The joy of building a custom bike for a friend

[Smiley]

I can never get enough of doing it now. Its become rewarding to mentor and tutor others on how to build up a frameset. I think when you buy a custom bike the experiance is further enhanced when you build up your own bike. Measure cables to length and set up the bars and tape them up with that Handle Bra stuff :) The result is so sweet.

Thanks Rounder, now you can tackle your next build yourself.

[Dekonick]

Cool - wanna help re-build the Hors when she comes back?

[Smiley]

Cool - wanna help re-build the Hors when she comes back?


my pleasure for sure :)

[rounder]

Smiley is being overly gracious. I met K. Bedford at NAHBS in Richmond last March. I had no intentions of buying a bike but drove to Richmond to check out the bikes and meet some of the builders. Saw every bike there at least twice. Everyone has their own ideas and tastes. Kelly's bikes were the ones that sent me. Discussed bikes with Kelly and met Smiley. Never had a fit before, but figured I would if ever were going to buy a custom. Well, anyway, i did and it was the best single thing i did in the whole process. Smiley established his credibility right away...this is what we are gonna do...this is how we are gonna measure it. Every step in the process was repeated over and over, to make sure it was done right. Were any mistakes made in the process? Sure...by me. Went there on Friday to build the bike. Smiley asked...where is the rear derailleur? Oops. Box of parts was at home. So, i showed up today with parts in hand. Smiley asked, so where is the bottom bracket? Huh, bottom bracket not included with set (need to go back on-line). So anyway, Kelly did a great job on the bike. Smiley did a great job in the fit and organization process. Bike will be ready to go when the bottom bracket comes in. Oh yeah, Ray's handlebra (cigar) exceeded expectations. Happy camper??. You bet.

[Dekonick]

Pics man!!! We need pictures!

Boy it is good to see so much steel again! Magical ride when done right. Kelly does it right.

:)

[rounder]

Pics man!!! We need pictures!

Boy it is good to see so much steel again! Magical ride when done right. Kelly does it right.

:)


Kelly did his Kelly thing. Other thing i forgot was my camera. Pictures will be forthcoming.

[oldpotatoe]

[QUOTE=rounder]Smiley is being overly gracious.

"So, i showed up today with parts in hand. Smiley asked, so where is the bottom bracket? Huh, bottom bracket not included with set (need to go back on-line). So anyway, Kelly did a great job on the bike. Smiley did a great job in the fit and organization process. Bike will be ready to go when the bottom bracket comes in.'

-Gonna pick a nit here. Yes, I know, but I own a bike shop so-

Whole bike is there plus parts to be built but forgot BB. Is the money saved SO huge that ya gotta 'go back online' to get a BB and wait 'until it comes in'?

No local bike shop have the BB is the vicinity of $ compared to 'online' even when considering shipping and time?

Small nit I know but..like I said, I own a little shop.

[rounder]

No local bike shop have the BB is the vicinity of $ compared to 'online' even when considering shipping and time?



Small nit I know but..like I said, I won a little shop.

oldpotatoe, I have bought lots of things from local bike shops over the years and still do today (even though most of the shops are over an hour away). Our only local-local bike shop carries only a limited selection of parts. I inquired about ordering an alloy handlebar and king headset from them during the past 6 months. The price for each of them was over $200 plus shipping, paid for in advance. The people there are friendly and i would like to help them by giving them my business, but for me the cost of ordering parts from them is not reasonable.

[Dekonick]

[QUOTE=rounder]Smiley is being overly gracious.

"So, i showed up today with parts in hand. Smiley asked, so where is the bottom bracket? Huh, bottom bracket not included with set (need to go back on-line). So anyway, Kelly did a great job on the bike. Smiley did a great job in the fit and organization process. Bike will be ready to go when the bottom bracket comes in.'

-Gonna pick a nit here. Yes, I know, but I own a bike shop so-

Whole bike is there plus parts to be built but forgot BB. Is the money saved SO huge that ya gotta 'go back online' to get a BB and wait 'until it comes in'?

No local bike shop have the BB is the vicinity of $ compared to 'online' even when considering shipping and time?

Small nit I know but..like I said, I won a little shop.

Do you carry 111 campy english thread Record square taper BB's? Heck - I'll settle for a SS Phil or even a Chorus...

Do you stock Campy cassette's?

Etc...

For me, I usually am forced to go to the web... unless I need something simple like a tube.

