Budgeting for a Bike Build: How Much After the Frame?
 

Hi everyone. I'm building a gravel/bikepacking bike up and having a custom frame+fork made. The question I want to put to you is: how much would you budget for everything else on a 1x Di2 build? I mean drivetrain/seatpost/saddle/wheels/tires/stem/bar/bartape/brakes/pedals? I'm talking just the bike, not travel or maintenance gear. I'm pricing things out myself now, but it will help me (and maybe anyone else thinking of going down this path) to have an idea of what everyone else budgeted. And I may have forgotten something that you'll remind me of :lol:

As much as you need to build what you want. How long do you want to wait for deals? What needs to be new, used? What do you already have?

Missing cables, chain, pads. Tools?

EDIT: I forgot you want DI2 1x .... so you will need to pay whatever they are asking.

Original post-------Spend as much as you can afford. Get good gear. $500 wheels with enough spokes that you will never not be able to limp home. At least 105 running gear. 105-level Hydro discs.

$1000 for running gear--wheels, shifters, BB, brakes, cogs and chain rings, chain. $100 for tires, though you might not need that much. $20 for cables? $10 for bottle cages?

Maybe $50 for a headset? I haven't shopped lately, and I know some people talk about $300 Chis King headsets or whatever ... but headsets tend to be as good as they are adjusted, and I cannot see where a boutique headset is going to be all that much better than any decent brand-name unit.

Seat post, stem, and bars? How light do you want to go?

I think it is Kalloi Uno sells $30 stems as light as any of the $200 boutique stems, every bit as strong. Gravel and bikepacking I'd probably do aluminum bars, and again, the cheap (not $17 Chinese knock-offs of Chinese knock-offs, but $30-$50 bars) will hold up as well as the $300 Eastons or whatever.

I actually use some Chinese brands, Toseek in particular, and I have never had any problems. I get bargain-basement seat-posts off EBay as well .... a simply Al or CF tube, pretty much any company can make that, and of course, for bikepacking off-road you will want Al, I'd imagine. $100 should cover the cockpit.

Saddle is whatever fits you. I have an $11 Vader, a bunch of stuff bought off overstock and discontinued pages (back when those were a thing) and while it can be hit or miss, i have a lot of good saddles under $50. But saddles are entirely personal ... it has to fit your body, not just your wallet.

$5-$25 for bar tape if you are brand-conscious .... I often wrap my bars with old inner tubes for no net cost.

A couple hundred for lighting. I'd recommend a serious light and a back-up light up front and a couple tail-lights which run about $35 apiece for decent quality. Of course, if you ride off-road at night you will need to go all-out with lighting. But for road use, and on an extended (multi-day) ride, you just need to know you have power and light. I recommend a Juice Box or some similar recharger just in case.

I have of course forgotten what I have forgotten---- a seat bag, tools, whatever ... pedals are whatever you like, and whatever else I have forgotten, well .... you will get lots of better help anyway.

If you are interested in di2 stuff you shouldn't be someone who has to worry about budget.....

Just use excel and list all the parts you want, google for prices and add up. Depending on what your taste is, it could be $800 or $8,000.

I'd spend up to $7,531. What difference does that make?

[QUOTE=ADAP7IVE;20925513[/QUOTE]
The question I want to put to you is: how much would you budget for everything else on a 1x Di2 build? [QUOTE]

What does it matter how much someone else would budget for their bike? What matters is how much you afford, or are willing spend to get what you want. At some point decisions have to made by you, not someone else. Most of us have to make compromises, to decide what is worth the cost and what is not.

I've always heard you should plan on spending a minimum of 1x to 3x what the frame cost for wheels and components.

Not a gravel/bikepacking build but I am spending ~ $2800 on parts for a custom bike with dynamo lights, custom racks, fenders and 11-speed internal geared hub.

