Building a bike piece by piece!

[kosmonooit]

Frames: Carbon comes at a premium, many have 'upgraded' to the must-have carbon therefore some good deals on very good Al frames going down (thanks caad4 and Michael). Same goes for 29er mania

[Just Keep Pedaling]

Wheels: You get budget wheels, mid level wheels and proper wheels. Buy proper wheels - it is the best investment on the bike. They have proper sealing against mud, can take UST tyres, they are strong, roll fast and can be serviced easily. Expect them to last over 5 years. I had a set of budget wheels give up after three months of riding each weekend.

 

The consensus best value for money it Hope II hubs with Stans rims and DT Swiss spokes. Ordered from CRC you are talking R3500 for a wheelset. Not to say there are not other options but this is the benchmark.

[Just Keep Pedaling]

Fork: The benchmark value for money good cross country fork is the Rock Shox Reba RLT off CRC. At +- R3500 is the BMW320i of forks. Be careful when matching Forks to wheels and frames. The steerer must be the same (stick to 1 and 1/8" steerer and quick releases) and the axle type the same.

[Raine 1.0]

JKP...thanks for the detailed info!

 

Will take it all into consideration - the perfectionist in me is bound to come out

[kosmonooit]

Wheels II: Get a pair a cheapo used just to get the project on the road (or track), also many used from upgrades going down here. They can be upgraded later and why not go the whole way and build them up yourself if you have the time? Another vote for Hope Hubs and Stan the Man rims.

[Just Keep Pedaling]

Drivechain: This is a consumable item on MTB bikes. Escpecially your chain, cables, jockey wheels, cassette and chainring. Buy cheap and no second hand stuff. So aim for a DEORE/SLX mix of stuff or the SRAM equivalent.

[Just Keep Pedaling]

Tools and know how:

 

Some things require bicycle specific tools. You can get a tool kit for about R500 that can handle almost everything.

 

Consider buying Park Tool Blue Book of Bicycle Maintenance. It is comprehensive. You can make do with internet info but it often non-specific.

Edited April 7, 2011 by Just Keep Pedaling

[raptor]

Hi,

 

It will definitely cost you more, but if you still want to go ahead, I agree, it is fun and you learn a lot about your bike. Also you can customize it to a certain extent.

 

If it were me I would look for a mix of new and second hand. There are great deal on the hub. Then for the new stuff, I would look online, chain reaction cycles (uk), chris wilemse cycles (cpt) and a few others that I'm sure people will mention.

 

Have fun, shop around, get the best prices.

 

I would start with frame, fork and wheels. That is the heart of any bike, and will depend on what type of riding you want to do.

 

I disagree with the it will cost more, i build my bike up for much less than what i would have cost to buy the bike complete. and have better parts on it aswell

[Just Keep Pedaling]

Shopping: CRC sells a lot of stuff. You can sort the options by best selling. The top three selling items are normally your benchmark. Read their reviews on CRC and MTBR.com. Be sure to check out the positive reviews and the negative reviews.

 

CRC shipping is free on orders of R3000 or more. So try and take advantage of this. Other places to look at prices (although selection is normally less is Chris Willemse Cycles (Online), Buycycle.co.za and Solomins Cycles).

 

Always factor in import duty +-14% plus a handling fee of x (can't remember).

[Just Keep Pedaling]

Bespoke/Proprietary stuff: Avoid anything like this. I hate to pick on a brand but Specialize is a good example - they make excellant bikes but sometimes the replacement parts can only be obtained from Specialised - read they are gonna cost you double.

[Top Fuel]

Bespoke/Proprietary stuff: Avoid anything like this. I hate to pick on a brand but Specialize is a good example - they make excellant bikes but sometimes the replacement parts can only be obtained from Specialised - read they are gonna cost you double.

+1

[Just Keep Pedaling]

The rest of the stuff:

 

There is a lot of parts going into a bike: I'll try and list them:

 

-Frame

-Rear shock

-Wheels made up of hubs, spokes, nipples, rims.

-2x quick release - rear and front are different width.

-Cassette and lockring.

-Bike Grease.

-Rim strips and tubeless valves and Stans/Joes for tubeless.

-2x Tyres - UST tyres with grippy front and rolling rear is the norm.

-Fork

-Headset including various parts.

-Crankset including a bottom bracket bearing. Try and get the hollow versions as the old school ones are a b1tch to work with.

-Clipless Pedals, cleats and cleat spacers if neccessary.

-Rear derailer including 2x jockey wheels.

-Front derailer

-Chain and some quick links and chain lube.

-2x gear cables.

-2x shifters - cannot interchange SRAM and Shimano - ie must match rear derailer.

 

To be continued.

[Just Keep Pedaling]

2x Brake Rotors - either six bolt or lockring - either compatable with Sintered pads or not.

 

2x Hydraulic brakes with brake pads - some come with rotors some don't.

 

Brake adaptors - to convert IS to post mount or vice versa or to adjust for different rotor size. Not always needed.

 

Handle Bars and Stem- come in two thicknesses so compatablity with Stem important.

 

Grips and Bar Ends - I like the ergonomic Specialised bar ends.

 

Seatpost, Clamp and Saddle. Seatposts come in different diameters. Make sure you get a seatpost that can adjust tilt forward and back. Saddles break so consider them a semi consumable.

 

Nuts and bolts - normally supplied with major parts but not always.

[Raine 1.0]

Trying not to be overwhelmed here

[Just Keep Pedaling]

Tools:

 

Toolset - allen keys, various bike spanners, crank extrators and other useful stuff. R500.

 

Torque wrench - hardly used except installing the crank and maybe the lockrings. Essential for any carbon parts. Bike shops don't use them that is why things always come lose or are stripped. Get one. R800 for the cheapest clicker style one.

 

Compressor (for tubeless): Just use the one at the garage.

[Just Keep Pedaling]

"Trying not to be overwhelmed here "

 

You have six months until summer. One step at a time.