DIY Bike Assembly

[trompe le monde]

Pardon if this has been asked, but I am considering undertaking one of the following projects:

-Drawing a to scale 1:1 map of Patagonia.
-Building a road bike for the first time.

Since I am no cartographer, I've decided on the bike....

Joking aside, I'd like to build a bike for the first time and wonder as to how difficult it is and how costly it can be to acquire the necessary tools. I have some basic tools already, but some of the more esoteric tools will need to be purchased.

I suppose determing the viability of this build a bike project boils down to two questions:

-Do I have the necessary tools and skills necessary to use them?
-Would going to a local bike shop save me the money of doing it myself? Since I don't need to purchase a gaggle of tools I may only wind up using a few times, I figure money will be saved.

Any advice/help would be appreciated.

 

[purpletezza]

Hey welcome to a challenge that is as easy or hard as you want it to be.

I have built up many bikes for myself and love doing it. For me the two most complicated areas are the bottom bracket(if a non-threaded design like BB30) and the headset. Everything else needs just a handful of tools. In the past I would get my local bike shop to install headsets, but I now have a head-set press so do it myself now. The bottom bracket is easy if it is threaded but gets more complex when using adapters to combine traditional threaded bottom bracket style chainsets into the newer "standards" like BB30.

Really all you need is a good quality hex key set and the sockets for the rear cassette and bottom bracket. Get the local shop to install the headset if you need to. Some good cable cutters instead of side cutter plyers are really good for the cable inner and outers.

Make sure all the parts are clean before starting. Put grease on the all the threads prior to installation.

Get and use a torque wrench for the range up to 20Nm!!!!! Some parts only need 2-5Nm to be tight enough and you would be surprised how low this actually is.

Follow the included/downloaded instructions when setting up the gears/drivetrain.

There's lots of instructional videos on You-Tube.

Or you could get all the parts and pay the local shop to build it up and watch/learn how it goes together from someone who knows what they are doing.

Have fun!

 

[avanti]

If you have a technical bent then asembling a bike is easy. The two tricky parts are (1) installing cables into brake levers - fiddly and frustrating, and (2) wrapping your bars the first two or three times.

I usually find all the tools I need on ebay at reasonable prices.

Buy a good bike stand - not only for building up a bike but also for routine maintenance. I can't believe how long it was before I bought one, and I hear the same comment from other cyclists.

 

[ElChingon]

Welcome to the DIY club or hopefully you'll be in it soon.

Agreed with most of what has been said, especially what avanti said. Tools are the key and first off don't go out buying random tools. Find out what you'll need and buy what you need not what someone else has or says you'll need.

Start by choosing the bike frame and components you want or can afford or have on hand. Based on that then figure out what you need to put it together. Yes, for sure a good hex key set, but you can get by with one of those multi tool things like the one from Park, such as:

Again, some have the sizes you need and some will be short of what you need, I bought that one mainly because it had a 10mm hex for the Campy Crank bolt, well the adapter for it. Having them all together also means they are always there in one place. I know I already cornered in a Park Tool but you can buy what ever brand you desire, but Park Tools are pretty nice and are tough and do the job well. You can also get individual hex tools if you desire, I eventually bought some on the Nth build just because, not that is was absolutely necessary.

I can't agree with greasing every part, use some judgement and well trial and error, some parts will squeak like an angry duck while you ride the bike if you grease them, your squeak may vary.

Get used to putting things together and then having to take them apart again till its right, assuming you're learning. I always end up taking bar tape off and on several times because I see one turn overlapping too much or too little and it bugs me that its not right

At first tuning your shifting is a mystery and pain in the rear, then later you get it right on the first tightening of the holding bolt and never have to turn the adjusting barrels even one turn, maybe a quarter turn

Read up on what ever it is you're assembling, there are a ton of how to's on-line and even video's on YouTube so no excuse you can't do it because you haven't seen it done before.

Its also a ton of fun to build your bike from the ground (or box) up. If you have a bike now just take that thing apart and put it back together, best learning experience is taking something you already have before you try it on something new. Don't forget to take pictures of what you do for reference or to remember how it was assembled in the first place. I took apart one of my first racing bikes down to the last spring and bolt, can't say I'll ever disassemble another rear derailleur all the way down to just the triangle but it was an experience.

