Building up a steel frame bike

pegdrums

Howdy all,
I just finished the Ring of Kerry on my trek 7.2fx hybrid. Really enjoyed it but would like to build up a road bike for next spring/ summer.

I had a steel frame raleigh a few years back, loved it. Not out for flat out speed but it was definitely quicker/ lighter than my hybrid.

To build or to buy?

I have a limited enough budget.....around 300 euros. Im not expecting vitus super light nasa spec tubing here. I don't want to build/ buy an 'event' bike that ends up the same weight as my trek is all.

My thoughts are:

1) Buy Reynolds 531 frame or equivelant and spend 6 months sourcing parts and building it up. Tried years ago and enjoyed the learning process.

Or

2) Buy a bike from Dublin Bike Man for around 300 quid. He has some beautiful old basic peugeots there. They'd need lighter wheels/ BB but could be a lot more straight forward.

Any thoughts?

happytramp

pegdrums wrote: »

Howdy all,
I just finished the Ring of Kerry on my trek 7.2fx hybrid. Really enjoyed it but would like to build up a road bike for next spring/ summer.

I had a steel frame raleigh a few years back, loved it. Not out for flat out speed but it was definitely quicker/ lighter than my hybrid.

To build or to buy?

I have a limited enough budget.....around 300 euros. Im not expecting vitus super light nasa spec tubing here. I don't want to build/ buy an 'event' bike that ends up the same weight as my trek is all.

My thoughts are:

1) Buy Reynolds 531 frame or equivelant and spend 6 months sourcing parts and building it up. Tried years ago and enjoyed the learning process.

Or

2) Buy a bike from Dublin Bike Man for around 300 quid. He has some beautiful old basic peugeots there. They'd need lighter wheels/ BB but could be a lot more straight forward.

Any thoughts?

Without a doubt the former. Get as nice and light a frame as possible and work from there. I've done it a few times and it's a very rewarding experience. No rush, take your time, scoure ebay and various bike sites for parts. Ask on here. You'll end up with a bike you love far more than a clunky bikeman one.

hesker

Building it yourself and sourcing parts is likely to be much more expensive than buying a complete bike. I’ve done both in the last few years.

My advice is expand your budget to 400 euro + shipping and you’ll pick up a pretty good spec steel bike from ebay.de with shimano 600 or dura ace level components. Will take a bit of watching and waiting though.

ridelikeaturtle

I'd be wary of old Peugeots. Swiss-threading, an odd BB and headset, and it'll be more of a headwrecker and money-pit than your standard build-it-yourself money-pit

I'd also be suspect of what I see on the Dublin Bikeman site. They seem to be functional, but also to be only that, and mostly low-end and overpriced, where to be "nice" you'd want to be replacing a lot anyway.

The ebay.de, ebay.nl, or ebay.fr are good ideas. Sometimes they'll list things in ways we English-speakers aren't searching for, so get savvy on local terms like "rahmen". If there's a "make offer" button you might get lucky. (This is how I got my steel Colnago.)

Unfortunately I don't think your budget is gonna get you there, unless you reuse a lot of stuff on a complete bike. Things like cables, housings, bar tape, and so on, add up quickly.

pegdrums

Thanks for all the solid advice.

In the meantime I'd forgotten about a frame I had a bit on and kind of accidentally won it before it was too late.

It's a Townsend pro am 531 frame. Dunno if the fork is reynolds but for 35 quid I'm happy and it seems like a solid starter.

I sold my MTB so now have a decent frame plus 300 euro.

Cheers for the advice on the old Peugeots.......plan is to put some modern components on an old frame where possible, albeit second hand parts.

Would the overall consensus be to avoid bikeman altogether? I've seen the odd decent looking bike there but a lot of low end road bikes otherwise.

I'll check out those euro eBay sites. I'm giving myself til march/ April next year to finish. I wanna enjoy the process and have a good end result.

hesker

I checked ebay.de last night. Couldn’t believe how much asking prices for full bikes have jumped in last couple of years. Must be impact of L’Eroica.

I would still tend to look for good quality tubing and components if you ever imagine selling on. Why pay 80-100 euro to ship a low cost bike.

Don’t buy piece by piece on ebay. Shipping will kill you.

Patience is the key to getting a good deal and knowing what you’re buying.

pegdrums

So frame should be here early next week.

First plan before any shopping is strip it right back to bare metal. Gonna paint it myself once build is finished. Then measure everything twice. Plan is to have a little book of all the measurements/ details. That way I won't have to run out to the shed to measure every time I see a nice part on adverts!

Speaking of parts... my gut is telling that wheels shod be the purchase. Am I wrong or does it matter?

Alek

Gonna paint it myself once build is finished.

Paint it before you start working on it!

ridelikeaturtle

Wheels are good to buy new, though there's a calculated risk to getting higher-end wheels at a nice discount. You can probably find a nice set of lightly-used Mavic Cosmic Elites, Kysriums, or Zondas, for less than 200eur; or you could get new Khamsins for around 150.

