UKC

Going to build a bike my first question is dose anyone know any good sites or books to learn how to build one.

other questions are:-
should it be hard tail of full suspension?
what frame do I get?

Pleases help as this is something i have wanted to do for a while to learn more about bikes. Dose it matter that i dont know that great a deal about them?

MB

In reply to mitchellbowen1990:

I generally find the quality of question influences the quality of answer you'll get on here.

I find it hard to spot anything much about your question that merits any response much above "total disdain".

Try giving us some clues. Like what you actually want to use it for, how much you can spend. We aren't psychic.

In reply to mitchellbowen1990:

should it be hard tail of full suspension?
what frame do I get?

what will you use it for? Probably easier and cheaper to build a hard tail.

Dose it matter that i dont know that great a deal about them?

Not really. Get the wheels built by an expert. A monkey could do the rest.

In reply to mitchellbowen1990:

I've an On-One which is awesome, and then built the girlfriend one from scratch. They always get ace reviews and will knock £30 of the price if you don't get it built. Buying parts is an expensive way of doing things, therefore you get this less than "complete bike cheap". They also do cycle to work scheme and you know the components will fit!

on-one.com

bikeradar.com have a workshops section which will tell you everything you need to know.

In reply to mitchellbowen1990:
I'll confess a self interest beforehand but:

have you seen http://www.buildyourbicycle.com ?

even the freebies will help you choose your parts...

In reply to mitchellbowen1990:

Get hold of an old one, take it apart to the smallest bits you can and then put it back together again. You'll find out what tools you need, how everything fits together and in what order.

Some bits will be slightly different, depending on what you build, but you'll get the idea.

In reply to mitchellbowen1990: WOW sorry guys i now see how helpful i really was i wasn't very detailed in my question was i? Sorry.

rewind << Ok i would like a light bike for cross country and alot of single track but something that would be good at climbing hills. i would like something that is good enough to use for some comps at some point perhaps or some events at a later date.
I was looking to get a second hand frame and was looking at spending know more than £400 really on the frame alone maybe a little more if something amazing popped up.

so back to my question's-
should it be hard tail of full suspension?
what frame do I get?

Any suggestions?

Thanks for your help so far and sorry for not being very useful before.

MB

In reply to mitchellbowen1990:

All of your questions depend upon what you are using it for. So I'll start by asking what are you planning on using the bike for? XC, downhill, racing, pottering about, commuting, fire roads, canal paths, forest singletrack, rocky singletrack, mixture of all of the above?

Answer that and I'll be able to give you some advice on which type of frame etc.

As for building it yourself, it's not rocket science but make sure you use the correct grease on the right materials, don't under- or over-tighten bolts, face your bottom bracket shell if you are using an external bottom bracket, face your head tube etc.

As for the wheels, again it's fairly easy to get right but then it's easy to get wrong too. I've seen plenty of DIY builds where spokes aren't laced correctly and the drive and braking spokes are in the wrong places. In fact I've even seen so called pro builds with these errors.

A good bike maintenance book is the Big Blue Bicycle Repair Book by Park Tools. You can get it here; http://www.amazon.co.uk/Park-Tool-Blue-Bicycle-Repair/dp/B001B6NAW2

Give me a shout if you need any other advice.

Good luck and have fun!

In reply to Steve Perry (Pezz):

p.s. I know someone who is selling a Trek 9.8 Elite carbon hardtail for a very very reasonable price if you are interested. Size is 17.5. That would do all of the above

In reply to Steve Perry (Pezz):

p.p.s. or I may be selling my Giant Anthem X custom with XT groupset, SID World Cup forks, carbon bars, Thomson stem and seatpost, Hope Pro 2 on Stans if you name a good price. Now that really does tick all of your boxes

In reply to Steve Perry (Pezz): Hey thanks for your help steve.
I am still saving up at the moment and are a long way off until ill have the cash, however with my birthday and Christmas coming up soon maybe it will arrive a little faster than i think.

Im looking for a frame which is light and for cross country, single track, and which i would be able to do drops and jumps on. something that is also going to nice to ride up hill. any advice on full sus or hard tail and what sort of frame should i be looking at?

Thanks

MB

In reply to mitchellbowen1990:

Depends on how big the drops are and how light you want it. Sorry to be pedantic but that's really your deciding point.

Personally I find the Giant Anthem perfect with its 4" front and rear suspension. It handles really really well on tight technical singletrack and also handles smaller jumps and drops with its rear end travel. It climbs really well too.

If you want to ride in the Peak and do larger drops and really rocky stuff then I'd definitely go for a full sus and perhaps even consider a 5" rear end travel but then these start getting a little too heavy for XC racing and events. A hardtail would be great for most XC races and shorter events but you would probably start struggling on the longer marathons and ultras if you go down that route.

It depends on your budget too obviously.

I service bikes for a couple of XC elite level riders who ride Trek Top Fuel 9.9 SSLs and although they say that those are superb, they are looking at Anthems for next season - but shhh I didn't tell you that

Maybe hire a few bikes out and see how they ride, that's probably the best thing to do as everyone's opinions will differ.

In reply to mitchellbowen1990: What size are you,i,ve got an old scott boulder frame"hard tail" you can have fir nowt if you arrange pick up.

