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Newb Bike build... help please....

10K views 157 replies 17 participants last post by  cpfitness 
#1 ·
I want to build a bike and I have decided on picking up an xl 2009 stumpjumper pro carbon frame.... it comes with s120 forks and front derailleur. I am 6'2" 240lbs.... is this the right size frame for me? Whats wheels, gears, etc would fit this bike? I am clueless but want to build a bike because it will be more cost effective for me and I can learn the in and outs of the bike.... thanks
 
#2 ·
you might want to recheck the "cost effective" part, building a bike from scratch can be more than a fully assembled one, one the other hand, building a bike from scratch teaches you all the stuff you'll need to know, and can carry over say you break something out on the trail. it also lets you have the parts that you want to have on your bike. if i had the money i would do the same.

you'll need to know the frame specs. for bottom bracket and from there you can start searching what drivetrain you'll want. depending on what kind of riding you do, there's many choices that you can pick from. with a great frame like the one you have, try to avoid putting low end parts on it. it may cost more but it will be worth it. the best way to learn about what parts work with what is to Google it, and visit your LBS and ask them questions. most of them will be happy to help you and explain how drivetrains and derailleurs work. once you found a part that your interested, you can give the company a call and ask them personally. some companys will be able to tell you if there parts will work for your bike, they should have that information availble because the part you may be buying could be factory installed on some other bikes. DO NOT order parts without checking and then checking again to make sure it will fit. its frustrating getting a new part in mail after waiting for ever and then only learning that it wont work on your bike.

and to learn how to install and adjust and tune your bike that you'll be building. YouTube has you covered. they have videos on everything. thats how i learned to adjust my deraillurs and change my Cog rings out when i bent the big ring.


im probably leaving out some information to, so i'll let someone who has built a bike from scratch fill in the missing spots. i havent built my bike from ground up. only replaced the fork, Cogs and front and rear derailleurs
 
#3 ·
I built my first ever bike over the past few weeks. I spent many weeks reviewing these forums, especially, as well as searching online. People here can tell you that these wheels will fit your frame, or that stem, but it's you that's gonna ride it, and pay for it.

I suggest putting a parts list together in a spreadsheet of some sort. I was also concerned about weight, so the projected weight was also something I considered. Then the research came. I didn't know how may seatpost or stem sizes there were, but after asking questions in the noob section and putting that list together, I was confident that I could build my bike with the correct fitting parts at the price I wanted to pay, and it's pretty satisfying to tell my friends that I built it from scratch, never mind the cheesy grin on my face when I'm on the trails.

Find out everything you can about the frame, and learn from others' mistakes in here. It's gonna take hours of research- there's no easy part, but I can assure you the rewards far outweigh the time spent.

Guess what I'm saying is that research is the most valuable thing you can do :D
 
#4 · (Edited)
Having built my own bikes from scratch, here is my advice.

1. Frame sizing - go test ride some bikes at a friendly LBS to see what sizing fits you best. Ride for 15 mins or so and you'll REALLY know if the sizing is right for you.

2. Do some research on the frame you're buying. It should tell you what the bike came with originally. Nice place to start for you is here: Specialized Bicycle Components

3. Now that you know what the bike came with, decide what you want to put on the bike (i.e. what will work, and what doesn't, what kind of parts). Example - I built my 07 SJ with the plan to go straight to 3x10 SRAM drivetrain instead of sticking to 3x9 as it would have come originally.

4. Start reading install manuals, tech articles, watch how-to videos.

6. Do your parts research for the parts you decided on - how much each really costs, and how cheap you can buy them for (researching completed listings on ebay is very helpful)

7. Order all the parts - search locally, online, on ebay etc. Black Friday deals are everywhere right now so it is a great time to pick up bargains.

8. Wait for parts to arrive.

9. Put everything together using the knowledge you picked up from the manuals, videos etc.

10. Take the bike for shakedown ride - make adjustments.

TADA!!! You have built your own bike! Now go hit the trails!!

