I’m just putting together a parts list for a new ride with all new group. Just wondering if I’m better to buy the group as a whole from somewhere like probikekit or try to buy each piece at a time? I’m thinking of saving some cash by buying Dura Ace or Ultegra 10 speed. Thoughts? Ebay prices look higher than some on-line retailers.
You would probably do better on price with buying something used. If you’re looking for a project - they’re are a lot of good deals to be had and found - a lot of folk on this forum have equipment priced pretty fairly.
Classifieds right here on ST… just might take some time but it’ll be the best deal you come across with the most guaranteed satisfaction.
I just finished doing the same. I found a combo of eBay and online sites was best for price and bought each part individually. It made for a fun early winter project. I took about two months to do it, and probably spent around $800 for a nice Dura Ace/Ultegra combo, all totally new. It just took patience and discipline. I also forced myself to sell old parts and other things from around my house to pay for all of it. This made me appreciative of cost, and forced me to be patient – it was also fun and a good project, and in the end I spend no cash out of pocket. I’m outfitting a new frame of a dream bike, my first new road bike in 10 years (the frame I could not get on eBay, or for much of a discount, but that’s life).
I did a massive component swap a few months ago, which involved swapping out to mostly some lightly used Ultegra and putting that on the road bike, then taking what 105 stuff that had been on the road bike and moving it down to CX bike. I bought one main groupo on eBay that had most of the Ultegra stuff, then I sourced out smaller things like cables and a new chain from just LBS. I tried to do as much of it as I could, but some of the finer points required buying a 6-pack for a friend. This might not have been the exact cheapest route, but it was decent.
Agree with the above. Watch eBay, this site, and other similar sites for good deals. It becomes a game to see how cheaply you can do it, and makes it fun. A few years ago I built a Tri bike for $284, plus cost of bar tape and bottle cages (so still under $300). That included the frame (Leader aluminum), dura ace rd, ultegra fd, and so on.
For example, I found a carbon seat post on eBay for ridiculously cheap because the seller spelled it “barbon”, and had it in a wrong category. I found it by searching keywords.
Have fun!