I’m wanting to build a mountain bike and not a cheap one or I would go to walmart and pick one up for $80. I wanting to a pretty decent bike and want to know all the parts I’ll need to buy. Please let me know any ideas or anything I should know. Thanks
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Buy a mountain bike
What’s your budget? Anyway, you need a frame, fork, headset, crankset, wheels, tires, front and rear deraileurs, shifters, deraileurs, stem, handlebar, seatpost and saddle.
Justin
Unless you have access to old used parts, it is much more expensive to build a bike than buying one. If the budget won;t bear a better new bike, a good used bike is best. Better a good used bike, than a bad new one!
Soccerref
Unless you are super rich – just go to a real bicycle shop & buy one. All the major companies – Raleigh, Trek, Specialized, etc. – buy in bulk quantities. So, they get a huge discount on parts. For you, as an individual, to buy all the parts needed would cost roughly 3 to 4 times as much.
I believe someone on this sight actually added it all up once. To build the equivalent of a Trek 820 (bottom of the line for Trek at $349.99) would cost close to $1,000. A good frame alone will set you back about $200.
A bike built from parts purchased separately will cost a lot more than a complete bike. On top of that you would need to buy the necessary tools. Bike companies buy components directly from the manufacturers in bulk packaging at huge discounts, much cheaper than you could. On top of that, complete bikes have a manufacturer’s warranty, which a bike built from parts would not have. It is true that the individual parts have a guarantee, but if the bike is not assembled correctly, you may not be covered. Unless you are an experienced bike mechanic and are able to find heavily discounted parts, a complete bike is a much better deal.
The tools will be your biggest problem, unless you already have them or can borrow them. It is _far_ cheaper to buy a new bike or a good used one. Students, especially, sell their bikes for reasonable prices.
If you want to piece together a bike anyway… Building a bike in your living room can be done, but it’s a pain the arse. You should let a shop do it for you. If you don’t know what parts you need, you are in no way ready to build a modern day mountain bike from scratch.
1.Frame on sale from Nashbar.com —- $99.00
2.Wheelset —- $79.99
3.Simple Shimano V-Brakes —- $89.99
4.Crankset —- $59.99
5.Bottom Bracket —- $19.99 for a cheap one
6.Tires —- Figure about $20 each X two = $40.00
7.Tubes —- About $6 each X two = $12.00
8.Simple rigid fork —- $49.99 on sale
9.Cassette —- $15.99
10.Handlebar —- $14.95
11.Shifters —- $19.50
12.Brake levers —- $13.00
13.Pedals —- $15.00 for cheap ones
14.Seatpost —- $15.00 for a cheap one
15.Saddle —- $16.00 for a cheap one
16.Handlebar grips —- $10.00 for a cheap set
17.Chain —- Minimum $15.00
18.Water Bottle Cage —- about $5.00
I’m already up to almost $600 figuring THE cheapest prices on sale from Nashbar.com & Amazon.com. And I’m sure I’m forgetting something. Then there’s shipping costs. For $600, you can buy a really good mountain bike, fully assembled with a warranty from a bike shop.