Strawbunyan

I am just sitting around pondering on a future build.
I have a basic end game in mind and started looking for things that my fit my goal. I know I want an STI setup and was thinking about a dura-ace 7400 system. I am going to be slowly collecting all the parts I need for this build 1 by 1
my question is, does it make sense to build a bike around the components I want? and get the frame last or am I going about this backwards? I don't have a "man I have to have that" dream frame, and the frame I end up with is going to be sacrificed to the spray booth in the most sacrilegious way imaginable..
and I figure if I do it this way and then down the road find a "wow that is perfect, i have to have it and wont spray it" frame, ill have the parts ready to go.
what say you?

PromptCritical 

With the pace of technical changes, I would suggest not buying the pieces in the group set 1 x 1.

jdawginsc 

I’ve done it before...Shimano 7400, Campy Chorus 8/Record 9 speed, SunTour Superbe (future), Tricolor (Oops).

PromptCritical 

I’ve done it too. Painful to deal with the compatibility issues.

Kontact

There are no real compatibility issues. 7400 would work on any racing style bike with rim brakes since at least 1978. Of which there are plenty, and they are still made.

zandoval 

Hey Stud... Dont Be Afraid... Its just an engineering problem...

merziac

Yes

Sometimes just one part or a loose theme, mine is chrome.

Delusional, usually, admit and be well cognizant of this going in and it can save you from yourself, some, maybe.

Be realistic in your ability, when the going gets tough.... it can be expensive and worse.

Be prepared to pivot, a key part can change or derail the whole project especially if you get in over your head.

Almost always challenging, patience is key especially in the face of adversity, step back, take a beat and ask yourself if its going too far off the rails.

Almost always rewarding in the end if you get there.

Never overly painful if you have been honest but can be if you forge ahead when you are truly out of your depth.

Many versions of this can be fantastic if you let them.

Aubergine 

Why not? You can collect the parts you need and have them ready when you spot a must-have frame. Makes sense to me.

juvela

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purchasing fittings individually quite costly

many enthusiast run out of funds/interest/energy before they get there...

far more efficient to purchase a "donor machine" with the road ensemble you desire and then selling off the extra frame to get some of the outlay back


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jdawginsc 

Addendum to above, usually it starts with a super bargain on a few parts in an ilk...

Problem is it can happen in multiple fronts and then you get in Dave problem collection mode.

C9H13N 

Parts are easy to store even if you don't have room for extra bikes...

PromptCritical 

True, if the components match. My point is that if one buys portions of groupset one at a time, there is a risk of getting components that don’t match. That can be a rather trying experience.

TiHabanero

Just so happens that my last complete bike project started out with buying an H11 Record crankset because it was a good buy. then I found Chorus derailleurs at a reasonable price, and after that Record 11 speed shifters came along. Then I happened to be in the right place at the right time to get a set of DT Swiss 350 hubs at a silly good price. You get the picture.
Didn't have a frame to hang the stuff on, yet. Then I found a very good buy on a titanium frame and I already had a good quality fork that fit, thus the whole thing came together and five years later I'm still riding it. To think that it all started with a crank set I had no plans for.

SwimmerMike 

I have to second @juvela. I've bought pieces one by one when I've had to. It's way more cost effective to look for a bike with the component group you want, strip it down, then have the group ready when the right frame comes along. I've bought parts bikes for cheaper than one or two components on eBay. Another option is to keep an eye on the Sale board here in C&V and see if a group comes up.

PromptCritical 

That’s what I’m doing right now. It’s been pretty easy because I’m using friction shifters. One of my previous builds was with STI shifters and I found it challenging to get the right parts. Once stuff is out of production and you’re buying on the secondary market it’s challenging.

merziac

Its all about the vision, and often a little luck.

PhilFo 

It started for me with a pair of NOS Suntour XC Pro brake levers...
I've built a total of three bikes up with those levers. Still have the last of those bikes, but I want to replace them with a NOS set of Shimano XT 3 finger levers.
...then I'll have the spare Suntours...
You see how it goes.
We can rationalize a build around any part. I have multiple mixed groups sitting in boxes and can rationalize a whole bicycle just around one component.
Phil

Kontact

If they are 7400, they match, unless you really aren't paying attention.



I am doing exactly the same right now. Had a 7410 crank for awhile, came across DA shifters and remembered seeing a derailleur and brakeset. All super cheap.

RustyJames 

Strawbunyan step right up! I have a great 7400 starter kit. Brakes, front derailleur and crankset. PM me if interested.

Andy_K 

It's the classic doorknob problem -- you find a doorknob you like and then you have to build a house to go with it

The build I've got lined up after I finish the Huffy started with a set of VO Postino handlebars. I got them on a Raleigh Professional I bought last year. They weren't right for that bike, but I rode it like that once to see what I thought. I liked them and since then I have been occasionally thinking about what to do with them. Recently inspiration struck that they'd be great for a 650b commuter bike. I was thinking maybe a Raleigh Grand Sport but didn't see one for sale in my size, but gugie had a nice 1978 Motobecane Grand Jubilé that should do nicely. I already have a 650b 1975 Grand Jubilé, but this one will have a different purpose behind it.

Mad Honk 

Hey now! Calling it my problem is a bit over the top. Just cause I have a huge Campy stash doesn't mean I have a problem. Smiles, MH

Bianchigirll 

My Batavus Professional started with the crank. I was fooling around on the ebays one evening and stumbled on this great looking Stronglight "SpeedLight" crankset and just had to have it. I think it took about 3 years to come up with a frame and even and idea for the completed bike.



A member here was going to sell me a great looking Presto Mixtie but ended up selling it locally (in Europe) and offered me this Professional at a very attractive rate. I decided this color would be perfect for not only the Speedlight crankset but it was going to be my "black bike" without being black or carbonfiber. So then it was off to the races.


I thought the finished product was great looking but a few things bothered me. I didn't really love the wheels, a decent Mavic rim but they just didn't feel the part. Also the only reasonable black brakes I could find (afford) were Veloce DPs and I don't really like DP brakes.


I found a great set of Dura Ace brakes at the inaugural Classic Bikes Auburn in '22 event but those didn't fit. I was offered a mismatched set of Modolos and they were perfect. At that time I also changed the wheels to a set GP4s on Campi 8spd hubs I had built around 2004 and never used much as well as the pedals. I think I now have the best looking "Black Bike" ever built.

Wildwood 

Just waiting for a racy French frame in 60cm.

bwilli88 

I found some 635 ERTO rims and needed to find a frame to build and ended up with this.

bwilli88 

Also a Handsome Cycles disc fork and a SRAM Automatix coaster brake hub. and ended up with this