Fleetdog

I've decided I'd like to have a SS/Fix flip flop bike but I'm not sure what my best option will be. I could go the easy route and just get a Dawes SST for $330 or I could go to a local shop here and get a used Schwinn road frame that comes with brakes, headset, stem, and BB for $50 and build from there. All those components are used and possibly in need of replacement or repair. Here's what I'm thinking for the build up:

Supercross plaid saddle $25
seatpost $15
Nashbar bull horns $20
Nashbar TT brake levers $25
Origin8 or Pake crankset $60
Formula Weinmann DP18 Wheelset $160
Freewheel $25 (for comparison sake, I'd need to add a track cog/lockring later to the Dawes also)
chain $15
grip tape $12
brake cable $10
tires $70
tubes $10
Crank Bros pedals I already own.

The build comes to a grand total of about $500

The big difference is that with the build I can go slowly and spread out my costs so I'm not dropping more than $200 at any one time. But I do realize I'm not looking at top of the line parts here so my question is if I did this build would I wind up with a bike that is at least on par with the Dawes or slightly better? I think spreading out the cost and being able to pick and choose the parts would be worth the price difference to me if I wind up with at least as good of a product in the end.

ctfinnigan

I can't really say one would be better than the other, because I'm not at all familiar with the Dawes, but I can say that building a bike piece-by-piece can be extremely rewarding if you are riding it all the way through. It's nice to complain about part-x and finally get enough money to replace it with a brand new component that runs smoothly and quietly and is lighter and oh-so shiney.
I'd say build it up yourself. Especially if you're going to actually be doing the mech. stuff yourself.

bornagainst

I'd say buy an off the peg bike for that price rather than building one. Do you have the tools and know how to build a bike? And you can almost definitely bump that $500 up 'cause it never seems to cost what you think it will. I built a new bike over the winter and while it was an awesome experience and I actually saved a ton of money over buying stuff from an LBS(I shop the internet), I kinda wish I would have just bought something complete and then changed out the components as needed or as I could afford to. I love my bike now, and it's exactly the way I want it, but it was a PITA for a few months and I always hated seeing it only partially finished. Just my .02.

FarAwayBoy

For sure.
A build is always gonna cost way more than you think.
Though I recently built up an old Raleigh frame for around 300 dollars.
It helps though that I have a friend who works at a bike shop so little parts like stems and cogs and what have you I got for free.

squeakywheel

I can buy an off the shelf really nice (Raleigh) fixed gear bike for $450 at the LBS. That said, I spent nearly $800 building my own. If you want the standard stuff, then buy a ready made bike. If you want long/short cranks, long/short stem, certain saddle, and a certain gear ratio, then have it built yourself.

roadfix

If you know how to wrench and have the tools, then go with the conversion route. That's what most with tools and skills would do.

daybreak

it seems as if it will be almost 2x cost effective to just buy the dawes SST. It will cost you well over $500 in the end for reasons already mentioned. You can buy the SST and use the $170 price difference to buy yourself those DP18s you want. Then sell the Alex R500s and have some money left over to buy other parts as you see fit.

The logic that you'll be spending money here and there while building a bike as opposed to spending a chunk of cash at once for a complete bike doesn't make much sense to me, considering you'll have to spend a chunk of change before you can even ride your bike build.

EatMyA**

Build it. Hands down. Nothing more rewarding. Look at what everyone says "BUY COMPLETE". But look at what everyone does "BUILT MY OWN". Why because its YOUR CREATION. its real. you know exactly what is in it, and exactly what it can do. and everything will be adjusted to best possible degree.

If you are already thinking about it you're gonna do it anyway. Get it out of your system now (that its cheap), rather than later (when you know more and want to build the "best" road bike ever!)

Dowsides are: if its your first time you will have some self doubt, and wonder if you got it right or this is adjusted properly or not.

It costs a little more.

you want it done fast, but you have to wait.

EatMyA**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDe5Ckt4joQ

squeakywheel

Go to a yard sale and buy a really nice frame for $15. Then you'll be at one with the frame for life. Components and wheels will seem insignificant after that.

roadfix

The difference in cost is irrelevant for most who love to wrench.

legstwelve

If you have access to a decent set of tools and workstand then build it yourself. Just remember if it's an older bike you're probably going to need 2 sets of tools, one lot for taking off older style components and another for putting on newer parts. i.e. cotterless / octalink cranks.

FarAwayBoy

Haha.
Whenever I encounter cotterless cranks I just leave those bad boys on.
They are SUCH a pain to get off.

bornagainst

Agreed. But then there are those who only want to ride and know nothing about how their bike actually works or how to fix/adjust anything and would much rather pay their LBS to do it all for them. And tools, if you don't have them, could easily add up to the cost of a new bike and beyond - at least for the good stuff. I'd much rather see everyone riding around on bikes that they built with their own two hands than all the bone stock rides I see now but the reality is that the majority of bikers lack the ability/time/desire to do such. I still say that, considering the parts you listed for your potential build, you're better off buying a new bike and saving the $$$. Why waste the time and money building an entry level bike when there are more than a handful of companies selling new bikes in your price range(unless you truly do love to wrench)?

