Road Cycling

[Junglist]

Just want to do a bit of venting in this thread more than anything. As I mentioned previous my grandmother passed away back at the end of November. We've just gotten around to reading her will and naturally that is turning out to be quite a heated subject amongst family. Without divulging all the family drama, I'm probably going to have a nice windfall in a year or so. Enough that we can get a bigger house and hopefully some spare change to buy a bike.

What I'm debating, as it's pie in the sky stuff at this point, how difficult is it to build a bike up? Part of me thinks just buy an off the shelf bike with everything ready to go but the other part of me thinks well I have a perfectly fine set of Zipp 404 wheels that if I bought a complete bike, they'd be redundant.

I just don't know if I have the technical ability to actually build a bike up from parts. I certainly don't have the tools and space at the moment that's for sure!

 

[SoliD]

I'd just buy off the shelf, bikes are so well specced nowadays and unless you have all the tools etc can be a nightmare to get just right at times. I've built a number up over the years, but the joy of getting a bike and jumping straight on it is much more fun!

Sorry to hear of the troubles!

 

[AndyCr15]

I have a perfectly fine set of Zipp 404 wheels that if I bought a complete bike, they'd be redundant.

A lot of bikes off the shelf, don't have great wheels. So, it could be a perfect match.

 

[Junglist]

I'd just buy off the shelf, bikes are so well specced nowadays and unless you have all the tools etc can be a nightmare to get just right at times. I've built a number up over the years, but the joy of getting a bike and jumping straight on it is much more fun!

Sorry to hear of the troubles!

That's my initial force too. Building a PC? easy. Something mechanical? absolutely not. Plus even just now I've tried to roughly price up a bike and it's made me realise I have no idea what I'm doing. Frameset, group set, bars and bottom bracket? Which looks like £5400 for my adding up. Whereas a SL8 is £8000 for the full shebang plus warranty and convenience.

Oh it's just standard family drama. My grandmother has basically dropped a grenade on the family as her leaving gift. Essentially wrote her sons out of the will and replaced them with myself and another grandson. Eek.

 

[Martynt74]

Honestly it's pretty easy. Especially with DI2. Even easier with SRAM etap as there's no battery cables either.

What i did, was buy everything separately, build it up myself taking it slow (it genuinely is a bit like a PC where bits just slot into each other). Then once complete i took it to a local bike mechanic who charged £50 to give it a check over and torque everything up properly. It was a great learning curve and experience for me, but without the worries of having something fall apart on me.

The main thing to be concerned with is compatability, every time i thought i'd sorted everything something would pop up i didn't know about. Like i bought a wheelset which said "compatible with Shimano and SRAM", i didn't realise that SRAM 11 speeds were fine with it, but i'd gone for a 12 speed cassette which needed an XDR freehub

I'd definitely say it probably works out more expensive though than buying off the shelf, the benefit for me was i went for a Chinese frame and SRAM Force setup just as they were releasing the new version, which meant i had a complete SRAM force etap bike for ~£2k, whereas an off the shelf bike at the same spec was closer to £4k. If that's something you don't want to do (Mainly the chinese parts - and it's not for a lot of people), then an off the shelf is likely better.

All i would say if spending that kind of cash would be to find a real high end bike fitter who could put you on a jig and give you an exact size/geometry which works for you, then go buy the exact bike to suit you.

Sounds like the will could be awkward if the sons contest it. Although i guess if you're in your 40's then the sons are in their 60's and are probably fairly well set and don't need the money as much. I know my mother in law is thinking of doing similar, especially after my brother in law died. Although i think she thinks my wife and i as wealthier than we are!

 

[Junglist]

I like the allure of having something I picked the parts to but I'm also a lazy human who values convenience so maybe I should just suck it up, sell my 404FCs and buy a brand new full bike.

I'm not sure if they can contest it as they have been left something it's just that something doesn't amount to much. I'm keeping out of it as their beef is between themselves and their mother, not me. I'll 100% be getting a bike fit prior to buying my next bike though. That recent GCN video looked interesting and for the sake of £200 it seems like the sensible option.
I don't want to get a bike fit at the moment because I don't want to be told my bike isn't the right fit for me

Though I feel offended you think I'm in my 40s, I'm 34 you cheeky git

 

[Martynt74]

Oh that's disappointing. I always thought you were older than me for some reason! Must be thinking of someone else.

If you don't think the new bike would come with decent wheels, you could always approach some bike shops to see if they'd do a deal without the wheels to keep your FC's. They might be able to resell them fairly easy. Probably depends on the type of shop though.


The better option (and i'm sure you soon to be fiance will thank me ). Since you know the money is coming, get a bike fit, put a bike on a 0% credit card, use the fact it's from your Gran as motivation to get back in the saddle whilst the weather starts getting decent, and then pay off the CC

 

[Junglist]

Haha I've only just managed to pay one off! I'm enjoying having no monthly repayments for a while and if she heard your advice she'd be on her way to give you a telling off

I think I'm definitely leaning towards just buying a bike as a complete item probably much less headache that route. Not even sure why I'm thinking about something likely 18 months away at best lol

 

[SoliD]

bleeding brakes, fun. squeaky bottom bracket, fun, play in the headset. fun. etc etc.

 

[fez]

Though I feel offended you think I'm in my 40s, I'm 34 you cheeky git

Christ, I thought you were in your late 40s too!

On the topic of bikes, your 404s will almost certainly be better wheels than most bikes you buy unless you are spending northing of £7000 I reckon. A lot of manufacturers have a large jump in their range where you get the top of the line groupset and suddenly you get high end carbon hoops as well but the price jumps £2-3k.