BTW, I usually come in way below market value by putting my bikes together.

-S
 
#6 ·
A couple of comments. You can't make good decisions without experience. Experience requires learning from mistakes. I suggest you buy a used bike from Craigslist or similar place in order to have a starting place.

For buying parts, here are my personal favorites:
Jenson USA - Online mountain & road bike parts, clothing and accessories shop
Universal Cycles - The Largest Selection of Road and Mountain Bike Parts
Feature Items - Harris Cyclery bicycle shop - West Newton, massachusetts
Bikes, Cycling Clothing, Bike Parts & Cycling Gear: Bike Discounts & Deals from Nashbar

No kidding, you will have to own a bike and ride it before any of the online comments make any sense to you.
 
#11 ·
;'
I will echo others sentiments. Building from scratch and cost effective are two things that almost never go together. not to say that it can't be done, but it's awfully tough if you have no experience. There are so many little parts that really make the price start adding up that buying from bikes direct for your first bike is probably the best bet and then stripping all the parts off it and then putting them onto this frame you have. That way you will learn a lot about how to build and work on your own bike and when you are done you can sell the bikes direct frame for a couple hundred bucks and recoup. to build it on the cheap otherwise means scouring ebay and craigslist for parts and while you may get some deals on parts you won't necessarily know if they are any good or not.
 
#13 ·
dont let the naysayers dissuade you. if you want to start riding right away, buying a used bike is a better option. if your willing to take time to get it built and buy it part by part, then go for it. There are also a lot of speciality tools specific to bikes, particularly in the area of crank removal and installation and headset removal and installation so you not only need to buy parts, you need to buy the proper tools or have a bike shop do certain aspects of your install
 
#14 ·
I dont want to get a bike off of craigslist.... I already have a great frame
You are not going to be riding that frame any time soon. Do you already have a mountain bike to ride? I suggested a used bike because you do not have a clue how much this will cost in dollars, hours, and calendar time. Say six months, and $1200. That's an educated guess.
 
#15 ·
The building of the bike can be realatively fast. It is getting the parts and tools that can take a long time. The most recent bike i built took about a week and a half of building but probably 4 months of part collecting in the process. I knew what parts I wanted plus had a bunch on hand (I was building my girlfriends bike and was able to upgrade lots of my parts and put my old ones on her bike. Win/win hehe). It is nice to have another bike around to look at for examples and ride while you are building your new bike.
 
#16 ·
As many have said, experience will ensure a more enjoyable project. This is not to say you will not be able to complete your project or meant to dissuade you.

As far as being cost effective, if you are privy to employee discounts, I can see where you can save money over retail.

Just to set the reality bar, I saw a 2009 XL Stumpy Pro Carbon, excellent condition, with a better fork than yours, complete, for $1850, no tax.

Good luck with your build and post pics of your project.

Cheers.
 
#30 ·
I love to help out new people. Heck, I'm new to mountain biking. I did turn wrenches in a bike shop long time ago. All I want is to see madscientist have some idea that this can be a big job. Some of us have jobs, and have limited time to build stuff at home, as fun as that is.

I've been collecting parts for a Surly Krampus frameset which I hope to get in December. I have spent more money than I would like to admit to. I have also been unsure about component choices. I obsessed over brakes for weeks, before finally deciding what I could afford, what would fit the bike, and which adapters I would need. Still need to buy a headset. The part numbers don't line up for me. I see recommendations about what to get for this frame, but do not see those exact part numbers on the online marketplaces.

I did buy a $200 bike from Craigslist so I do actually ride. I have lots of bike wrenching experience, though that is a couple of decades out of date. The bottom brackets are different, shifters are different. Nothing I can't figure out, but it all takes time.

Enjoy the journey. Just don't expect it to be real fast or real cheap.
 