Ghaurok

As someone who first started with converting an old road bike (posted somewhere in the photo thread) and now recently bought a BD track bike, I say spend $300-350 on a cheapo complete off the internet bike, and then use the other $200 to buy tools and upgrades. Just because you bought a complete bike doesn't mean you can't take it apart to get a better understanding of it (and probably grease up the parts that they may have missed).

neverjared

I work at a bike shop. Everyday kids come in with their conversion projects dumping more and more money into them and then regretting it later when they realized they could have started with something nicer on the cheap and upgraded components as they went.

Just sayin'

tFUnK

can't add any new input that hasn't already been brought up, but if you have the means (e.g., enough finances, enough space in your apt/house), the perfect solution is to do both. get that dawes for cheap, and that'll get you out on the road riding right away. but also start looking for that classic frame you want to build up as a project. it'll take longer and cost more money eventually, but like you said, you only spend a bit at a time. this way you get to ride right away and you get the rewarding experience of building your own. best of both worlds.

EatMyA**

Or you could do that!

but then you'll have two bikes....which is a gateway that leads to another sad condition which requires you to have the correct number of bikes. Actually there is a formula to find the exact amount of bikes one should own.

anyone know it?

Ghaurok

X+1 is how many bikes you should own, with X being your current ammount of bikes.

bbattle

This is so very true but if you start lurking on the Classic and Vintage board the formula is X^2 + 2X + 1 = frames hiding in the attic and one full garage.


Buying a bike will be cheaper.

My conversions cost ~A LOT or so. I never get the cheapest of anything; buying stuff a part at a time lets you rationalize spending a little extra here, a little more there. Pretty soon, that budget is blown and you've got an expensive but cool-looking/running bike.

Now, if you have gobs of time and are able to go yard-sailing for weeks and months on end to find bikes that you can use for frames and parts, you can do a conversion cheap. But these days, every Tom, Dick and Harry is doing this to flip bikes on eBay to ignorant hipsters and wanna-be commuters. So prices are going up on the used bikes, too.

$200 on Sun CR-18 rims, Formula hubs, DT Swiss spokes
$50 on tires
$10 on tubes
$4 on rim tape
$45 on brakes
$14 on brake levers
$80 on crankset
$36 on chainring
$46 on cog
$10 on lockring
$14 on chain
$30 on handlebars
$70 on saddle
$15 on seatpost
$90 on old Raleigh bike
$40 on primer, paint
$35 stem

= $789


Before LINK
More AFTER PICS


It was a lot of fun to build and the bike rides well and is dead silent but for that kind of cash you can get a brand new bike with great components and still have change leftover for the PBR.

Fleetdog

Well, I probably should have mentioned from the start that I do already have a bike. I have a Gary Fisher Wingra that I ride to work almost everyday. It's a 24 speed hybrid that I've added fenders, rack, and paniers to. I definitely love riding it, but now I want a bike at the other end of the spectrum.

I'm still undecided but I'm going to give that frame closer look this morning.

Ride Among Us

You could also just buy somebody's custom bike off eBay. Someone who already dropped a ton of cash into it. You'll get the upgrades and new parts you want. Bikes on eBay routinely only fetch 50% of their real value. You just have to be patient and open minded about trying something different. I have never bought an off-the-shelf bike totally built. But if I did, I would still swap out wheels and other parts anyways.


edit: here is a perfect example of what I'm talking about. Add up the Phils wheelset, frame, crankset, brooks saddle, bars, etc and then look at the price you can get this awesome bike for: https://cgi.ebay.com/2001-Di-Bernardi...ayphotohosting

pbr

I think it only costs about $50 - $100 for a bike build. You could buy all the parts and just have them slap em' on if you dont have tools. Its cool to do it part by part. The problem is by the time the bike is done the parts are already wearing. You already beat up your wheels, lost tread in your tires, chain starts to stretch. Then you get the itch and you wanna get these other drop bars because they are .00000001 mm wider or something stupid like that.

Build it all at once and ride it till the wheels fall off.

SheistyMike

"Reserve not met"

Jabba Degrassi

This.

I started off this way. Picked up a crappy bike with a half-decent frame. Ripped all the old parts off, found most of the un-usable, shopped around for a set of fixed wheels, realized that even my basic Alex DA28s and formula hubs severely outclassed the frame, ended up putting together an entirely over-priced IRO build myself.

Don't get me wrong, it's a fun bike and I enjoyed putting it together, but money-wise it was a bad series of decisions, and bad monetary decisions tend to stick to the back of my mind. YMMV.