I enjoy building bikes but I have been doing it since I was in my teens and have quite a few tools and the knowledge from years of faffing about with bikes. Its not that hard, especially with modern electronic groupsets but you have to be a little careful or you can make some expensive mistakes.

The bike industry is a bit of a mess at the moment and there are some really good deals to be had on full bikes so that would be the route I take. You could probably be cheeky and get them to knock some more money off as well.

(i knew you were mid-thirties honestly)

 

[Junglist]

bleeding brakes, fun. squeaky bottom bracket, fun, play in the headset. fun. etc etc.

But these videos make it look super simple and therapeutic I'm definitely an off the shelf kinda guy!

Christ, I thought you were in your late 40s too!

On the topic of bikes, your 404s will almost certainly be better wheels than most bikes you buy unless you are spending northing of £7000 I reckon. A lot of manufacturers have a large jump in their range where you get the top of the line groupset and suddenly you get high end carbon hoops as well but the price jumps £2-3k.

I enjoy building bikes but I have been doing it since I was in my teens and have quite a few tools and the knowledge from years of faffing about with bikes. Its not that hard, especially with modern electronic groupsets but you have to be a little careful or you can make some expensive mistakes.

The bike industry is a bit of a mess at the moment and there are some really good deals to be had on full bikes so that would be the route I take. You could probably be cheeky and get them to knock some more money off as well.

Well the SL8 which I like, i think it's the one Andy recently acquired, is bang on £8000 whereas, assuming I priced it up correctly the parts come to £5400 (I don't think I actually need a £240 BB lol) obviously excluding the cost of my 404fcs. Plus the vanity side of me, which is the most important, prefers the look of the Zipp wheels compared to the fitted Roval ones.

Though I guess I'd also have to budget in tools and time because I know it'll be a slow thing. I do quite like the idea of learning though. Probably would make repairs down the line easier

I'm going to end up with an off the shelf bike aren't I!

(i knew you were mid-thirties honestly)

Nice save

 

[Martynt74]

Just practice taking your Canyon apart and rebuilding it. Not like you're using it anyway

 

[Junglist]

It's on the turbo until it gets warm outside! I keep meaning to change the chain but i'm such a cheapskate. I'm waiting to see if my place gets cyclescheme set up quickly enough so I can get a whole new groupset instead of buying a chain

 

[Nutty_Death]

I built a di2, hydraulic bike last year.
Got the hydraulic and BB tools off AliExpress, then it was mostly tools I already had.
Fun project that I spread over several weeks.

I had done general bike maintenance before but never a full build. I wouldn't say it was particularly difficult. Simpler in many ways than trying to diagnose an issue with your bike.

 

[SoliD]

But these videos make it look super simple and therapeutic I'm definitely an off the shelf kinda guy!

100% ---- Not

Had 2 good builds, one was my CX Bike that I got from Canyon, came with SRAM but I wanted GRX Di2 on it, arrived on the Tuesday and managed to get it built up by the Thursday ready for shake down on Friday and then racing on Sunday! The other was my Felt which I got the frame about 2 weeks before my holiday to Sicily, managed to source the final bits and get it built up, rode it once before I took it apart again for the bike box, managed 70 miles first day, although shipped the chain a few times and scratched the chain second time I rode it I look forward to my next bike being built up for me.

 

[PikeyPriest]

Any good helmet recommendations? I have the cheapest that was available at Halfords during lockdown so looking to upgrade. It looks like MIPs is quite common, though see lots of Kask helmets aswell. Is there any real difference or is it just choose a style and price point? Also, which colour makes me faster?

 

[Junglist]

100% ---- Not

Had 2 good builds, one was my CX Bike that I got from Canyon, came with SRAM but I wanted GRX Di2 on it, arrived on the Tuesday and managed to get it built up by the Thursday ready for shake down on Friday and then racing on Sunday! The other was my Felt which I got the frame about 2 weeks before my holiday to Sicily, managed to source the final bits and get it built up, rode it once before I took it apart again for the bike box, managed 70 miles first day, although shipped the chain a few times and scratched the chain second time I rode it I look forward to my next bike being built up for me.

And I expect you're infinitely more mechanically sound than I am. I'm dangerous with a set of Allen keys!

It is really tempting to try it but I know it'll just give more headaches in the long run. It's bonkers how expensive some framesets are though. I obviously expected S-Works stuff to be pretty spenny but when you look at the equivalents from Trek, Colnago and those brands, >£5000 for just a frameset seems ludicrous. I did like that both the Canyon Ultimate/Aeroad CFR framesets came with handlebars along with the shifters/brakes and brake calipers pre-installed but then I'd hate having dura-ace components when I'd buy the rest as Ultegra. But for £4800/4300 respectively, they seem like absolute bargains compared!

 

[engee]

Any good helmet recommendations? I have the cheapest that was available at Halfords during lockdown so looking to upgrade. It looks like MIPs is quite common, though see lots of Kask helmets aswell. Is there any real difference or is it just choose a style and price point? Also, which colour makes me faster?

POC are decent if you don't mind a bit of a mushroom head look. I've got the Omne Air.

It's personal preference tbh.

 

[Junglist]

I've got the Giro Cinder.

Can't give a review because I've not yet fallen. Comfortable enough, though.

 

[AndyCr15]

Does anyone else think the MIPS thing is a bit of a con? I believe it's about the helmet having some movement when you crash... how tight do they think people have their helmets on!?