Splurges: lights, brakes, fenders, shifter, racks
Save: seat post, headset

I’ll assume Di2 is in the same neighborhood as Alfine 11. So if you take away the custom racks, fenders, dynamo lights you’ll be $1000 cheaper give or take. I’m also getting Paul brakes, so you can save $150-200 based on that choice. Standard racks depending on your choices would add about $200-$250.

I have some more fluff like bell, chain case..... and I am sure a myriad other small things I am forgetting.

Hope that helps!

A $40 headset can be just as serviceable, reliable, and lasting as a $150 headset.

The same goes for a bunch of other components.

So what I would spend is irrelevant to what you or others would spend.

I have built up every bike my family and i have owned from frame...except for one. I decided long ago to not base my purchases on other people's bikes.

Spend as much as needed. My upcoming build for a 2x grav-grav slayer and lighter touring bike is about 3-4k in parts there abouts. I am planning on probably doing an XT/Ultegra drivetrain with White Industries cranks and Microshift thumb shifters (doing a alt bar) XT hydro disc brakes and SON/WI/HED Belgium wheels. However we just built up a similar bike for a customer for under 4k with frameset, parts and labor (including Dynamo and lights) but his was a SLX/105 drivetrain and slightly cheaper parts throughout (though SON dynamo is still used)

The most important thing is you build up the bike you want and don't skimp anywhere you don't want to skimp and make sure you get what you want as much as is possible. Nothing sucks worse than buying a frame building it up and realizing you wanted to do something different and should have spent the money in the beginning because in the end it would have been cheaper and maybe easier to set up right. You can easily save money on certain things but if you don't want to go with a cheaper part for that certain thing, then don't. Take your time and build it right at whatever it costs to do that.

I think like hifi: 1/3+1/3+1/3

1000 frame + 1000 group/hardware + 1000 wheels, as a guide with some variation

Basically my thing is all the components should be about equal.
I wouldn't put $200 wheels on $1000 dollar frame.
I wouldn't put like Altus on a $1000 dollar frame.
Quality of everything should be the same across the board.

Going back to the hifi thing: its like hooking up $100 speakers to your $1000 amp using $25 cables.
Not happening.

Bikepacking??? Simpler is better IMHO. And light as possible.
Myself I go with 2x10 drivetrains because...

• Relatively inexpensive (Deore XT derailleurs and XTR shifters)
• Replacement components are readily available at most bike shops if needed.
• You get good separation of ratios when grinding up hills for the 5th day in a row.

Brakes? Always cable Avid BB7.
DI2??? I do not want to get out in the middle of nowhere and end up with a dead battery.

This is the correct answer.

And this.

What is a 'grav-grav slayer'?

Thanks for all the replies (and one PM with more helpful details!). Most were really helpful, and I have a much clearer idea of how to proceed.

It is a bike to slay the grav-grav as the kids say! It is just a gravel bike or all road bike or groad bike or whatever name you choose for it.

Thankfully I haven't heard grav grav around me yet. I may need to stop riding gravel if that makes it across the river to here.

I was thinking the same thing.

How much to build a bike frame up, that is easily found by using Google for each part that you will need. If you already got some parts that will work, deduct those and you can deduct the cost of the frame once you got that too.

hahaha, true but don't quite because of the kids.

dont skimp on wheels - Di2 being super expensive is a myth - do the math as a percentage of cost it is well worth it - used Di2 drivetrains available - if you get caught riding with a dead battery you are either foolish or riding for weeks in the outback without charging - takes about an hour to charge and lasts several weeks or even months-dependent on how much you shift

Curious what 1X Di2 system you are putting together ?. Is this a drop bar gravel build with a road group ?, or flat bar mt. build ?

If drop bar, the GS Ultegra rear derailer only handles up to a 34 tooth cog, you might stretch to a 36. That kind of defeats the while 1X concept of letting the 46-50 cassette give you your low range.

And why go 1X ?, one of the many advantages of Di2 is the front shifting is exceptional.