Anyone here done it?

I can get a nice, nearly new frameset for free from a friend. Thinking about trying to build a road bike up from it. Interested to know how difficult it would be, and if a decent bike can be assembled for <$750. Any insight into the process would be appreciated.

12/13/2007 2:45:46 PM

Ya it's not hard. Buy parts. Make sure you get compatible stuff. Put it together. You'll need specific sizes for the headset and seatpost to get stuff that is compatible with the frame. I don't know how realistic $750 is because I know nothing about road bike components, but start pricing stuff and see what you find.

It's pretty easy. Seat bolts to seatpost which slides into frame. Headset is pretty straightforward. You may need a tool to put in the bottom bracket. Cranks bolt up, pedals bolt up. Fork goes on. Stem/Handlebars bolt up. Shifters go on, grips go on. Tubes/tires go on rims and then they go on. You'll figure it out.

I always preferred to just let a friend who works at a shop handle the shifter and brake cables just because I wasn't any good at it and I would tinker with it waaaay too long trying to get it perfect only to never be satisfied.

Now that I think about it, I think I'm ok with them not being perfect as long as someone else did it; but I'm too compulsive about the shit I do myself.

[Edited on December 13, 2007 at 3:03 PM. Reason : l]

12/13/2007 3:02:21 PM

I guess the biggest thing is to make sure that all the components are compatible. Pricewise, the sky's the limit on new components, but I'm hoping to scrounge some stuff on craigslist that'll ease the financial burden.

12/13/2007 3:18:03 PM

I'd just find a component group in your price range for the shifters, deraillers, chain and chainrings. I always just ran Shimano stuff on my bikes. The Shimano Deore XT was pretty good stuff at a decent price for mountain bikes. Go custom for the other components as price allows.

[Edited on December 13, 2007 at 3:40 PM. Reason : s]

12/13/2007 3:40:05 PM

you can do it for that much money you just have to stalk forums for spare parts

grab a an xt derailur here for 10 bucks a crank set there for 50 a frame here for 300 a wheel set for 200 etc.

12/13/2007 3:43:49 PM

jesus just get a huffy.

12/13/2007 3:44:03 PM

you would never say that if you've actually ridden a well maintained well built mountain bike.

My old Ellsworth joker with xt components road smooth as butter, perfect shifts perfect suspension.
Until i started riding urban and blowing up $400 shocks every 3 months.
but that was my fault.

Moral of this story if you ride a well maintained bike with xt or lx components on it... a $200 huffy is a $200 paperweight.

12/13/2007 4:02:54 PM

Check your PM.

I've built dozens of road bikes and have some nice components for sale.

If you have any questions about anything, just let me know.

12/13/2007 4:05:31 PM

^^^^ He said he can get a nice frame from a friend for free, so the $750 should stretch a lot further. That is especially true if the forks are included with the frame and I wouldn't be surprised if it already has a headset, bottom bracket, and seatpost since those usually aren't the same size or aren't worth transferring to the new frame.

[Edited on December 13, 2007 at 4:07 PM. Reason : l]

12/13/2007 4:07:11 PM

Depends on what kind of riding you want to do...I'm slowly assembling parts for a singlespeed city bike (thanks Mom for the hub) that I can pop around town with separate from my commuter, expecting that to cost about 300-400 once done.

I would sink most of your money into the wheelset, and your shifting system if you're riding geared. I'll advocate for your community bike project so you can access specialty bike tools ( headset wrench, crank puller, chainbreaker, etc.) for free or a small donation, as opposed to paying someone at a shop to build up your bike. Also, you'll probably learn how to maintain it better there as well.

Another option for parts is to buy a 2nd bike off Craigslist, like an older Raleigh or Trek, for a few hundred bucks, and strip parts off there for this frame, as opposed to buying each component separately.

12/13/2007 7:28:41 PM

thread highjack. i've been meaning to put some disks on this Schwinn Mesa i got, fork and frame are disk-ready but the stock x-rims are not as far as i can tell. would it be worth converting it or should i start over with a different bike (i got this bike for free pretty much). at least rear disk would be nice for coasting wheelies and shit. im a recreational rider so plz no 500 dolla solutions here. i scoped out some hayes cyliners+calipers online for like 40 bucks a full set but i guess wheels/rotors could get expensive.

12/13/2007 11:09:16 PM

http://www.durhambikecoop.org/faq.htm

12/14/2007 10:35:14 AM

Thanks for mentioning that, Skack. I actually volunteer with them.

Also, if JerryGarcia is in Raleigh, he should check out 1304Bikes, or the Recyclery in Carrboro.

12/14/2007 7:39:19 PM

^ Oh cool. I'm probably going to head down there sometime to work on a bike that I've been building up on a budget. I lost my chain breaker tool and I need to swap out the rear cassette. Maybe I'll see you there.

Do you happen to know if there are compatibility issues between older rear hubs and newer cassettes? The wheelset I'm using has a Ringle hub with a 7-speed Shimano (probably Deore LX) cassette circa 1994. I put the wheels on a frame that I picked up and it has some newer 8-speed Shimano shifters and derailluers (SP?). I'm just putting it together as a street cruiser, so it doesn't have to be perfect, but I would like to get an 8-speed cassette on there as long as the hubs haven't changed over the years.

[Edited on December 17, 2007 at 1:14 PM. Reason : s]

12/17/2007 1:11:36 PM

I just built this from an old '87 Schwinn road frame:

http://picasaweb.google.com/dan.durusky/BikePics/photo#5153173924175602546

1/8/2008 1:38:26 PM

^What size tires are those? I've been trying to find some knobbies to convert my old schwinn into a cross bike.

1/8/2008 1:44:14 PM

32mm. They fit fine w/ the 700c wheels. i've fit 700c w/ 35mms on there as well.

Theyre not real knobby cross tires, though. They have a little bit of texture on them, but thats about it. Theyre Panaracer Urban-dfldkjfdf something or others. I rode Umstead on em and they were pretty good. About as good as i'd want for something that has to roll on the street/greenway too.

1/8/2008 2:01:38 PM

My dad just gave me his old Trek. How do I figure out what model it is? Everything looks the same on their website.

1/8/2008 2:13:13 PM

Hey we can help you figure out what will fit your bike and we can build all or as much of the bike as you need. We ar near ncsu. Thanks Flythe Cyclery 919-832-5097

1/8/2008 5:50:41 PM

These guys did a great job restoring my dad's bike.

http://thebicyclechain.com/index.cfm

1/8/2008 5:58:30 PM