[palincss]

What makes it worse is when you special order from a LBS the orders only go out once a week, and if you pick the wrong day of the week, time to receive the item from the LBS can exceed delivery time online by quite a bit.

Here's another one: last time I needed a rim it took the LBS 2 weeks to determine they couldn't find a wholesaler who had the rim I needed. No way to get it, period. It took me just 2 minutes to find an online retailer who had the rim in stock. I ordered it with regular delivery -- I had, after all, been waiting over 2 weeks so I wasn't in any particular hurry -- and it arrived the next day.

[93legendti]

Pics man!!! We need pictures!

Boy it is good to see so much steel again! Magical ride when done right. Kelly does it right.

:)
This thread is one big tease....

[93legendti]

[QUOTE=rounder]Smiley is being overly gracious.

"So, i showed up today with parts in hand. Smiley asked, so where is the bottom bracket? Huh, bottom bracket not included with set (need to go back on-line). So anyway, Kelly did a great job on the bike. Smiley did a great job in the fit and organization process. Bike will be ready to go when the bottom bracket comes in.'

-Gonna pick a nit here. Yes, I know, but I own a bike shop so-

Whole bike is there plus parts to be built but forgot BB. Is the money saved SO huge that ya gotta 'go back online' to get a BB and wait 'until it comes in'?

No local bike shop have the BB is the vicinity of $ compared to 'online' even when considering shipping and time?

Small nit I know but..like I said, I won a little shop.
I'm with you. I have 4-5 grouppos in my garage, but there's usually something missing when I drop off a build at my lbs - so I buy the rear der., brakes, chain or cogset from the lbs. If nothing else, it beats the hassle of driving home, ordering, waiting and driving to drop off the item at the lbs. Time is money and gas is over $3 a gallon now.

In returen they do a lot of free stuff for me, give me a 10% discount I never asked for and do stuff for me while I'm waiting. Sometimes, more ends up being less.

[oldpotatoe]

[QUOTE=oldpotatoe]

Do you carry 111 campy english thread Record square taper BB's? Heck - I'll settle for a SS Phil or even a Chorus...

Do you stock Campy cassette's?

Etc...

For me, I usually am forced to go to the web... unless I need something simple like a tube.

I do have 111mm C-Record cup and ball BBs, ITL also(expensive tho-$250, NOS). I have Centaur in BSC and ITL, 111mm, compatible. I have Centaur and Veloce cogsets, 9s and 10s. i have Record 8s cogsets, I have Chorus 11s cogsets. I have 102 for double and 111 for triple Campagnolo BBs also, BSC and ITL. I do have a Phil BB and English cups.

ETC..I have all the small innards for ERGO, hoods, pulleys, chains, etc., etc.

[oldpotatoe]

No local bike shop have the BB is the vicinity of $ compared to 'online' even when considering shipping and time?



Small nit I know but..like I said, I won a little shop.

oldpotatoe, I have bought lots of things from local bike shops over the years and still do today (even though most of the shops are over an hour away). Our only local-local bike shop carries only a limited selection of parts. I inquired about ordering an alloy handlebar and king headset from them during the past 6 months. The price for each of them was over $200 plus shipping, paid for in advance. The people there are friendly and i would like to help them by giving them my business, but for me the cost of ordering parts from them is not reasonable.

So you are saying they charge $200 for a CK headset that costs them $76 and normally sells for $125?

My point is that most(and most if not all of the formites here are consumers, not retailers) of the posters on this forum are spring loaded to MO/Online ordering of everything. Need a bolt? Jenson. Need a brake part? MO..there are some decent bike shops around, but from the responses here most have given up on them. Maybe I'm jaded or really an expert in ordering(I know it's not that, it's easy to carry what sells) but I'll bet there are more decent bike shops than appear here.

[Dekonick]

Damn!!! I wish your bike shop was in my hood! It is near impossible to find anything Campy in stock, much less old school Campy... at any of the local shops around me.

Kudo's!!! Well done!!! :banana: :hello: :beer:

[rounder]

So you are saying they charge $200 for a CK headset that costs them $76 and normally sells for $125?

My point is that most(and most if not all of the formites here are consumers, not retailers) of the posters on this forum are spring loaded to MO/Online ordering of everything. Need a bolt? Jenson. Need a brake part? MO..there are some decent bike shops around, but from the responses here most have given up on them. Maybe I'm jaded or really an expert in ordering(I know it's not that, it's easy to carry what sells) but I'll bet there are more decent bike shops than appear here.

