Even at market rates for components, it is MUCH cheaper to buy a complete bike, even before you factor in putting together something custom.

Though if you want something fairly esoteric (short cranks, 1x, specific cockpit or geometry setup, your favourite saddle, etc) it might come close. But you can always sell parts off a complete bike to fund upgrades.

It depends on the level of bike. If you are going entry level, it is way cheaper to buy a complete bike. If you are looking at mid-level, then it is cheaper, but the gap closes. If you are building high-end, it is cheaper to build up.

The odds are high that a stock bike would have almost all the parts you would want anyway. The only major (and expensive) deviations would likely be the wheels and cockpit.

I agree with the two other posters.

Cheaper to purchase complete bike. Last tri bike I bought I just invested a few hundred dollars more and put the bars on it I wanted. Sold the other bars to a friend at a very good price.

The last Mountain bike I bought I was talked into a version above what I was planning and didn't have to do any upgrades. It was all done for me.

Thank you, I was thinking more mid to high end bike/components and it seems like the trade to replace higher end parts for other that perfet would cost much more in end. I feel like I see a lot of people on this forum buy high end, then spend a bunch more to customize whereas it might be cheaper to build from frame up.

I agree with exxxviii. The important nuance he points out is the level of the bike. Top level spec is often cheaper to build up from a bare frameset, especially considering the sale prices of components on the UK sites (Wiggle, Merlin, etc). Most importantly, you get the exact bike you want without the hassle of swapping/selling components.

I’m building up a new Bianchi Specialissima road bike this winter and purchased all the parts over last few days. The final build will easily cost 30% less than had I purchased a complete bike from my LBS. plus there’s that little extra connection I’ll have with the bike by speccing and building it up myself.

For mid-level bikes, it’s more a question of how particular you are about component selection and if you enjoy working on bikes. For entry level, just buy last years models of the peg and be done with it.

It depends on your budget too. I never bought a whole bike. Can't afford such an expense.
I end up building decent quality bikes with embarassingly low budget for ''man toys''.
It takes me a little longer though...
Louis :)

also for those of us who've been at it long enough - there is a good chance that we simply have enough parts sitting around in the parts bin to build up a half decent bike from the frame up. I certainly have enough crap for a pretty swanky mech build assuming no disc brakes in the mix.

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Next races on the schedule: none at the moment

I've built up every single bike I've owned (10+), generally off of used parts/frames. I've learned more about bikes and how they're put together/assembled/maintained than any other possible way. I can't speak for buying everything new and putting it together vs buying a completely new bike (as I've never done either) but I felt very invested in my bikes as I got to specifically choose each and every detail as I wanted it

I agree with the prior posts. I will add that it is hard to get a frame and top end groupset seperate at a price comparable to getting the same frame and same groupset as a factory package. A lot of frames are now priced not that far below the price of the same frame with a full bike.

My favorite bikes have started with mid to high end used frames (in great condition) that i have then built up with a custom spec of parts to my tastes/budget. A combo of new deals, new exotic stuff, top spec groupsets, and solid used components. It has allowed me to build bikes for about half the price of a similarily speced “super-bikes”... but i am often working with components/parts that are not on trend (like the push to superwide rims). The downside is that resale will not be as good. But being on trend, and resale is not my goal.

I will add that buying a bike with good “bones” and slowly upgrading can be more cost friently over time (even if not overall cheaper), and in my case, it prevents the grumbles from the wife. If i got my custom bikes all in one go my wife would leave me. :-D

Yeah, I bought a "last years" ia16 for significantly less than an ia10. For the amount I've saved, I'm upgrading cockpit and components to di2. I'll have a bike I like more than a stock ia10, but costs nearly the same. But I've hunted deals for everything and it's been a 6+ month process.

To buy a frame at retail and build up from scratch with components at retail price would have been expensive. Plus I get to offset a bit by selling the take offs.

Yup.

My problem is that i have a taste for high end, but can’t stomach the one time cost hit... because what i want would be the top end offering retail. My problem with mid range bikes is that the components are nice, but not quite what i want... and the upgrades then start to cost a lot for marginal gains.

My current plan (if i went new) is to find the best factory frame (usually mid range carbon), with the most down spec, and start the upgrade process.

Used options aside, the tri bike that meets that spec is the 2019 felt ia16 (black with the mid grade advanced carbon fibre and textreme). I figure deep carbon wheels will begin to be discounted on the used market... and they should be in good shape as brakes are not much required in tri...

Well it depends on a ton of things. I can usually piece together a high-end group from parts for less than the sticker price buying stuff off Ebay. The high end (DuraAce and eTap) bikes also usually have a 3-4000$ price premium over Ultegra di2. When the sticker price is 12-13000$ for the high-end stuff, you can usually buy the Ultegra bike for 6-8000$, swap in the DuraAce di2, sell the Ultegra on Ebay and be a few thousand ahead.

Some bike, like the Canyon Ultegra-level stuff, are hard to beat.

my same thinking when I was buying my bike...and anything above $6k is just tossing money away (in my opinion). even if i had it, i couldn't do it. and i do enjoy building up bikes.

I bought a new old stock IA16 - $2,000
Red Force 22 crankset - $180
ISM Seat - $100
TriRig Cockpit - $750
Enve 7.8 Wheelset - $1,200
eTap - $1,061

Personally I think this is a pretty baller/pro setup for around $5k - all parts were new and sold some stock parts. Considering an IA1 with eTap retails for $11k, I can't think believe there is $6k worth off upgrades from Felt.

The 2019 black ia16 with the upgraded carbon just seems like a no-brainer to upgrade! I would not touch etap from ebay however, given rear derailer issues. I would want easy warranty service.

The one I built last year took way too much time and was almost twice in price compared to buying a whole bike.

It is more to buy a frame and build it than it is to buy a complete bike. The reason the manufacturers do this is so you don't buy a frame, like say a Speed Concept (something I have considered) and build it yourself, not do a good job (not saying anyone is a bad mechanic here) or use inferior parts (like the micro shift shifters that came on my Felt), and then blame it on the Speed Concept. A loophole if you can get a good deal on the groupset you want is to buy a whole bike with a groupset with good aftermarket value (Ultregra Mechanical) and the frame you want, sell everything that comes on the bike as a bran new take off, and upgrade it yourself (I went to Ultra Di2 on a Madone this way). I've done one frame up build, but only because I got the frame as a really good deal.

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http://alexandrabikes.com

lots of groupsets sold on ebay come from bike shops and warranty...no different if buying from Sram. ebay had 15% off some listings this weekend and I have an extra 5% from work on all things ebay so I'd say that's a pretty good deal.

Yeah, but if the bike shop is half way across the nation...

I bought my eTap from a bike shop across the nation. It is a good shop. I'm not worried at all.

I bought my Di2 from a bike shop across the nation. It is a good shop. I'm not worried at all.