Buying Bikes

In cycling there seem to be (ironically) cycles of argument. A slightly less contentious issue than some is the idea that you could build an entire new bike for less than you would spend buying a new bike.

It’s something that’s appealed to me. Let’s face it, you get the fun of building your own bike, and something that’s a bit different and special. For a bike that’s at the top end of what you want, and which you need to be perfectly suited to everything you love, with exactly the right handlebar and grip combination along with the perfect weight of inner tube then it’s a great idea. However, someone recently put up the possibility of doing the same thing for a middle of the road bike (not one to ride down the white lines, but one that doesn’t cost too much, you see). I was dubious about whether it would work out cost effective, so engaged in some, now famous, FMFT research.

As you can see from the table below I selected a bike that represented a commuting bike (we are all about commuting, remember). As a starting point I used that commuter classic, the bottom Specialized Sirrus 2010 as found on Evans Cycles website. It’s not a particularly flash bike and meant I could look at base-level components, and Evans are a decidedly reasonably priced place to buy bikes, while not being excessively cheap.

For the components I looked at Chainreaction cycles, who are FMFT recommended, and have good prices on decent bits for bikes. I’m sure you could beat them if you shop around enough, but, once again, it’s a fair average.

Before anyone starts pointing out my mistakes and where I haven’t considered compatibility, I know I might not have covered all the issues, and the frame was simply the cheapest one available on the website that wasn’t a tiny jump-bike. I have no idea if all the bits I chose would fit, especially as there was no product description. It’s just an exercise in seeing if it was possible, OK?

So it would appear that my hunch was correct. If you’re starting from scratch then buying an off-the-peg bike fully made seems to be better value at this level. You’ll also get a manufacturers warranty and not to have to worry about realising you don’t have the right tool half way through fitting some vital bit you’re holding together with your teeth. So that’s good.

Maybe you’re better off getting a free bike with a mobile phone contract if that seems too expensive..

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