Buy complete bike or build up?

[partydave]

Hi guys.

I'm in the market for a full-sus bike, 25-30k

I considered walking into a LBS and dropping the cash on a bike, but I'm starting to like the idea of buying components 2nd hand on the hub and building the bike.

 

I'm not a bike building fundu, but I can swing a spanner or two.

 

What would be the best bang for buck solution, grabbing the components I want and building it up, second hand or just buying a complete second hand bike?

 

Alternatively, I'll accept any Rocky Mountain bikes in my price range

[popcorn_skollie]

Building will cost more money and even more patience.

But at least when you done you have what you want.

 

Buying a stock bike off the floor will cost much less up front as apposed the total cost of your build should you have opted for that route and you can always upgrade parts over time.

You can also try and get some cash back by selling off stock parts.

 

The choice is yours.

 

For me it boils down to case and point. How well priced the complete bike is. What possible upgrades I would want from it. How easy it would be to sell stock parts

 

vs

 

How much for the frameset I want, how much for a wheelset I want.

Am I patient enough to wait around for good deals on the hub or scouring the internet for parts. This can be very time consuming and exhausting.

[partydave]

I have a HT that is serving me well, so the wait is nothing but a small inconvenience.

 

The plan is to get a frame I like and then purchase as parts pop up, but I run the risk of the components becoming "outdated" (yes, I'm one of "those" okes)

 

I do like the idea of fiddling with it though to broaden my bike knowledge and is a big pull factor here

[Rocket-Boy]

It is more expensive to get a frame and then buy bits as they come up, takes a while too.

I have built two roadies that way from stuff bought here.

Its quite fun to do though and I may consider doing it again sometime.

[peds]

My advise would be to try and find a good deal on a "used" bike, most of them have been upgraded from stock anyways, then you can change what you would like to upgrade. Like Popcorn_skollie said you then have some parts to trade or sell off and actually make some money back.

 

My 2cents....

[CdT85]

Depends on what you want out of the experience? The best bang for your buck, or the fun of hunting for deals and building her up as you go...I tend to go for the second option mostly. 

If you have a ride, cash to spare, and the tools and know how of how to build a bike, go for the second option.

 

my 2c

[IH8MUD]

Ask yourself what is your motivation. 

 

Best bang for your buck 

 

or 

 

After a very specific ride that you'll  not find on a shop floor. 

(not for the sake of being different but because you want that specific bike.) 

[Mylolylo]

From what I've seen generally its cheaper to buy complete. But having said that last year i built up a cervelo R3 with s-works trimming and Ultegra groupo and wheels for about 36k. Replacement value was over 60k when i asked the LBS. I was very lucky as everything i bought was brand new on sales at various stores around the cape. If you have the patience and are willing to do a bit or shopping/driving around i think it is possible. 

[Speeltyd]

I built my own bike (from OnOne frame)- it turned out to be more expensive than what I anticipated. Apart from that, I had to spend quite a deal on tools/stand - now I have it though.

Problem with 2nd hand parts - you never know when to buy - as soon as you selected and paid, there's a better deal....

Next time, I would buy complete, and rather upgrade as we go along.

Don't know where you from, but Epic Sports in Centurion has some very nice Rocky Mountains - just saying....

[Baracuda]

I was in the same position a year ago and after spending many an evening pricing out bikes - even only using super specials of CRC and others - I found that buying a complete bike was cheaper.

I ended up buy a fantastic Pyga second hand. If one has a bit of patience (3-4 months) and you keep on eye on the classifieds (here and Gumtree etc), the occasional pearler comes through - Pyga 110, full XT, dropper post, epic wheels and fork, only ridden by a granny to Church on Sundays for R27k.

They rare, but one slips through occasionally.

[Pikey]

Building a bike is an addictive habit. But sooo worth it if you don't compromise and build it how you want. Even if it takes longer. W

 

And half the fun is sourcing the parts and working out the build. But for sure is more costly,and then you won't want to ever buy of the shelf again.

[Blackheart]

I would definitely build up, it's way more fun and you can, if you shop wisely, get a better deal.

 

An important consideration is that bike manufacturers buy OEM parts at reduced prices, however, most of those OEM parts despite having the same designation as aftermarket, are of inferior quality. Not poor quality, just not the same as aftermarket.

 

What's cool for me is the choice nowadays, you could build up a whole drivetrain (for instance) without having to touch a Shimano or SRAM product. Not that they are poor products, it's just cool to have a one off machine, to your own taste, rather than a cookie cutter 'XT' or 'X9' spec OEM build.

[arendoog]

All my bikes are auction ,selfbuild ,LBS assembled to my likes .There are always componants on a bike that will need replacing immediately like tyres ,saddle , Handelbar,grips that you will pay for and not use .I don,t mind paying for the correct componants if i now i will get good use out of them like a wheelset that will be used again

[Bub Marley]

I recently built up a hard tail. It was a lotta fun but took extreme patience. You need understand what's compatible and what isn't and trust me it's not as simple as it seems. If I look back on it now, although I'm extremely happy with what I ended up with, I would rather buy the complete bike and upgrade from there. At least when you do it that way, you can recoup some costs by selling components you don't want. And that actually saves quite a bit.

 

I will say though if you're patient, you can find some really insane deals on the hub in terms of parts. But you need to be patient. I took 10 months to get all the parts.