#34 ·
I have not seem anyone hammering on OP. telling someone that building a bike can take a while and cost a lot is true. I just paid 170 dollars for my handlebars and due to them be back ordered and getting the wrong ones it took 4 weeks. That is handlebars. I have paid about 1g for rims and tires, stem, and pedals. You can get a bike for that. So yeah it can be expensive. I also have built 4 bikes and still take them to the LBS to get certain things done, I am sure others do not but I don't have the tools or knowledge. I enjoy building them though. Having a stand is nice (I have one) but not a necessity. I feel like my skill is more suited to commuters and back up bikes. I still feel like my main mountain bike needs to get difficult work done by the lbs due to the fact I don't want to make an expensive mistake.
 
#36 ·
just for the hell of it, lets review installing a bb. step one measure bb shell determine if its 68 or 73mm. Apply grease to threads inside bottom bracket and on threads of outboard bearings. Screw on outboard bb bearings using appropriate spacers based on headshell. Tighten to proper spec. slide drive side crank through bottom bracket. Slide on crank arm on other side. install bearing tension setter thingy (sorry brain fart on what that piece is called) tighten hex bolts on non drive side crank arm to spec. Voila. simple instructions for your standard outboard bearing crank ala Shimano. WHAT IS SO HARD?????? WHY WOULD YOU TELL SOMEONE THEY NEED TO SPEND $100 ON A STAND???????
Does a stand make things easier? yes. Is it required? absolutely not. do you carry a stand with you on the trail when things break? lol
 
#39 · (Edited)
Dude chill.;) OP is not spending your money or mine on any bike tools, if you are cool with building the whole bike from the frame up I'd love to see that on youtube. Can it be done? absolutely! Is it a good idea? absolutely not!

OP has a carbon FS frame and want to build it from the frame up, one of the point he asked in his op was cost effectiveness. Which has different answer, yes and no. Yes if you want specific parts on the bike and learning as you go, and no, it would not be cheaper than buying complete bike or a groupo/build kit.

Since op did not mention the budget(if he did show me where I missed it), I'm not going to assume that he does not have any to spend, just because someone is new does not mean they are poor as well:rolleyes: Last thing you want when building a bike from the frame up is not to have proper tools. It's not like he picked up the bike on craigslist for cheap and want to learn how to wrench it.

I've done my fair share of trailside repair using whatever available but I'm certainly not going to recommend anyone to do that at home everytime, WTH is wrong with you, stop screaming:D

edit: OP just to give you a point of reference, LBS would charge $100-170 to build a bike up from the frame when you bring them all of the components. Smaller job would be $10-25 like headset installation, adjustment, etc.
 
#37 ·
Are you replacing a bottom bracket on the trail? I would probably walk home. But it does sound easy now that you put it that way. You are telling someone to get a torque wrench that costs a lot. The bottom bracket is definitely not the most difficult part of putting a bike together. You going to measure and cut a fork on the trail? You going to install the headset without tools, use your multitool and a rock? You absolutely don't need a stand but it is nice. There are lots of tools required to build a bike that would not be cost effective to buy to use once. That is why I do what I can and when I need special tools go to the lbs.
 
#38 ·
I agree that there are things that it's worth having the lbs do because the amount of times that you are going to do them doesn't justify the cost of the tools. With that said, what planet do you live on that a torque wrench is expensive? cutting a fork? A hacksaw blade is a $1!!! I live in NYC. I barely have room for my clothes never mind a basement "man cave", garage, workshop, shed, etc and I have had no problem building up numerous bikes. Bottom line the op needs realistic expectations and saying he can't build a bike at all, or that he can't build one without a stand is utterly ridiculous. That is what other posters did.
 
#43 ·
Personal preference. Long bars can always be cut shorter. Make sure you get proper clampsize on your stem. It mist likely is 31.8 as opposed to 25.4. Most importantly, don't torque those stem bolts without putting it in a stand first:rolleyes:

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2
 
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