How cheap of a bike have you been able to put together?

[Veloo]

Seeing some Redline road frames and Kona MTB frames (no forks) going for $100 ($CAD) at the bike show last weekend had me tempted and wondering how cheap of a bike I could put together as a beater/ rainy day ride.

How cheap of a ride have you been able to put together? If you can recall the price of the parts you originally paid, use that but indicate age and usage.

I'm curious if I could get something out the door for under $250. I know that's ambitious.

[sandyrs]

I built a rigid singlespeed MTB for $400... got a used Trek Rig fork/seatpost/stem/cranks on the forum, some cheap OEM takeoff wheels from the forum, an $80 used Salsa steel fork from the forum, and some cheap/free other parts to round it out. It rode okay! I sold it to someone it fits better.

[AngryScientist]

if you're buying a $100 frame and want to put a full bike together for 250, the only way to do it is to score a cheap doner bike and swap the parts over. there are lots of little parts you'll wind up needing in addition to the big ticket items like a fork and wheels that simply add up in cost. if you can find a cheap complete doner with a cracked frame or something, that's the angle.

[Aaron O]

Getting very lucky on a few buys, and being patient/shrewd, I was able to build a very nice rain beater at around $250 (not counting saddle and headbadge). Litespeed rigid to MTB, Deore DX and XT mixed group, tektros, Gary bars, Suntour commands.

[RacerJRP]

I'd say if you stretch that $250 dream out to $400 you should be able to put something together that will actually be enjoyable to ride and still cheap enough to lock up and not be too worried about.

[Avincent52]

Well...I put up a WTB here for a road bike for my college-bound son.
A fellow paceliner offered up a 54 cm Cannondale CAAD 5 R700 with a carbon fork and a mixed Ultegra group that belonged to his Dad.

He included some new Michelin tires, bar tape, changed out the saddle etc.

He offered it for $300 shipped when he couldn't find some parts he promised, but I insisted on paying the original $350.

All I did was add the bottles, tape the bars, mount the tires, adjust the derailleurs (thanks Nick) and clean it up. It's weighs 18 pounds or so, and rolls and handles like a racing bike.




Pretty nice bike for the money, eh? (sorry about the lack of a drive side photo. This was taken on the fly)
I didn't spend much time looking, but I'm sure there are plenty of Paceliners and others who have nice bikes that aren't getting ridden much.

Now's probably a good time for it as real people put their bikes away and wish they had more room in their garage for paper towels, and, um, cars.

[weisan]

>>I'm curious if I could get something out the door for under $250.

That all depends....do you have a track record of being cheapskate and a bargain hunter?

[bobswire]

I agree with Angry, scour Craigslist and or Ebay et al. Find a bike with decent working components for the frame you want to build up. Even then it'll be difficult to keeping it under $250 unless the donor bikes components satify your needs.

[Avincent52]

I think we're spending too much time in the rarified air of the Paceline where members spend as much on a bike as normal folks spend on a used car and $250 is what we budget for a set of carbon handlebars.

You want a $250 bike?
My garage is literally full of them.

1) My wife's old 1980s Cannondale aluminum road bike
2) A matching pair of vintage, hipster-ready Raleigh 3-speeds
3) My wife's like-new Gary Fischer 700c Hybrid
4) My son's mid-2000s Trek hardtail Mountain bike with semi-slick tires and Manitou front suspension
5) My 1990s High-end Alpinestars hardtail mountain bike with a rigid fork, and Shimano XT components.

All of these bikes are rideable, or could be made to be cheaply and easily with swapping some tires maybe or changing a cable or two.

Each has its charms. The Cannondale is by far the lightest and potentially the fastest. The Trek is the most rugged as is. The Fischer is the most fun to ride right now. The Raleigh is the most stylish. And the Alpinestars, which has cool Scott AT-2 "bullhorn" bars, has the most potential--I've already swapped out the tires for Schwalbe semi-slick Super Moto balloon tires, a Regal saddle, and it'll be a great, cheap gravel bike.

But the reality is that, cool bikes though they are, none of them would really bring much more than $250

The reality is that lots of real people (including our friends and family) buy $500 bikes and either don't ride them or start riding a lot and want something better.
They sell those commodity bikes for $100 at a garage sale to make room in their garage.
Or Craigslist.
And a WTB on the classifieds here would have these coming out of the woodwork.

Your target IMHO, should be a bike like the Cannondale above, that would have reached your $250 target if you bargained a little with the seller and/or sold a few parts like the tools/bag/new tires. The seller posted it within a couple of hours of my WTB, and I had it here and rolling within a week because of the hard deadline imposed by my son leaving for college.
It's a very nice deal, and one for which I'm most grateful, but hardly one-of-a-kind in a place like Paceline where gear often gets priced well below market just to clean out the garage and give it a good home.

Good luck with the hunt.
I'm having as much fun building/rebuilding my Alpinestars as I did my Tarmac where I, too, was shopping $250 handlebars.

[SeanScott]

I have a build going right now that I am calling Project Cheap Rose`
It is a De Rosa merak that I am trying to build for under $500. It has been really fun using leftover parts, asking friends for extras, and looking for deals.

[fiataccompli]

This almost classifies....well, OK, a hair over 2x the target cost, but I think the bike/buck ratio was pretty good. This is all made of cast-off slightly used parts (already had the wheels) except cables and bar (unused, but from here). It turned out much nicer than I anticipated .



(oops...sorry, I did not realize the image was so large)
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[SeanScott]

I'm at $337 so far. The shifters and derailleur are going to be the tough parts to come up on.
The $25 planet cyclery selle italia and $40 campy hub wheels were a good score. The frame was the bubget breaker at $250 but I am doing my best on it.

[F150]

1987 Fuji Del Rey and 1984 Trek 412, IIRC, bought for $80 for the pair. Trek in quite good shape; however, a stuck seatpost and no wheels with the Del Rey. However, all the Suntour Accushift derailleurs worked and Sugino crank ready for a third chainring. I've since sold the Trek for more than original cost. Money spent on the Fuji, as best I remember:

Chain $12
Bar Tape $8
Eggbeaters at REI Yard Sale $11.75
Easton 27.2 x 300mm post $20
Old saddle $5 (better fit than $20 Pure V)
Zaffiro Slicks $30 for pair
Tubes $8
700c sealed bearing wheelset $25
Replacement spokes $16
Shimano freewheel $15
Jagwire brake pads $8
30t chainring and bolts $15

Picked up a nice little Matrix wheelset with Specialized sealed bearing hubs off CL, with drive side spokes chewed on a little from chain but virtually no brake track wear. Replaced 7-8 spokes. Cannot think of anything else, assuming I replaced all cables puts me at $175 or thereabouts. That's my exercise in cheap! And a very nice, nimble ride.

Stinking internet connection preventing me posting pic of The Beast...

[SeanScott]

It is kind of interesting how if one tries, a complete bike can cost less than the price of a wheel set.

[Zoodles]

I picked up a beat alum/carbon race bike last year for free. Made it into a SS commuter for less than $75 by using stock cast asides and old bar tape.

Unfortunately I moved to a hilly area plus needed fenders and my next bike based off a cheap close out frame ($175) got out of control. Despite using leftover parts it is up to $500 ish. Mostly due to impatience on my part and a desire for nicer wheels. The worst part is locking it up has done a number on the paint in less than a month.