I am looking at possibly putting together a bike on my own. The pan would be to install everything and then get a tune up by a professional to get everything right. Should I do that or should I just pay the cash to get it done right from the get go?
I have no idea what it would cost for my LBS to put everything together but I imagine it would be less than the extra $$$ it would cost to buy all the build kit from them.
Any insights on the wrenching would be appreciated.
I’ve seem some complete bike packages which seem to be cheaper than buying the components. For example the P3C complete DA builds you could get for $4000 and the frame alone cost $3,300.
However I think it is a great idea to put the bike together yourself. I have not really come across anything I can’t put together or dismantle on the bike. The only things I need a bike shop for would be wheel balancing, cutting the steerer tube etc. The advantage of doing it yourself is that you will save lots of money in the future by being able to fix, maintain and clean your bike thereafter. As for the fine tuning, this more than anything you should be able to do yourself. If your derailleurs are not aligned correctly (like every time you change your rear wheel), or you get a bar end shifter work loose etc you can fix this the day before a race without going into a blind panic. btw I lost 30 mins on the bike in my first ever triathlon simply because I didn’t know how to adjust a rear derailleur. If you understand your bike you will be able to race with a much clearer mind. I think 90% of bike work is pretty intuative anyway.
btw, quick hint. the LH pedal is threaded inversely so you have to unscrew the pedal in the opposite direction. B4 I realised this I spent a good few hours thoroughly tightening my pedal onto the crank arm to the point that when I finally took it into the shop they had to use a blow torch to get to off!!!
if you are fairly mechanically-inclined, i think you will be ok. invest in a few good tools, grab some beers, and get to work.
there are plenty of resources out there like park’s book & site, bicycletutor.com, and the forums if you get in a pinch.
i think it’s a great way to learn about your bike & future fixes.
there are some things that i’m still not comfortable with though, like bottom brackets & headsets, but those too will come in time.
i started out with no knowledge, hung out at the LBS a bit, watched some videos online, and eventually got to doing more and more on my own.
that said though, most of my local LBSs usually only charge about $50-$75 for a build & tune, bit more if a TT bike with internal routing.
It is not hard but your first build will cost more than having the bike shop do it. The reason is that you really can’t build a bike without buying some bike specific tools. That said they are a worthy investment and learning how to do a build is a realy good skill to learn. The first time I did it I was convinced that the front derailleur required a magic spell to shift properly, but after you play around you will be happy with the time and money you invested. Just don,t think it will be cheaper this time.
125.00 bucks from my LBS and they supplied all cabling and chain which was Dura ace
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I would encourage you to do it and it’s a skill you won’t ever regret having. I love working on bikes and do my pals bikes for the fee of a Corona Light’s as long as the work takes to complete!
In college I built my bikes w/o a stand using my Mag trainer, but if you will get a nice Park stand and a hand full of other tools you will be pretty self sufficient.
Beam style 3/8" torque from Sears w/lifetime warranty $25
3/8" hex sockets at Sears $10
BB cup tool $15
Cutters/crimpers $25
Chain tool $15
Allen set $20
The work stands can be from 100-500 so that is the big cost…enjoy it!
I have basically built both my road and Tri bike from the ground up as far as hand picking all the components. I installed all of the drivetrain and cabling on my road bike and it was a great learning experience for me, I still had to take it to my LBS because I didnt have the 4th hand tool to stretch my cables enough to get them to work.
For my Tri bike I have the LBS to the work I just handed them a box of parts. It took me so long to run the cables on my road bike that I just wanted to get my Tri bike done quickly so I could ride it, also my P2 had some internal routing that I just didn’t want to deal with.
It would depend on whether you just want to get it done and ride it or you want to make it a learning experience.
No shop mechanic has touched any of my bikes in over 15 years. I do all my own builds, maintenance and repairs.
When you build it yourself, you “know your bike”. You’ll take really good care of it. Its not hard at all. Especially when you have invested in the correct tools.
And…it’s fun!
Oh, I use nothing for information other then…parktools.com They have basically a full on-line manul of bike maintenance and information.
Tip: Buy a little extra cable/brake housing and a few sets of cables. It will be easy to make some mistakes in your housing cuts, especially if you are tweaking bike fit. It’s cheap and usually $1 a foot and cables are not much more…have fun!
if you are fairly mechanically-inclined, i think you will be ok. invest in a few good tools, grab some beers, and get to work.
there are plenty of resources out there like park’s book & site, bicycletutor.com, and the forums if you get in a pinch.
i think it’s a great way to learn about your bike & future fixes.
