with another cheap bike project.

Gavin

Best bet is to buy a complete groupset in one go. Merlincycles.co.uk and bike-components.de have great prices for shimano stuff.

You should be able to get tools to do just about everything from wiggle/chainreactioncycles. I'd advise buying the tools for the job, don't try and hack stuff together. More expensive obviously, but really, worth the cost and then you have the tool.

Haven't bought a new MTB frame before, so don't know if bottom bracket shell will come faced, or if the headset/seattube will be reamed. Those would probably be bike shop jobs.

It's good fun and a lot easier than you'd think. The trick is to just be patient and when you do something wrong, start again and make sure you get it right. This is particularly annoying when you have assembled something and then find a nut/washer sitting on the floor. But best to re-do it. Also, do it in small chunks, don't spend the entire day doing it, you'll get tired and pissed off and start bodging things. Not good when it's the first time you're doing something.

ravendude

davgtrek wrote: »

i can see the temptation but really you will prob end up paying double. 3k is a lot of money and would buy a sweet full suss with loads of change.

with that change you could have your workshop setup, buy a second hand ht and work/learn on it.

you dont want to be scratching your head over a €500 front shock as you battle to fit it to your frame etc.

take 2k and have the dream machine and have less stressful time messing with another cheap bike project.

well, from what i calculate it shouldn't work out anything like double, - not for the kind of spec i'm looking at. For the 3K, - I should come out a cracking bike I think.
I guess the plan is to be patient, and buy things reduced in price on CRC when the time is right, maybe pick up the saddle, bars, stem etc. second hand in good nick.

Agree, though, - might be getting myself into a bit of stress.

Greyspoke

Go for it! It might well work out a bit more expensive but you'll be able to build it up with exactly the components you want. You don't really need many special tools and if you get the headset cups fitted in a shop and maybe the bottom bracket too if you're unsure about it then pretty much every thing else will bolt on with a set of allen keys.

blorg

davgtrek wrote: »

i can see the temptation but really you will prob end up paying double. 3k is a lot of money and would buy a sweet full suss with loads of change.

with that change you could have your workshop setup, buy a second hand ht and work/learn on it.

you dont want to be scratching your head over a €500 front shock as you battle to fit it to your frame etc.

take 2k and have the dream machine and have less stressful time messing with another cheap bike project.

I would tend to agree with this, I don't think it is a good idea to attempt something that expensive as your first build. Something cheaper sure why not, the expensive stuff is generally just lighter once you get beyond a certain level, not any easier to put together.