Originally Posted by
pttrnlanguage
What do you think is a better value, building a bike from scratch – slowly, over a year or so – or finding the perfect used ride (scouring ebay/CL for 6 months).
Do ya'll have a strategy for either? I'm specifically curious if buying used drivetrain components is stupid or not
I don't believe in the slow approach. If I'm going to build, I'll can build a bike up from nothing to functional bike in less than 8 hours...and that includes driving 60 miles round trip to get the frame
and building a new set of wheels from scratch. I strike hard, fast and get it done without needless delay.
That said, I only build bikes from scratch because I get something that I want that I can't purchase. If I can purchase the whole bike, I'll go that route because it is much, much cheaper. Even used bikes are cheaper to buy the whole bike than to build one.
Drivetrain components aren't all equal. Derailers, wheels and cranks are usually okay if they don't show visible signs of damage. Shifters, especially old ones, can be tricky because they might not shift properly. Old ones tend to get gummy inside and don't work properly. You
can salvage them by spraying WD40 or another solvent in them and get them working again. I've done it numerous times.
The only drivetrain part that I would hesitate buy used would be cassettes and chains. You can't easily tell how much wear the cassette has seen. It may be okay or it may skip. A chain you can measure wear but then both cassettes and chains are relatively cheap. Buy both new and save yourself a lot of grief.