In reply to mitchellbowen1990:

On One (456) gets my vote. Cracking frame which can be had for about £150 brand new. www.on-one.co.uk

Log on to www.singletrackworld.com and hit the forume for some bargains on the other stuff you need.

Enjoy.

In reply to Dirk Didler:

what size is the frame ? if the OP doesnt want it and its the right size i would be interested. talking about my old C16 the other day has really got me wanting to build a mb again

In reply to mitchellbowen1990:

Forgot to say, once you figure out what bits you want, it's worth trawling ebay for 2nd hand stuff and a few other sites to find who's doing the best deal on new stuff - start with:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/
http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/ - sale on at the moment
http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/

In reply to lost1977:

if memory serves me right its 18 or 19",i'm only 5,8 and although i could ride it fine i always felt it was a little to big.

In reply to mitchellbowen1990: This could get very expensive. Because of the volume that they can buy components in manufacturers can turn out complete bikes much cheaper than you can build one by buying components individually.

In reply to Dirk Didler:

although slightly larger than i was hoping for (i'm a little taller but like small frames). i would consider it if the OP isn't interested

google is your freind here. remember though that the tools will cost nearly as much as the parts! unless you're freindly with your local bsg's
I personally would go hardtail. a lot cheaper, easier to maintain and do everything that a full suss does. kind of. I used to work for alpine bikes, any problems etc feel free to get in touch. shewan284@hotmail.com

http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/Bike+Shop/Frame++Forks/Frames+-+MTB/Cove+Fram... excellent frame to build up! unless you want something cheaper.

good luck!

In reply to lost1977:

Hav'nt had a reply from the op so drop me an e-mail and i'll find out how much it will be to post or you can pick it up,up to you.

In reply to mitchellbowen1990: ya want a specialized epic, amazing

In reply to mitchellbowen1990:




Ebay is good for used components, you can tell the ads from the pikeys selling thieved kit and those from enthusiasts. If you're lucky you get for 20-30% of the price otherwise 50-60% seems about right for XT level kit.

Be careful on wheels. Most people sell them because they don't want them anymore. Some will be ok, some will not. Hubs can be serviced and as long as they are not visually damaged you can overcome any bearing issues.

I've just re-built my bike and got new wheels built for me on hope hubs I bought separately on ebay - separate is a good way of getting a deal. I also bought a new hope headset as the used versions were quite pricey.

I wouldn't skimp money on wheels, bottom bracket or headset. Otherwise loads of stuff going. Give yourself a time frame to build the bike over and don't get in a buying frenzy, have a budget, be patient.

I did invest in a workstand and a set of tools - begrudgingly, which is a long story due to some unwanted vouchers - the workstand issue can be overcome with carpet pads and rope hung from a garage roof.

The best tip I can give is to have a carpeted workshop area, you can always roll it up when not using it. Easy to find stuff if you drop it, can be vacuumed so it isn't covered in dust like most garage floors good if you drop a greased washer/nut, protects bike.

Also, if you don't get the stand, use old cushions or similar to protect cranks, forks, rear stays when you rest if on the floor if putting in headset cups or similar task requiring force.

The one item that has come in useful is the Icetoolz set I got from Evanscycles. £49.99 and v well equipped.

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/ice-toolz/essence-tool-kit-for-home-mec...

I prefer buying from my LBS but this was a good deal and my vouchers forced me to do so.

If I had to choose between a workstand and good tools - tools everytime.

Lastly - lubricants. Despite the marketing people, you only need about 3 types so speak to your LBS and get these in BEFORE you start. Otherwise you have to stop halfway through something and wait for the shop to open on Monday before you can carry-on.

Not that I've done it

In reply to mitchellbowen1990: Get a hard tail and learn how to ride properly. You'll climb faster than all these full sus riders, and when you've learn the skills you'll ride faster then them everywhere. It's very satisfying beating all these people who try to buy ability with an expensive bike.

The only real advantage to a full sus bike on the type of riding you'll be doing, is that on really long very bumpy rides it gives you more comfort, so you can sit down a bit more when you're tired and still on bumpy stuff.

For the money your looking at you could get an amazing hardtail, or a half arsed full sus. Simples.

When ebaying for parts I found that XTR kit went for a lot more money than it should and XT kit went very cheap. I guess in the second hand market people what to try and get the best they can.

With regards building a bike, it's really very simple. Everything screws and unscrews as you would think, except for one of the pedals which has a left hand thread and so requires turning the other way.

In reply to elephant0907: i agree, a very good bike!

good choice, get that one!

In reply to Dirk Didler:

ah the Boulder - I had one of these back in about 1994, loved that bike!

In reply to mitchellbowen1990: Go and check out Singletrackworld.com - you'll probably find some help and second-hand kit on the forums there.(just try to ignore the smug eejits that inhabit it and you'll be ok)

In reply to mitchellbowen1990:

Someone once gave me a Scott mtb frame.

So I went to the bike shop to get all the bits, totalled about £800, which shocked me.

Shop staff told me I'd be better off buying a £800 bike, and get much better bits on it. Didn't bother using the Scott frame as the new one was better too.

In reply to mitchellbowen1990:

Merlin Cycles tend to sell reasonably cheap groupsets and finishing kits, with brake and wheelset options to go with. They are pretty cheap.Their frames have good reviews too (though haven't ridden one), so you may be able to buy the lot from one place.

I agree with the above poster that SingleTrack World would be a good place to look.

Good luck!
Mark