Budget for self-building

Trojan

Hi guys,

I've been looking at doing a self build, but it seems prohibitively expensive. I'm tempted at this point to buy a 2nd-hand road bike for parts and resell the frame.

Have a look at my budget here.

Self-built 105: €1,614.63
Tiagra and pre-made wheelset: €1,281.60
Tiagra from shop: €1,050.00

Any other ideas? Looks like I'll have to buy from the shop otherwise.

Cheers,
Al.

Morgan

You don't need many tools to put a bike together - what exactly are you missing? You're counting a workstand as part of the price?

Get a shop to build the wheels: saving over €200

Trojan

Yeah, I don't have the workstand already unfortunately. I know I can use it again, but it's still an upfront cost

The wheels are expensive to build alright - twice the price of a built set. Again I'd be able to use them to eventually save cash on new wheels, but it's still a lot.



That Ultegra groupset is good price, eh? Oops, that one's not in the linked spreadsheet - update here.

Morgan

You'll have to build five pairs of wheels to make up the cost. I wouldn't bother unless you have a strong urge to build them yourself. A workstand isn't essential, especially if you're trying to keep costs down.

You're getting a bit carried away with the spreadsheets...;)

Just buy the frame and make up the rest as you go along...

Trojan

Morgan wrote:

You'll have to build five pairs of wheels to make up the cost. I wouldn't bother unless you have a strong urge to build them yourself. A workstand isn't essential, especially if you're trying to keep costs down.

I got price from Cyclelogical of ~1,450 for built up with Ultegra, Mavic Open Pro wheels, finishing kit. I reckon I can do that for 1,200 myself, buying the wheels.

Morgan wrote:

You're getting a bit carried away with the spreadsheets...;)

I'm an engineer. Measure twice, cut once eh?