New bike, slightly customised. Is that a reasonable request?

JonJ678

JonJ678

JonJ678

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I'm looking to get a new bike. Previously I've bought stock bicycles, ridden them until parts break then replaced the broken part with a higher spec version. That's worked fairly well, but current bike is now beyond economic repair (forks are a write off, frame has some damage).

I don't want to go down the frame + components route, partly for cost reasons and partly because I suspect I'm not skilled enough to assemble a reliable bicycle from parts.

My current plan is to buy a stock bicycle then immediately (pay someone else to) replace some of the components. Probably longer crank arms and sharper brakes, possibly a different gear ratio. This will work OK, but leave me with a bunch of components that were just removed from the new bike that I'll either try to sell on or just throw out which seems quite wasteful.

Before asking a local bike shop to sell me one of their standard models with some components swapped out, I'd like to know how common/reasonable this request is. Ideally I'd like to leave the old components at the shop.

Thanks!
 
Encouraging, thanks. Planet X are in Sheffield, probably a bit far for me (Bristol), but otherwise looks impressive.

Buying a bike with the desired components in the first place definitely sounds optimal, but I'm not clear how to achieve this. Is it viable to choose / have recommended one of the standard configurations, then ask for a quote for it with some components swapped out?
 
JonJ678 said:
Encouraging, thanks. Planet X are in Sheffield, probably a bit far for me (Bristol), but otherwise looks impressive.

Buying a bike with the desired components in the first place definitely sounds optimal, but I'm not clear how to achieve this. Is it viable to choose / have recommended one of the standard configurations, then ask for a quote for it with some components swapped out?
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Literally just buy a bike that comes with the components you want. Or at least close to.

What is it your looking for?
 
Go to your nearest decent LBS and have a chat they'll be more than happy to point you in the right direction or build to your spec if there's nothing stock that tickles your fancy.
 
It'll be easy enough to find a complete bike built with the brakes you want.

It might be more difficult to find something with different crank length. They'll generally be matched to the size of the frame. So if you buy a large frame size it'll come with longer cranks than the small frame size.
What length cranks do you want? And what size frame?
 
touch said:
It'll be easy enough to find a complete bike built with the brakes you want.

It might be more difficult to find something with different crank length. They'll generally be matched to the size of the frame. So if you buy a large frame size it'll come with longer cranks than the small frame size.
What length cranks do you want? And what size frame?
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Also changing to longer cranks is generally the opposite of what you want to do based on recent research.
 
Thanks guys. This has proven to be much more difficult to research than anticipated, there really are a lot of options out there.

Longer crank arms are of interest because I have disproportionately long femurs, but I have also come across the theory that the default crank length may be too long for most people already. The default is probably OK really.

I *think* I'm looking for a cyclocross bike as they're marketed as a harder to break road bike, but am far from sure of this. I know I'd rather avoid carbon fibre but it's become really popular for forks so that's trickier than expected.

In general though, I'm probably going to experience another few weeks of indecision and visiting bike shops. It's interesting that several places near me are up for building a bike from pieces.

Thank you all, and apologies for the lack of closure.
 
Your post above suggests you may not really know what you want. ie why don't you want Carbon Fibre? Unless you're crashing it at certain angles you're not going to break it. CX bikes aren't harder to break, but generally come with bigger tyres and clearances to fit bigger tyres and are a bit heavier.

A lot of shops would love you if you don't really know what you want as you'll be a cash cow to them :D
 
I'm definitely unsure what I want. I'd be on firmer ground if buying a new hardtail but road bikes appear to be a different game.

Re: carbon forks, delamination is a nasty failure mode. I'd much prefer bent to superficially OK with internal cracks.

Your point about cx bikes being roughly as robust as road bikes hits home though. I keep seeing them described as such, but the frameset seems to be the same as for road. I've broken wheels, drive chain and one set of forks on xc bikes (clumsy rider) so am worried about the lifespan of road components.
 
JonJ678 said:
I'm definitely unsure what I want. I'd be on firmer ground if buying a new hardtail but road bikes appear to be a different game.

Re: carbon forks, delamination is a nasty failure mode. I'd much prefer bent to superficially OK with internal cracks.

Your point about cx bikes being roughly as robust as road bikes hits home though. I keep seeing them described as such, but the frameset seems to be the same as for road. I've broken wheels, drive chain and one set of forks on xc bikes (clumsy rider) so am worried about the lifespan of road components.
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Going to Jinx myself here, but I've never broken any carbon over the years, that includes 25k + miles and even chucking my cross bike off my car roof at about 70mph (carbon fork/alu frame). Like most MTB riders you worry about a situation that does not exist. I race CX and the worst you ever see is the explosion of a rear derailleur due to it getting choked full of grass or mud.
 
JonJ678 said:
I'm definitely unsure what I want. I'd be on firmer ground if buying a new hardtail but road bikes appear to be a different game.

Re: carbon forks, delamination is a nasty failure mode. I'd much prefer bent to superficially OK with internal cracks.

Your point about cx bikes being roughly as robust as road bikes hits home though. I keep seeing them described as such, but the frameset seems to be the same as for road. I've broken wheels, drive chain and one set of forks on xc bikes (clumsy rider) so am worried about the lifespan of road components.
Click to expand...

Time to hit up some LBSs and see what you like the best.

Adventure / gravel bikes is a growing sector. To quote road.cc:

Gravel/adventure bikes have gone very quickly from the latest craze to a significant part of most bike companies' ranges. These bikes are tailored for long-distance comfort, with disc brakes, big tyre clearance and geometry honed to excel both on the road and off, whether it's a gravel, forest or dirt track.
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For instance, the Croix-de-fer 10/20/30 are all steel frame/fork combos.

http://www.genesisbikes.co.uk/bikes/adventure
 
Mentioning I don't want carbon fibre was always going to provoke some annoyance. I know it's leading the market, and I know people love it. Each to their own.

I like the look of that Genesis a lot, thanks for the name drop. I now have something specific to start from at the LBSs. Thank you :)
 
JonJ678 said:
Mentioning I don't want carbon fibre was always going to provoke some annoyance. I know it's leading the market, and I know people love it. Each to their own.

I like the look of that Genesis a lot, thanks for the name drop. I now have something specific to start from at the LBSs. Thank you :)
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Checkout Steel bikes, Genesis do a few, I have Genesis single speed.

Also if you're building from scratch you could look into high grade Reynolds frame, 725 or higher.
 
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