Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Lee Diamond on September 18, 2009 at 3:12pm

Everyone has their little particular pieces of gear that they favor for most builds. For me, it is about achieving great function for low bucks. I find there to be a wide variety of easy options for things, so the question is where you go for each thing, and what the use is. So here are some common things I would use in a build:

Pedals - Forte Campus pedals - they are awesome for the money. Either $40 or $30 onsale. They are sturdym all metal pedals with mountain bike SPD on one side and flats on the other. They are perfect since many people ride with those cleats and if not, the other side is good to go. I have them on almost all of my builds that don't have otherwise good clip or clipless options.

Aluminum Bars - seriously people, I have no money to waste on bars. I have to lose about 20 pounds before I worry about shaving grams off of my handlebars, and if someone is borrowing one of our bikes, they can suffer through the abuses of aluminum bars. Puh and Leeze. I can buy these used in good shape for $10 -$15 a piece.

Cranks - oh my goodness people. People are selling quite lovely Dura Aces, campy and whatnot for insane cheap. Look at the average price of the completed sales on ebay. I have never ever paid over $50 for a crankset and have several Dura Aces, Campy Records, Ultegra, etc. That is just a little over the price of a decent chainring. Conversions are easy to use double cranks with and keep your chainline in good shape.

Bottom Brackets - see what I said about Cranks. Crazy good but then, a little more risky since the bottom bracket is subject to possibly more problems in a used sale, but I have been lucky and usually score excellent components for cheap. I favor loose bearings.

Stems, Seatposts, Headsets and Bottom Brackets - the same bike I am working on. Quite honestly, there are times where these older parts are infinitely durable and in excellent working order with minimal fuss. I greatly prefer quil stems to all other stems for their quick and low-fuss adjustability. For fitting a multitude of people on the bikes, it is hard to beat. Seatposts are almost always just fine if you don't care about shaving weight, which I don't. Bottom brackets and headsets will often be loose bearing, and as long as they aren't pitted, they are probably rocking (in a good way - not in a wobbly way) with some cleaning, new grease, and possibly new bearings.

Headsets when needed - Tange Levin Alloy 1" threaded - smooth, cheap, durable and worry free. Light enough.


I think it is worth noting that I have a great sense and need of economy. I build a dozen bikes at a time, none for sale, and have to keep the tight grip on cost so that, not necessarily pizzaz or ultra-best quality or lightness are my priorities.

Cheers all - Lee

Permalink Reply by Primitive Don on September 29, 2009 at 7:47am

Great list, Lee. I too look out for nicer cranksets, although I haven't snagged anything super nice yet.

I'd say my favorite source of parts for bike builds are donor bikes, basically undesirable/trashed/ugly frames with nice parts. I found a full Shimano 600 Arabesque group in great shape on a Ross Professional that was poorly advertised on Craigslist (no model name, bad photo, ignorant seller), and recently found an even better deal on a crappy looking Sanwa (frame decals removed, kinda rusty) with another 600 group that cleaned up nicely; no 600 brakes on this one though.

Similarly, I often buy or trade parts with other bike builder buddies; I got a newer 600 crankset with a 42T chainring from a friend who threw in a cartridge bottom bracket for free. I put it on my old Schwinn LeTour commuter, and the difference is night and day from the stock cranks and old BB.

I also look for fixed gear builders who sell or give away parts on CL. Often the stuff they throw out is just what I'm looking for. Of course, I'm fine with vintage mid-range and low end stuff, as long as it works. I love Suntour components; even the low end stuff works. A fixed gear builder friend gave me a box full of Suntour parts including a nice Cyclone rear derailleur.

And for maximum bike part karma, I will give away parts periodically on the 'Pay It Forward' thread on Bike Forums Classic and Vintage forum. I offered up a set of Raleigh branded Suntour derailleurs last night, and they were claimed in under 2 minutes.

Permalink Reply by DanaW on October 2, 2009 at 3:46am

Howdy builders. Does anybody have in their box of goodies a quill stem w/ a 110 mm reach? Maybe...black?