8valve

always worth a look at the FOR SALE section of the old velos site, based here in Ireland; anyone selling will be a vintage bike enthusiast and they are a very friendly bunch!

if you want to cast your net further, check out a facebook page called VINTAGE BICYCLES HOLLAND, run by a guy named Arthur. He always has complete bikes for sale to suit all budgets; I've bought a number of bikes from him over he years and am happy with his service.

ridelikeaturtle

How do you plan to build it up? If you want a modern drivetrain, you might (most certainly...) need to cold-set the frame for a 130mm rear wheel. Best to do that before you paint it...

pegdrums

Alek wrote: »

Paint it before you start working on it!

Was gonna bud it up and make sure everything fits and works, disassemble, paint, reassemble. I don't wanna damage the paint as I'm working on it.

pegdrums

ridelikeaturtle wrote: »

Wheels are good to buy new, though there's a calculated risk to getting higher-end wheels at a nice discount. You can probably find a nice set of lightly-used Mavic Cosmic Elites, Kysriums, or Zondas, for less than 200eur; or you could get new Khamsins for around 150.

Picked up a pair of campagnolo calima c17 new for 150 delivered and all. Maybe not as high specd but wanted new wheels. Everything else second hand is fine

pegdrums

ridelikeaturtle wrote: »

How do you plan to build it up? If you want a modern drivetrain, you might (most certainly...) need to cold-set the frame for a 130mm rear wheel. Best to do that before you paint it...

Yea I've a 10 speed hub so have cold set it. I've to measure the seat and chain stays and make sure everything is in line.

pegdrums

8valve wrote: »

always worth a look at the FOR SALE section of the old velos site, based here in Ireland; anyone selling will be a vintage bike enthusiast and they are a very friendly bunch!

if you want to cast your net further, check out a facebook page called VINTAGE BICYCLES HOLLAND, run by a guy named Arthur. He always has complete bikes for sale to suit all budgets; I've bought a number of bikes from him over he years and am happy with his service.

Cheers. Do ya have a link to the old velos site? Im not on facebook

ridelikeaturtle

Dunno if this would interest you...

https://www.ebay.ie/itm/Gruppo-Campagnolo-Veloce-10s-172-5-mm-50-34t-Groupset/183930484493

pegdrums

So i thought I'd post a picture of the frame plus wheels. Had to cold set the frame slightly. Tyres are from thw bin of LBS. Waiting on parts to come down from Dublin.

Decision now is to stay with a traditional quill or get an adaptor quill and get more modern bars.

pegdrums

So i thought I'd post a picture of the frame plus wheels. Had to cold set the frame slightly. Tyres are from thw bin of LBS. Waiting on parts to come down from Dublin.

Decision now is to stay with a traditional quill or get an adaptor quill and get more modern bars.

pegdrums

So i thought I'd post a picture of the frame plus wheels. Had to cold set the frame slightly. Tyres are from thw bin of LBS. Waiting on parts to come down from Dublin.

Decision now is to stay with a traditional quill or get an adaptor quill and get more modern bars.

pegdrums

So i thought I'd post a picture of the frame plus wheels. Had to cold set the frame slightly. Tyres are from thw bin of LBS. Waiting on parts to come down from Dublin.

Decision now is to stay with a traditional quill or get an adaptor quill and get more modern bars.

ridelikeaturtle

pegdrums wrote: »

So i thought I'd post a picture of the frame plus wheels. Had to cold set the frame slightly. Tyres are from thw bin of LBS. Waiting on parts to come down from Dublin.

Decision now is to stay with a traditional quill or get an adaptor quill and get more modern bars.

I like quill stems and traditional bars. Sure, they're heavy and require a lot of grease, but they look so much nicer, are simple, and weight shouldn't be an issue anyway.

happytramp

If you're going with newer parts then I'd edge towards a stem adapter and modern stem/bars. You can really nice silver bars and stems that look good if that's the colour scheme you're going for. I find it more comfortable than a quill stem set up. It combines the nice feel of riding a steel frame with a more relaxed riding position.

pegdrums

Two solid arguments to go either way!

OleRodrigo

Quill stems are great but they need regular maintenance.

I'd also be careful with an aluminium seatpost in a steel frame. If they get wet the aluminium can form a bond with the steel that can be impossible to remove, effectively welding the seatpost inside the seat tube.

Speaking from some recent experience

hesker

OleRodrigo wrote: »

Quill stems are great but they need regular maintenance.

Simply not true.

I'd also be careful with an aluminium seatpost in a steel frame. If they get wet the aluminium can form a bond with the steel that can be impossible to remove, effectively welding the seatpost inside the seat tube.

Speaking from some recent experience

Yes, they can bond but it takes years and years. Possibly due to galvanic corrosion but I’d need to check.

There have probably been millions of bikes in circulation with these material choices with no issues.

OleRodrigo

Spot the fairweather cyclist.

Weepsie

My croix de fer suffers from this. Only marginally a but off in saddle height so I live with it

hesker

OleRodrigo wrote: »

Spot the fairweather cyclist.

Lame. Have you ever been to Amsterdam

Edit: forget that. Just explain how quill stems are high maintenance

magicbastarder

i have lived in important places, times
when great events were decided

except arguments about galvanic corrosion was not one of them. keep it good tempered, please?