Previous experience tells me to stay away from the beer while wrenching 
But I love building my own bikes. If you take your time, you can find parts dirt cheap and build a bike much cheaper than you’d buy one at a similar spec in a shop. It really all depends on what you want. I think you save a lot more money on your build when you start looking at the higher end components. It’s really hard to build a cheap bike cheaper than the big names do. I don’t think I could build my wife’s MTB cheaper than we paid the $550 for- at least not with the quality of the frame and fork it has.
To date, I have built two MTbs, a roadie, and a tri bike. Last bike I purchased complete was my first tri bike- and that was because I was having a very hard time finding a frame my size I could afford.
Most of the work you can do yourself with some basic tools. The only two items you probably want to leave to a shop are the installation of the bottom bracket and the headset. This is because these items rarely need replacement, and the tools’ cost (esp. for the headset) is significant.
Here’s a quick list is the tools you’ll need:
Allen wrench set (metric)
Socket wrench set (metric)
Torque wrench (optional, but recommended)
Chain whip and cassette lockring tool
Wire cutters (for cables and housings)
Teflon tape (for covering bolt threads)
Chain breaker
Hacksaw and cutting guide (for steerer and/or seatmast).
Tip: Buy a little extra cable/brake housing and a few sets of cables. It will be easy to make some mistakes in your housing cuts, especially if you are tweaking bike fit. It’s cheap and usually $1 a foot and cables are not much more…have fun!
big 10-4 on this. I made too many trips for extras by not buying enough 
I loved building mine and I agree with what others have siad, you know the bike inside and out, you know how to do teh repairs, and you get good at finding the answer when you dont know. Give yourself plenty of time though. I did my build over the winter in MI (giving me ~6months 
jk) but it is a nice winter project when you are not doing as much riding but still want to play with your bike
In addition to the park tool website, this is another good reference. How to videos on everything you need to build and maintain your bike.
I think you just need to purchase a frame, some pot, and a lot of beer. At least that’s what most of my mechanics seem to do and a bike comes out the other end.
Been building my own bikes since I was in 4th grade Elementary school. It’s just like everything we have in life: Learning starts with interest.
Have them install the headset, including cutting the fork and installing the stem.
Use newer external bottom brackets and you certainly can do it on your own.
I strongly recommend you do this.
I’m not very mechanical–when I told my wife I was going to do it she said “are you sure that is a good idea?” and later told me that she thought there was no way in hell I would ever be able to do it. However, I got it done and really, really enjoyed the process except when the end of the right bar end shifter exploded! After I was finished my LBS went over everything to make sure it was safe.
If I can do it, you can as well. It will be fun and you’ll learn a lot. When you have your LBS go over everything ask them if you can stay and watch and discuss any mistakes you made. This will help the learning process as well.
Phil
Build it, though if its a tri frame with internal routing, I’d keep the beer handy. Let a shop install the crown race and cut the fork, everything else is very doable with minimal tools (though a torque wrench is pretty good investment). Park tools website is pretty useful for how-to.
Good luck
Lots of depends and what ifs…where are you in the lifecycle of cycling? (no pun intended)…have you done any work on a bike before?..with todays technology it is far more challenging than it was back in the day of 7 speed DA…tend to think, based on what you are buying and the above answers that it is worth the $$$ to have a SKILLED mechanic do it…just my opinion.
I do pretty much all my own wrenching and have built up about 10 bikes so far.
Like any project it’s way easier if you break it down into smaller pieces. BB, Brakes, deraillieurs, headset, stem, cables etc.
Whenever I’ve bought a groupset, each component (shimano) has come with a direction sheet. Pretty easy to follow. I am self taught, but I am a mechanical engineer. The only thing I don’t currently do is build and true my own wheels, but that will come in time.
I now actually teach an intro bike maintenance course to newbies. All the maintenance (and building) is pretty straight forward and almost without exception, my students take it on themselves. The ones that don’t do their own maintenance (some only change brake pads and clean chains) all now know a lot more, and can diagnose problems better (to tell to the LBS mechanic) or at least have some clue when the pimple faced LBS mechanic is bullshitting them.
I’d say, build up the bike yourself (including taking a stab at adjusting the brakes and deraillieurs as well as headset) and if you mess it up, THEN take it to the bike store. First time you might need to fiddle a bit, but no biggie. I think the biggest tip I could give would be to make sure you don’t cut cables or outers too short. Turn the front wheel 90 degrees in both directions to ensure they are long enough.
Other than that, have fun and let us know how you did