Nyah

I have bicycle preferences that don't seem to be met by the industry but could be had in theory. Is there any way for me to choose all (or most) of my components/parts, so that I have the exact combination that I want from the very beginning? Such as a website that will allow me to start with a cro-mo loaded-touring frame/fork, then let me choose any combination of components (unless they aren't compatible) ?

Arthur Peabody

I've done this. I bought a loaded-touring bike at REI. They swapped out the components I wanted different for only the difference in price, sometimes a discount.

dedhed

A website? No. Just too many variables out there for someone to create a realistic multi discipline database of compatibility.

But Yeah, Do a bunch of research, buy a frame, buy components that are compatible with the frame, and put it together. It'll require some research on compatibility, some tools, and mechanical aptitude. Or paying someone to put it together. People do it all the time. How I built my 91 trek.

Homebrew01

All my bikes since 1980 began with a frame, then I selected components, and often built up wheels too.

bpcyclist

The only thing to keep in mind with this approach is that you probably will be able to get a comparable built-up bike at a reputable shop for a fair amount less than building up your own will cost, piece by piece. Of course, you can't find what you want, so your approach is likely the only way to go.

Steve B.

bpcyclist has it correct that’s it’s almost always cheaper to buy an assembled bike than building from parts. Maybe buying a Chinese carbon might break even, or be cheaper if you feel comfortable going that route. I did 3 or so years ago, ended up with a 105 equipped road bike with hand built wheels for $1300. I could not have touched a similarly equipped 105 carbon at that price. And it hasn’t assplodded yet.

Having just purchased a new Cannondale Topstone gravel bike, I can state I would have put a different h-bar (wider) and different stem (longer) than as equipped, both of which I’m replacing at my expense. As well, a set of custom wheels would be better built then OEM. Is why almost all my road bikes last 25 years are built up from frames. And I know I do a better install and build, as when adjusting the rear derailer cable tension I noticed they had left no slack or adjustment in the barrel adjuster and there are no inline barrel adjusters. That’s not how I build bikes. Nice bike otherwise.

Sy Reene

Some sites exist like Adrenalinebikes, but it's unfortunate that the major bike companies don't just offer build packages where final assembly is performed by the LBS..
ie. 1) Pick Frame; 2) Pick cockpit pkg; 3) Pick wheelset.

Steve B.

Possibly the manufacturers figured out small market. 1) If you don’t know how to build up a bike from a frame and parts, you may not have the knowledge to make the smart choices as to wheels, fit items like h-bar width, stem length, etc and how it all goes together. 2) If you have the skill set to build up, you likely won’t pay a shop you do it except for maybe cut the steerer and install a press-fit b-bracket.

Sy Reene

No, that's not what I'm saying. I'm suggesting eg. go to LBS (eg Trek shop).
1. Pick frame/style of bike (eg. Emonda, Madone, Domane)
2. Pick groupset perhaps (eg. Tiagra thru DA Di2)
3. Pick cockpit pkg (cheap alloy pkg up to aero CF)
4. Pick wheelset (cheap alloy up to deep aero CF)
The LBS would in theory be sitting there to help you make the smart choices. The 3-4 pkg options would be sitting at the distributor for delivery within 2-3 days for final assembly by the LBS. For such a service, add on $100-200 for the LBS's time to assemble.

Happy Feet

I'm very curious what the bike idea is...

Steve B.

Do I think it’s a good idea ?, Oh Yeah and wish it was available.

My thoughts were that a newbie probably wouldn’t have a clue as to what even a great bike shop was advising them on. And we know that not every shop is great or that a particular sales person is going to offer good advise. Upgrade to stronger hand built wheels ?, Why ?, what’s the matter with what the manufacturer offers as stock ?, not understanding what we all know, that the OEM wheels might be the weakest part of the entire package. Typically the price is the strongest selling point, not the ability to custom the build.

What you’re suggesting is for the more experienced rider who knows - now, what to buy but doesn’t want to spend the time to build it themselves.

JohnDThompson 

What, specifically, are those "preferences that don't seem to be met by the industry?" If it's merely component choices, find a frame you like and build it up with the components you prefer. If the frame is part of the issue, look to a custom frame builder, then build it up with the components of your choice.

DropBarFan

Yes, there are a vast number of bikes available but it's not uncommon for folks to want a specific configuration that's not available as a complete bike. Building up a bike can be a fun project & with the competitive internet market for components, buying the components separately is not necessarily much more expensive than buying the complete bike. Internet has lots of information about various components & forums can give advice about specific combinations.

TakingMyTime

I have to agree/endorse Sy_Reene's proposal. I get so frustrated when I see a bike that has an "Ultegra Group" only to find they're not including the Crankset in the "group". Although many options and various builds are available I don't see why a few more options are not available when purchasing a bike. For example, most manufactures offer a frame in a certain color with a particular build. Why can't I pick the champagne colored frame with DA rather than 105?

caloso

The simplest thing might be to buy a complete bike that gets you closest to your goal and then replace/upgrade specific parts.