I am saying that the LBS wanted to charge more than $200 for the headset. In fairness, they are more after first time buyers than people like me, and there are some excellent shops within driving distance. I like bike shops. My favorite bike shop of all time was 5 miles from here, but they closed over 15 years ago...not because of me...i spent all i had there. The owner is still a good friend. Sometimes though, the buyer has to realize that things are expensive and there are only so many frns and there is only so much available time for shopping.

[Smiley]

Campy parts are much cheaper over seas than even US based on line retailers. My shop has tried to match clients parts purchases from Total Cycling and others for campy and could not touch the deals they had. So I have no idea how many middle men touch parts before they get into consumers hands stateside. Its true that bicycles and parts parts in particular have really gone up in price over the last 5-7 years. Take into account the obsolecence of 8 to 9 to 10 speed drive trains which further drives up pricing with the latest and greatest in technology. I can't afford a Durace cassette anymore and don't even think of buying a Campy Super Record 11 speed cassette. So when a consumer tries to find a better price on line where the blame should go is in the stupid distribution channels these parts come through. Do these channels add any value to the cost of these parts??

[oldpotatoe]

Campy parts are much cheaper over seas than even US based on line retailers. My shop has tried to match clients parts purchases from Total Cycling and others for campy and could not touch the deals they had. So I have no idea how many middle men touch parts before they get into consumers hands stateside. Its true that bicycles and parts parts in particular have really gone up in price over the last 5-7 years. Take into account the obsolecence of 8 to 9 to 10 speed drive trains which further drives up pricing with the latest and greatest in technology. I can't afford a Durace cassette anymore and don't even think of buying a Campy Super Record 11 speed cassette. So when a consumer tries to find a better price on line where the blame should go is in the stupid distribution channels these parts come through. Do these channels add any value to the cost of these parts??

That's not the issue. Online(mostly UK based) have found a way to buy things 'back channel' and they are artifically priced low. As the manufacturers look more closely into this, these will dry up. They did for shimano in general, they will for Campagnolo. There is one distribution level in the US for parts. Manufacturer->distributor-reseller. Same for overseas. The difference is what the distributor is paying in the UK and what the margin is for the reseller.

The other 'issue' was my original post..how this gent is eager to get this beautiful machine ready, forgot the BB and his first response was '"gotta get back online', rather than trundle on down to a bike shop and buy one immediately. If no Local bike shop has it, well that's a different issue.

I have no problem with anybody finding great prices on 'stuff', since they then bring it to me and I do the service(service based shop). I fault the manufacturer for not controlling distribution and pricing. Campagnolo is awful at this as is sram. I think both just want to sell it, to anybody at any price.

[AngryScientist]

i'll just throw out there that i live in the nyc metro area, there are 6 bike shops within 10 miles of me. when my last chain unexpectedly gave up, and i needed one quick, i called ALL of those 6 shops, and NONE of them had a campy chain. fortunately the dura-ace one i wound up with shifts great, but the point was that none of them even stocked a chain!

of course they could all order it, but c'mon, if you dont stock a campy 10-sp chain, forget all the other italian parts.

[rugbysecondrow]

I will call the local shops for prices and availability, but going to local shop route often takes more of my time than ordering it. I might have 3 days to wait for the part, but not time to make it to the shop by 7pm during the week.


Back to the point of the thread, thanks for what you do Smiley!

[SamIAm]

You guys that have access to Smiley are lucky indeed. I wish I had him down here.

[oldpotatoe]

i'll just throw out there that i live in the nyc metro area, there are 6 bike shops within 10 miles of me. when my last chain unexpectedly gave up, and i needed one quick, i called ALL of those 6 shops, and NONE of them had a campy chain. fortunately the dura-ace one i wound up with shifts great, but the point was that none of them even stocked a chain!

of course they could all order it, but c'mon, if you dont stock a campy 10-sp chain, forget all the other italian parts.

Well, they are just being lazy. Campagnolo stuff, including chains, come from the same distributors that have all the shimano stuff.

[130R]

i don't care how nice a lbs is. if they are charging 200 bucks for something that costs $125 msrp, i would seriously look them in the eye and politely ask if they were crazy and never go back in.

bumping the price a little to help with paying the bills is ok...

but ripping people off isn't.