There is an adage that goes "a farmer ain't worth a nickel if he can't field strip his tractor." What does that mean? It means if there is a breakdown in the middle of a field, who better to fix it but the person driving the rig.
Draw the parallel. You're out on a century with your club, say 60 miles in and suddenly you hear a noise you haven't heard before. It's a tick or a creak, and it's annoying. Your club members comment and you're embarrassed.
This could go one of two ways: You could ride on perhaps separating yourself from the group to give them relief, (or tell them to plug in their headphones and turn up the music).
The second option would require you to stop, hop off the bike, pull off your toolkit, make the adjustment and continue down the road in silence.
The lynchpin in this discussion is your knowledge of the mechanics of your bike. The rule is simple - the more you know, the more you can fix, and the mechanics of a bicycle are simple. Really.
My point is if you choose to build your bike as opposed to merely buying one off the shelf, your knowledge of how it works, (or how it doesn't work) expands exponentially.
The other advantage provided by building your bike is your ability to customize the componentry and get precisely what you want. There are limitations, but the essential idea is you can do mix and or match components to your liking and understand exactly what works best for you.
The costs are about the same, but the hitch is you'll need some tools, a bike stand, a space to work on it and the time to put it together, test it and make any adjustments. But again, there is a large number of web resources available to help you along the way.
So to assist you in your decision provided below are some resources. These are just the tip of web-based instructions on how to do just about anything on a bike.
Build or Buy? - -
Why you should build your own.
The Helpful ins and outs. - -
A beginners guide to building your own
Custom Dream Bikes - -
A guide to finding your own
Steel Frame Builders - -
Great builders from Gear Patrol
Dream Handmade Bikes - -
Outside Magazine's take.
10 Best Custom builders - -
From the 2018 NAHBS show
A basic list, but extremely helpful - -
How to build up a bike
Like most mechanical procedures, building a bike is a process. Every process has needs a check list. Here's one from an industry standard,
A Park Tools Guide to a building a bike.
Home Bike Shop
Ok, you're in slightly deeper than you thought - you've been riding for a while and have picked up a few bikes. The more you ride, the more you realize you're better off doing your mechanical work. You're better off because it gets expensive quickly and really, who wants to leave their bike in a shop when they could be out riding?
So you've decided to do your work. Good for you. It's not hard, and every new trick you learn applies to the mechanics of all your bikes.
Let's get started. The first step is to create a space to do the work.
Here are my top five considerations on doing your mechanical work:
1. No, the dishwasher won't clean parts.
2. The basement, garage or spare bedroom is the best place to set up your shop, not a corner of your living room.
3. Over time, you'll spend far less money on tools than you will on shop labor rates.
4. Keeping the shop clean is the best use of your time
5. You cannot have enough clean, accessible cotton rags.
There are several online resources offering tips and considerations for building your home shop. We've compiled many of them below.
Now, to get busy!
Building a home workshop - -
How to match your skills to your shop
Budget conscious builds - -
A shop for revery space and budget
Pinterest - -
Home bike shops
Google Images - -
Home shops
How to stock your shop with great tools. - -
ESSENTIAL tools!
Which tools to start with - -
From the best supplier.