Nyah

After more "window shopping", I think I've found a bike that's close to what I want. I'm not sure that I like this season's color choices - black or grey - but, the Surly Disc Trucker seems to be what I want, with the exception of the wheelset. It appears that the 650b size rim w/the WTB Horizon tire along with some kind of full-length fender will work with the 26" version of this Surly. Maybe I can get the shop to swap out the wheels and just charge me the difference.

Leinster

There's some blue Truckers to be had on Huckleberrybikes.com if they have one in your size.

No harm asking the shop to swap out the wheels. Even if they don't you can just buy the new wheels yourself and sell the stock ones on eBay. Or just keep them as spares.

Steve B.

My local shop does this - for a price, it ain’t free !. I actually purchased a set of OEM Mavis road wheels from a shop once, got a great deal as they had been taken off a bike whose buyer upgraded wheels. The shop made out on this and I was surprised they rarely had wheels OR saddles for offer after this.

Wrong Planet

...And no one knows the answer to it but you. It's best that way, actually. While there are several accepted methods for going about it, being ignorant of what they are can actually be your greatest asset.

How? Well, there's no doubt you have expertise in other seemingly unrelated areas of your life, and now you're forced to figure out where they might be more relevant and useful than they appear. That background is unique, not like anyone else's. By drawing on it you are going to end up with a unique bike. If you're persistent, you may even notice something that few others have. You are guaranteed to like it more.

There is an unexplainable human factor as well. Showing up on a group ride or something- a man is always going to work harder and with more enthusiasm if he's on something he's made himself.

I like the deliberate use of the word "compose". It's more honest than "build", in the sense we usually use it. That should be reserved for people who hand-fabricate parts from scratch or modify pre-existing stuff. The majority of us, we buy parts we need on the internet, have them delivered, and bolt them together. Our wallets did most of the heavy lifting for us.

"Compose" is excellent, because it indicates the degree of thought required to arrange things, and the best arrangement is likely going to require making some things fit that weren't meant to be. That word resonates very deeply with me.

I had to start composing" my own bikes because I didnt have much choice. I wanted something I could ride efficiently and without the lower back, hip and hand pain that set in whenever I rode a conventional road bike, no matter how 'upright' I was. I wondered what would happen if I started experimenting in the opposite direction. I ended up dedicating a good 7 or 8 years to "composing" bikes. Working at that degree of intensity, you're going to burn out eventually, and I did. Personally, I'm glad I reached the point of having nothing left to give, because I was beginning to miss too many other things in life.

Can you compose your own bike? My counsel would be to ignore every reply to your question, including mine, and find out. Making a bike provides a decent line of investigating the secrets of the universe, I think.

I joined the forum with the objective of making one single post. I spent a couple of weeks looking for exactly the right place. This was it. Thank you for providing it.

I have gone by another user name before, six or seven years ago. It was my own real name, actually. It's best left forgotten, I think.

Happy Feet

What happens when anonymous posting, new age philosophy and dramatic monologues coalesce. Beautiful...

Wrong Planet

What happens: good bike can get made. What else matters?

(urgent note to self: WP CENTRAL COMMAND! DISABLE ALL NOTIFICATIONS AND DEACTIVATE IMMEDIATELY! THERE WILL BE NO FURTHER WARNING")

robyr

As an aside, I was just in the Huckleberry shop on Market in SF, and they definitely have the blue Disc Truckers ready to roll still, in at least 3 sizes.

Steve B.

Complete thread tangent, but here goes.

I don't like "compose" to describe what the OP wants to do and assumed on the read of the OP that he/she was just unfamiliar with the more common use of "build" - I.E. collect, assemble parts and install. "Build" a bike has always been a misnomer as many question whether it also means the actual construction of the frame and typically it doesn't, as the assumption is that outside of a select few, nobody's actually constructing their own frames. "Assemble" seems too simple and I associate it with the kid at Walmart assembling cheap bikes at Christmas time, with little skill involved. "Compose" has literary and musical overtones, thus I wasn't happy with that either.

I like to think that throwing parts onto a frame has more skill level than is implied with the term "throwing". Very much an old world craft involved, the learning and mastering of skills in using the necessary and job specific tools, the learning of when something like tightening a bolt is tight enough. When and how an adjustment to the mechanical parts will produce a desired and correct result, tightening/loosening a derailer cable, adjusting a headset, etc....with required skills learned in how those mechanical parts function.

We need a synonym that's somewhere between assembler and builder.

dedhed

Fitter?
What many people who want to "build" a bike don't realize is how complex "compatibility" can be in the planning stages. Things like BB/crank/frame shell, headset type/stack height, rear spacing/hub/axle type, brake reach/caliper type/mounting, Wheel size/type/planned use. Lots of these things need to be figured out before a single part or tool is procured. With proper research and understanding of these, and other issues, it really does come down to "assembly".

I find assembly is rather straightforward with proper planning, what separates the men from the boys is the adjusting and dialing in of the drivetrain. That's why you see so many threads on shifting and brake issues.

Happy Feet

One could allude to the poetry of bicycle mechanics. That leaves room for the lyrical aspect of assembly beyond say.. the cobbling of words or parts together like some ad copy hack / shop monkey.

People compose songs. Songs are poems set to music. It all fits.

Bicycle Poet