bicycle building

[bigi]

Is this an easy task or only for professional? Say I find a frame, can you just buy cheap used bikes and take the parts off from other bikes? sort of like mix n match.

If you deal with higher end components/frames you have to know what are you doing. You do need very special tools and knowledge of how to set up many things (chain length, derailleurs, headsets, forks, bottom brackets, etc...)

You will have to know which groups you can mix/match and how.

Cheap bikes frames < $1000 are good place to start I guess.

 

[DrPizza]

A stand is pretty nice to have, but not a necessity.

I'd think it's sort of like having a lift for a car - you could have a lift which would make work far easier, or you could make due with putting it on some ramps, requiring a lot of crawling, especially when you need to get another tool. Likewise, while you don't have to crawl, there's a bit more fumbling around, since the frame doesn't want to stay put.

 

[JulesMaximus]

A stand is pretty nice to have, but not a necessity.

I'd think it's sort of like having a lift for a car - you could have a lift which would make work far easier, or you could make due with putting it on some ramps, requiring a lot of crawling, especially when you need to get another tool. Likewise, while you don't have to crawl, there's a bit more fumbling around, since the frame doesn't want to stay put.

I wouldn't attempt building up a bike without a stand. It is so much easier to do it with a stand because you aren't sitting on the floor or sliding it around on a table and risk scratching it up in the process. I guess if you don't give a crap about the frame then it probably doesn't matter but I like to keep my bikes looking nice for decades.

And good luck adjusting your derailleurs without a stand.

 

[Humpy]

So, what you're saying is that you're a cheap bastard? :sneaky:

I paid $160 for the Park stand that Lemond frame above is sitting on. It folds up into a pretty compact package for storage and I've never once regretted spending the money on it.

As for tools, I have a cassette tool (necessity), chain whip (necessity), some cone wrenches (most wrenches are too wide for bike maintenance) and Park cable cutters (regular wire cutters will crimp a cable housing and make it difficult to feed a cable through) along with a few other misc tools. I never said you need a master mechanic's tool set but there are certain tools made specifically for bicycle work that are very handy to have around. I've acquired them over the years as needed.

I'd rather buy bike parts than bike tools. Plus,my abilities are so advanced that I've surpassed the need for them anyway. And I'm a cheap bastard.

Really, my only point was that that other guys point about needing "at least $500 in tools" to build up something from some cheap used mountain bikes was bullshit and you chiming in with pictures of your fancy Park Team Edition work stand didn't help matters any and apparently I can't let it go.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I'd rather buy bike parts than bike tools. Plus,my abilities are so advanced that I've surpassed the need for them anyway. And I'm a cheap bastard.

Really, my only point was that that other guys point about needing "at least $500 in tools" to build up something from some cheap used mountain bikes was bullshit and you chiming in with pictures of your fancy Park Team Edition work stand didn't help matters any and apparently I can't let it go.

Apparently. :sneaky:

I bought that stand almost 8 years ago and it has proven its usefulness many times over the years. I'm sure I'll have it for decades. That was one tool investment I'm very glad I made.

For the cost vs usefulness I'd say it is one of the best tool investments you can make. They really make your life a lot easier especially if you like to tinker and replace parts/upgrade your bikes yourself. Between my wife, my son and myself we have 5 bicycles in the house so the stand definitely comes in handy even just for routine maintenance. :wub:

I'll let it go now.

 

[7window]

Hello 7window,

The best answer is really “it depends”. (For reference, I worked my way through undergraduate school working in a bicycle shop both as sales and a mechnic.)

It does not take a professional bicycle mechanic to put together a huffy bmx bike. Anyone who is mechanically inclined can to a good job at that level, as long as the wheels are ok out of the box.

However if you are building a three thousand dollar bicycle to ride across the country with from scratch, you want to pay to have a professional assemble it for you.

So to give you a good answer I need more information, both about the bicycle and you. Are you putting together a full suspension Santa Cruz mountain bike from the frame up, or a Little princess single speed for your daughter? Are you the kind of guy who rebuilds the carburetors on his old ‘cozzie when he’s bored, or are you afraid to change the oil in your car because you might strip out the oil plug?

A cheap single speed department store bike can be but together with an ok set of craftsmen tools, but there is no way anyone is touching my Waterford bicycle with a crescent wrench. To do a good job with a nice bicycle you will need several hundred dollars of specialized tools.

Where do you and your bike fall in this spectrum?