 

[Fiemme]

If you have never built a road bike and have never seen anyone do it, I suggest you find a good LBS. Good quality tools are expensive but are well worth the money. With the close tolerances on new 10 and 11 speed chains you could easliy ruin a new chain if you don't know what your doing and/or use cheap inadequate chain tools.

Remenber that the type of frame and groupset you use will depend on the tools you need. Some Shimano and Campag equipment require different tools to do the same job.

If you do go ahead and buy the required tools, don't worry about cost as you will be able to do all of your own maintenance.

 

[trompe le monde]

purpletazza, avanti, ElChingon, and Fiemme, thank you for the well considered replies.

I suppose I consider myself somewhere in between in the following handiness continuum:

All left handed thumbs --------------------have built a particle accelerator.

So I don't necessarily fear the project itself due to not having the ability and smarts to finish it, rather it was the issue of determining the cost of all these new tools I may need. I think what is swaying me towards doing this myself is that as Fiemme has stated, once I have all the tools and know how to assemble and disassemble a bike, all the regular maintenance I can do myself.

Again, thank you for the replies.

 

[Dr. Maserati]

purpletazza, avanti, ElChingon, and Fiemme, thank you for the well considered replies.

I suppose I consider myself somewhere in between in the following handiness continuum:

All left handed thumbs --------------------have built a particle accelerator.

So I don't necessarily fear the project itself due to not having the ability and smarts to finish it, rather it was the issue of determining the cost of all these new tools I may need. I think what is swaying me towards doing this myself is that as Fiemme has stated, once I have all the tools and know how to assemble and disassemble a bike, all the regular maintenance I can do myself.

Again, thank you for the replies.

Bingo.

When I read your OP, my first thoughts were how often you will use your bike.
If you ambitions to use it often then having the correct tools and a good work stand will pay for themselves.

I have a couple of bikes and I do regular enough maintenance and then completely strip one every year. The initial outlay on tools and lubes etc can seem high but you will get years out of it.
Also, there is a great sense of comfort knowing all about your bike and knowing that it is ready for action.

 

[DirtyWorks]

Bingo.

When I read your OP, my first thoughts were how often you will use your bike.
If you ambitions to use it often then having the correct tools and a good work stand will pay for themselves.

Don't discount the time it took to get competent at it. That can be very time consuming. Wrapping bars is the perfect example. It seems pretty straightforward, but doing it pretty and so it feels good takes practice.

If you have other more important tasks soaking up your precious time, then a reliable bike shop becomes very, very valuable. The best example is little kids. IMHO, don't choose learning how to fix your bike over spending time doing anything with your kids. They'll be grown up in no time and then you can fiddle with bikes.

 

[Dr. Maserati]

Don't discount the time it took to get competent at it. That can be very time consuming. Wrapping bars is the perfect example. It seems pretty straightforward, but doing it pretty and so it feels good takes practice.

If you have other more important tasks soaking up your precious time, then a reliable bike shop becomes very, very valuable. The best example is little kids. IMHO, don't choose learning how to fix your bike over spending time doing anything with your kids. They'll be grown up in no time and then you can fiddle with bikes.

The obvious answer here is don't have kids.

But seriously, kids love building stuff too, a great way to do things together.
Although I do agree with your overall point - doing builds or maintenance is not a cost issue but a time issue.

 

[ElChingon]

If you have other more important tasks soaking up your precious time, then a reliable bike shop becomes very, very valuable. The best example is little kids. IMHO, don't choose learning how to fix your bike over spending time doing anything with your kids. They'll be grown up in no time and then you can fiddle with bikes.

The obvious answer here is don't have kids.

But seriously, kids love building stuff too, a great way to do things together.
Although I do agree with your overall point - doing builds or maintenance is not a cost issue but a time issue.

Yes, use your kids to not only to teach them how to fix a bike but spend time with you one on one or more, heck get their friends involved as well. You'll end up with the whole pack of kids hanging out fixing bikes.

Bike shops are a business and should be treated as every other business, getting caught up in the we're good and nice guys is just another hook like any other business.