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Build me a bike - Christmas 2024
This is a bit of fantasy shopping, to build up a road bike from brand new parts. I’ve set a standard of “decent entry level” for this. I know I could go a lot cheaper still on things like wheels and other bits of the finishing kit - I didn’t want to spec crappy items that would be in the bin in 6 months to meet a price point (I’m looking at you, bike industry).
I alighted on the Hinde site looking for something else - looks an interesting place for custom frames. It seems you have to enquire about a headset (I’ve picked a likely one at £25) and seatpost collar (and seatpost size), assuming they’re non-compris. We’ve got the option of adding mudguards with this one.
The 9s Sora Groupset is an extravagance - could we do cheaper? 8s Claris seemed to be a disc brake/gravel set-up in my research. I thought I’d done OK on the wheels (Shimano fit, obvs). I guess if we were the bike industry, we might do a non-series crankset, e.g. FSA.
I’ve turned to Bankrupt Bike Parts and Planet X for finishing kit items. You can get a 26mm ø stem for less, but the 26mm ø handlebars are more, so here we are with a 31.8mm ø oversize combo.
The lime detailing on the saddle is probably pretty horrid, but Vavert is a brand I trust. Prices for wheels and contact-points soar into the £hundreds - I can understand it for saddles up to a point, and I do have 2 pairs of Brand X CF handlebars, but I was reminded that there’s some eye-watering stuff out there.
Could we shave a few £££ off with some even better bargains, without turning it into Frankenbike or ditching too much quality?
here's my initial set of links - I need to go away and add it all up.
https://www.condorcycles.com/products/condor-strada-road-wheels
https://www.condorcycles.com/products/shimano-sora-r3000-9-speed-groupset
https://hinderacing.co.uk/hinde-letape-sport-frame--fork-272-p.asp
https://bankruptbikeparts.co.uk/products/pair-fdp-dual-function-race-tra...
https://bankruptbikeparts.co.uk/products/gel-racing-bike-mtb-sports-bike...
https://bankruptbikeparts.co.uk/products/fixie-road-powerplay-race-pro-d...
https://bankruptbikeparts.co.uk/products/quality-threaded-cnc-alloy-bike...
https://planetx.co.uk/products/cinelli-cork-tape-black
https://planetx.co.uk/products/schwalbe-lugano-ii-folding-tyre-700c-25mm...
https://bankruptbikeparts.co.uk/products/road-racing-bike-hollow-a-head-...
https://bankruptbikeparts.co.uk/products/pair-2-27-5-700c-wide-bicycle-w...
https://bankruptbikeparts.co.uk/collections/tubes/products/pair-road-bik...
https://bankruptbikeparts.co.uk/products/31-8-mm-lightweight-alloy-black...
If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.
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16 comments
The Sora groupset seems very expensive for what it is. Even without going down the AliExpress route, you can get 11spd 105 for £360 (https://www.merlincycles.com/shimano-105-r7000-11-speed-groupset-118524.html) which seems much better value for money. I would also be hesitant to by Sora now when drop-bar Cues is reportedly on the horizon.
I have no idea what that frame is like - their website gives remarkably little detail. But I wouldn't expect much at that price point.
I would tend to agree that if the objective is to end up with a functional but cheap bike, buying a complete bike tends to offer much better value. You can buy some pretty decent bikes for <£850, and without the faff of building it yourself.
You specify brand new, but again buying 2nd hand is likely to offer better value.
Obviously if you're more interested in the journey than the destination (i.e. you want to build a bike, and are less concerned about the final product), then that's your prerogative.
if you're not set on a relatively high (32) spoke count, then you could lose a decent chunk of weight with Shimano's (slightly wider) RS100 wheelset, e.g. www.biketart.com/products/shimano-wh-rs100-wheels.
(you might save a little by sourcing front and rear separately - www.sportsgb.com/p/shimano-rs100-20-spoke-700c-clincher-road-wheel)
that would be £30 saved on wheels
I think the ~250g might be the bigger saving!
Itemised list attached. Comes to a rideaway price of £866.50 (£871.50 with seatpost clamp)
Oops gonna need an actual seatpost (£9) so here's a likely pick for an alu frame https://bankruptbikeparts.co.uk/collections/seatposts/products/31-6mm-se...
seatpost clamp if non-compris (£5)
Some new bikes are supplied sans pedals, but I'd rather offer something. The initial pick is double-sided, but the Shimano 520s are only another £3.
https://www.wolfcycles.co.uk/product/shimano-pd-m520-spd-mtb-pedal-black/
Bottom bracket, or does that come with the frameset? Also a few bob for cables.
If you're willing to wait a bit AliExpress is offering complete 105 11sp groupsets for £242 plus £30 delivery.
B/B and cables come with the Groupset.
Rather more than a Boardman SLR 8.6 at £650 with Claris. Cycling UK members will probably get a discount off that price.
The Tiagra version (SLR 8.8) is £875.
I think Hinde Racing is fka Dave Hinde in Northwich, often slagged on various forums in the past for being a nasty fecker who fobbed people off time and again with bullshit and lies. Customer service was not his strong point.
Agreed, some great value bikes from Boardman... also the budget buys a lot of bike for the money at Decathlon, for example the Triban RC500 https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/road-bike-triban-rc-500-disc-brake-black/_...
Fabulous value and for higher end for just £30 more than David's budget above the RC 520 comes with 11 speed 105: https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/road-bike-triban-rc-520-disc-brake-blue/_/...
Impressed that it comes with a lighting kit and pedals. Looks like a non-series chainset and is a Micro shift cassette, though; off-brand callipers. Own brand wheels and finishing kit - saddle, tyres and bar tape in the bin in 6 months?
Crossed steel spokes, you say.
TRP cable-actuated hydraulic calipers, haven't tried them myself but reviews generally rate them as better than cable-only brakes such as Sora. I've used Microshift cassettes with Shimano drivetrains, particularly during the pandemic when I just couldn't get the Shimano ones I wanted, and frankly I couldn't tell the difference. Wheels could be a weak point, I don't know. What you could actually do is go for the full-Microshift option which is currently down to £549 and upgrade the wheels as necessary; I've ridden a friend's Triban with Microshift and if you're not bothered about labels I would say it is at least as good as Tiagra.
Not sure what other options you have on a disc-braked bike!
Crossed carbon spokes.
Tri-foil.
[OK - technically that's four, but one of them's hardly there...]
Fair point(s) - although I don't suppose they're likely choices in this scenario!