I fall under finding cheap stuff on craigslist and putting it together. I noticed lately that people are selling a lot of frames. If I find good components on craigslist I will buy it and install it with the purchased frame.
Since I am not a bike expert, thats why I ask the question if its possible to buy bike components and put it together. Are they all universal fit? Some of the post here have indicated this already. That some might or might not fit. Someone even said that you have to pressed the cassette gears onto the frame. I didn't know that and I am willing to learn how to do it. I am sure it won't take a lot of time to learn it. I do work on my own cars but I am not a certified mechanic.

 

[thedarkwolf]

youtube will show you how to do anything you need too. Wheel building looks to be about the hardest thing to do and one I haven't tried yet. I just buy my wheels complete.

 

[7window]

this will be a good first project http://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/zip/4117123185.html

 

[JulesMaximus]

I fall under finding cheap stuff on craigslist and putting it together. I noticed lately that people are selling a lot of frames. If I find good components on craigslist I will buy it and install it with the purchased frame.
Since I am not a bike expert, thats why I ask the question if its possible to buy bike components and put it together. Are they all universal fit? Some of the post here have indicated this already. That some might or might not fit. Someone even said that you have to pressed the cassette gears onto the frame. I didn't know that and I am willing to learn how to do it. I am sure it won't take a lot of time to learn it. I do work on my own cars but I am not a certified mechanic.

There are actually quite a few parts that won't fit between older bicycles and newer ones. There were different widths for the rear hub due to the ever increasing number of gears on the rear hub so while you could cold set an older steel frame to work with a more modern drivetrain (like Shimano/Campy 9/10/11 speed stuff) you cannot make an older carbon or aluminum frame work.

There are also differences in headsets. Older bicycles (from the mid-late 90s and earlier) have 1" steerer tubes and threaded headsets and use a quill stem. Newer bicycles have threadless headsets and 1 1/8th" steerer tubes and use a clamp on stem that clamp directly to the steerer tube and there are different diameter handlebars too (31.8mm is the common diameter these days but 26mm used to be standard).

There are also issues with carbon fiber, you have to be very careful with how much force you use to tighten clamps on carbon tubes or you'll crush and crack them which can lead to a catastrophic failure and crash.

Seat tube diameter has also changed over time so you won't be able to use modern seatposts or clamp on derailleurs on some older frames.

Then there are bottom brackets, modern hollow tech vs old style, English threads/Italian threads/French threads.

Some rims are not suitable for rim brakes, some require special pads.

This is a good site for learning about this stuff.

http://sheldonbrown.com/

 

[D1gger]

First I built this:

Then I did this:

Then I had this:

As you can tell, this was many years ago, so it is not current state of the art, but I did the entire build myself, including buying wheel hubs, rims, spokes and then lacing the wheels. That was definitely the most time consuming part.

Very satisfying to take that first ride on a newly built bike.

 

[Tormac]

I fall under finding cheap stuff on craigslist and putting it together. I noticed lately that people are selling a lot of frames. If I find good components on craigslist I will buy it and install it with the purchased frame.
Since I am not a bike expert, thats why I ask the question if its possible to buy bike components and put it together. Are they all universal fit? Some of the post here have indicated this already. That some might or might not fit. Someone even said that you have to pressed the cassette gears onto the frame. I didn't know that and I am willing to learn how to do it. I am sure it won't take a lot of time to learn it. I do work on my own cars but I am not a certified mechanic.

Hello 7!

I'd recommend purchasing book on bicycle repair, and or watch every you tube video you can find and have at it.

But keep in mind that things are not a universal fit, especially if you are working on older bicycles. Bicycle standards developed in several different countries at the same time. Some (rare) will be metric, some English threads, and in the English thread you will run into Italian vs English. Bottom brackets will come in different sizes, head tubes are different diameters, etc. 26" wheels are the worst. There are at least half a dozen different sized 26" inch wheels that are not compatible with each other.

As long as you don't have too much money tied up in it, and you are willing to accept that you are going to ruin some things out of trial and error, this would be the perfect opportunity to learn.

Building a bicycle requires more skill that building a computer, but less knowledge, if that makes sense. The best way to develop the skill is by doing.

Wheels are going to be the hardest part. You may want to have a bike shop true wheels for you if they are out of round or really out of true, but the more you do the better you will be.

Are you looking to build bikes are resell them, or fix them up for yourself as a hobby?