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Building a new bike from an old frame - Stupid? Pointless?
Szechuanosaurus
Registered User, ClubPA regular
Registered User, ClubPA regular
I want a second bike for various reasons
So, my parent's garage is a graveyard of our old bikes from years past and I've salvage one of my old bikes from here. I was hoping that they would be basically functional and only require a bit of cleaning up and maybe a new chain and tyres but that was somewhat optimistic considering they've been sitting in that garage for about 15 years with no maintenance.
Basically, everything is pretty rusted up. It still runs, I guess - the tyres and tubes were crumbling but I could sit on it and the wheels turned when I pedalled - but everything is so rusted that I'd be hesitant to consider anything but the frame and fork to be reliable or safe to use, even with liberal cleaning and greasing. The only thing holding the spokes together are the neon spokey dokeys.
Some stuff may be salvageable once I start stripping it down and figuring things out (maybe the bottom bracket will be ok considering it still turns) but I'm working on the assumption that all-new parts would need to be fitted to it.
The frame is...I forget the model as I'm at work but it's an old American-built bike that must've been imported by the shop we originally bought it from. It is a hybrid style bike, though, with a quick-release fold-up mechanism built into the centre post that still functions perfectly. The rear drop out is vertical, but at a very shallow angle but I reckon I'd fit it out as an 8-speed anyway.
So I'm looking at handlebars, grips, stem, saddle, post, front and rear wheels, tubes, tyres, brakes (V I reckon - even mechanical disk brakes just look too expensive, I'm not sure the old forks would take them anyway and Vs are more lightweight), levers, rear 8-speed hub, gear, shifter chain, single-speed chain set, pedals and maybe a bottom bracket.
I've done a quick price-up at one website for a local bike shop and for all these components on the cheaper end of the scale I'd be looking at £450 or over (Which seems crazy as my much better-specced MTB cost that much - I'm probably picking out parts that are better than I'd need and I can probably beat this price down by a couple of hundred by being more realistic with parts quality and shopping around online).
Of course, the other option is dumping this old frame in a skip and just buying a new courier bike - I could get a 8-speed with disc brakes and a brand-new frame all built and warrantied for £350 (Or a really shitty but new MTB for £70!! Hurgh).
Price is a consideration - I don't want to spend way over the odds as I don't exactly have money to throw away at the moment - but it's not absolutely vital that the end product work out cheaper than just buying a bike from Halfords. I know from building computers that you only really start to save money doing it yourself if you are building high-spec systems that would normally cost £3000+ to buy off-the-shelf and even then the savings are slim. But learning and experience has value as well and I figure I'll learn a lot about bike maintenance by building one from scratch. However, that said, if a new built bike is going to work out considerably cheaper and potentially land me with a considerably better bike all-round then I might just be better off buying a new bike, taking it apart and rebuilding it for the learning experience.
So how about it PA? Can you convince me that rebuilding this old frame into a passable hybrid is a viable option? Where can I buy good parts for super-cheap (UK, online)? Where's the cut-off for budget parts where they become so bad they just aren't worth buying no matter how cheap they are?
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Spare for visitors such as my father in law to use when he stays
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Cheap second bike to practice maintenance on without wrecking my main bike
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Would like to try out more of a hybrid/courier style bike for road use
So, my parent's garage is a graveyard of our old bikes from years past and I've salvage one of my old bikes from here. I was hoping that they would be basically functional and only require a bit of cleaning up and maybe a new chain and tyres but that was somewhat optimistic considering they've been sitting in that garage for about 15 years with no maintenance.
Basically, everything is pretty rusted up. It still runs, I guess - the tyres and tubes were crumbling but I could sit on it and the wheels turned when I pedalled - but everything is so rusted that I'd be hesitant to consider anything but the frame and fork to be reliable or safe to use, even with liberal cleaning and greasing. The only thing holding the spokes together are the neon spokey dokeys.
Some stuff may be salvageable once I start stripping it down and figuring things out (maybe the bottom bracket will be ok considering it still turns) but I'm working on the assumption that all-new parts would need to be fitted to it.
The frame is...I forget the model as I'm at work but it's an old American-built bike that must've been imported by the shop we originally bought it from. It is a hybrid style bike, though, with a quick-release fold-up mechanism built into the centre post that still functions perfectly. The rear drop out is vertical, but at a very shallow angle but I reckon I'd fit it out as an 8-speed anyway.
So I'm looking at handlebars, grips, stem, saddle, post, front and rear wheels, tubes, tyres, brakes (V I reckon - even mechanical disk brakes just look too expensive, I'm not sure the old forks would take them anyway and Vs are more lightweight), levers, rear 8-speed hub, gear, shifter chain, single-speed chain set, pedals and maybe a bottom bracket.
I've done a quick price-up at one website for a local bike shop and for all these components on the cheaper end of the scale I'd be looking at £450 or over (Which seems crazy as my much better-specced MTB cost that much - I'm probably picking out parts that are better than I'd need and I can probably beat this price down by a couple of hundred by being more realistic with parts quality and shopping around online).
Of course, the other option is dumping this old frame in a skip and just buying a new courier bike - I could get a 8-speed with disc brakes and a brand-new frame all built and warrantied for £350 (Or a really shitty but new MTB for £70!! Hurgh).
Price is a consideration - I don't want to spend way over the odds as I don't exactly have money to throw away at the moment - but it's not absolutely vital that the end product work out cheaper than just buying a bike from Halfords. I know from building computers that you only really start to save money doing it yourself if you are building high-spec systems that would normally cost £3000+ to buy off-the-shelf and even then the savings are slim. But learning and experience has value as well and I figure I'll learn a lot about bike maintenance by building one from scratch. However, that said, if a new built bike is going to work out considerably cheaper and potentially land me with a considerably better bike all-round then I might just be better off buying a new bike, taking it apart and rebuilding it for the learning experience.
So how about it PA? Can you convince me that rebuilding this old frame into a passable hybrid is a viable option? Where can I buy good parts for super-cheap (UK, online)? Where's the cut-off for budget parts where they become so bad they just aren't worth buying no matter how cheap they are?
Szechuanosaurus on
0
Posts
I've found that going to small, personally-owned bike shops is the best way to get a deal, help, and honest advice.
For a lot of other things, you can refurbish spare parts from other bikes and they can end up just as nice as a new purchase.
Drivetrain parts. Chain and cassette/freewheel definitely, chainrings depending on what state they're in (if they've seen some heavy wear). Other than that, just make sure the parts you use are mechanically sound and they should be fine. The biggest downside to using cheap or old parts is that they'll tend to be heavier, and will probably need more maintenance than more expensive parts would to keep them running smoothly.
Some "gotchas" to watch out for though:
Brake levers are designed to work with cantilevers/calipers or linear pull (V-type), the same lever will not work with both.
Some SRAM shifters will only work with SRAM mechs, as they use a different actuation ratio to anything else.
Some older frames have a narrower dropout spacing than modern frames, so a new hub might not fit.
Out of curiousity, where are you seeing a new 8-speed, disc equipped hybrid? I've had my eye out for something similar.
Good ol' Edinburgh Cycle.
Cheers for the info, I'll probably start shopping around for bits in the new year.