Cost of custom bike assembly

Hi! Could anyone help please? What's the typical cost of labor in workshops to build a bike from components? If I bought a frame and all the necessary components separately, how much would it cost to install crankset, brakes, derailleurs, shifters, all cables, cut a fork post, press headset cups etc? And can you recommend inexpensive, but still good bike workshop in north-west suburbs, that works on Saturdays or Sundays? 

Thanx

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Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on November 29, 2013 at 5:13am

Expect to pay around 200 for a complete bike build.  Also expect there to be incidentals and wrong parts; I have built precious few bikes where the customer remembered all he parts and got them all right.

It is also probably not going to be a super short turn around and expect to have some fit time on it so they know where to cut your fork.

Permalink Reply by Steve Ignots on November 29, 2013 at 8:08am

Try Bike Connection, too

http://www.bikeconnection.com/

Permalink Reply by Nikolay Kolotey on November 29, 2013 at 9:08am

Thanx. I've just returned from Village Cycles, they roughly estimated their work at about $40, not expensive at all. Haven't tried others yet.

notoriousDUG,

$200 sounds sad, if this is really common price, it will be cheaper to buy (or borrow) all the necessary toolsets and build it myself. I know how to fit and where to cut - I'm going to buy almost the same frame I already used before.

Permalink Reply by Nikolay Kolotey on November 29, 2013 at 10:18am

Ok, thanx. The store I was today is in Arlington Hights, on Rand Road (link that you gave me).

Permalink Reply by OLB 0.1 on November 29, 2013 at 11:02am
Village Cycle Sport also has some of the best end-of-season/tent/moving sale pricing I've seen. The shop on Rand is bigger than the previous one across the street. They've always been friendly when I've visited.
Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on November 29, 2013 at 11:02am

Good luck with that; most shops charge that, or close to it, just to press in a headset.

Considering a headset press is almost $140 you are probably not going to be better off buying all the tools you need to properly assemble a bike.

Nikolay Kolotey said:

Thanx. I've just returned from Village Cycles, they roughly estimated their work at about $40, not expensive at all. Haven't tried others yet.

notoriousDUG,

$200 sounds sad, if this is really common price, it will be cheaper to buy (or borrow) all the necessary toolsets and build it myself. I know how to fit and where to cut - I'm going to buy almost the same frame I already used before.

Permalink Reply by Drewbacca on November 29, 2013 at 1:36pm

Village Cycle Sport is decent... I frequent the Elk Grove store. $40 doesn't sound right to me so be sure to get it in writing. I would have guessed $100, at least. Most shops offer a full rebuild in the winter months in the $160-200 area. A full build would likely cost at least half of that ($80-100). The winter build fee is likely your best price.

Permalink Reply by Drewbacca on November 29, 2013 at 1:38pm

Only if you are buying the best. A decent press can be found in the $50 area. You can build your own for $10 (although I wouldn't recommend that for most people).

notoriousDUG said:

Considering a headset press is almost $140 you are probably not going to be better off buying all the tools you need to properly assemble a bike.

Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on November 29, 2013 at 2:34pm

I'll stick with using good ones...

Drewbacca said:

Only if you are buying the best. A decent press can be found in the $50 area. You can build your own for $10 (although I wouldn't recommend that for most people).

notoriousDUG said:

Considering a headset press is almost $140 you are probably not going to be better off buying all the tools you need to properly assemble a bike.

Permalink Reply by Will on November 30, 2013 at 4:38am
Not in your area, but I wholeheartedly recommend Turin on Damen near Lawrence. They're open on the weekends. Seriously nice and helpful people. They helped me prep a Soma ES frame and fork I built up in June, and they were great.

Most bike shops charge $100-200 for a build, plus any missing bits or unexpected snags. You usually get what you pay for.
Permalink Reply by Christopher Wallace on November 30, 2013 at 12:55pm

The cost of building a bike can be up front or spread out over time. Wheels that are non-destructively pre-stressed to 150 Kgf round to +/- 0.03mm tensioned to 100Kgf Front- 120Kgf Drive side Rear. Will keep quality spokes from fatigue breaks for 10 to 15 years of hard use. Or you can spend $20 each spoke to replace them as they break in a few years. Ten broken spokes are more than the cost of labor to have an excellent wheel built, minus all the time you would spend on each visit to the bike shop and the frustration of a bike not being reliable. 

Seldom does the least expensive product or service, take care of the needs of a cyclist. When you want a reliable ride, invest your time and resources. You will seldom be dissapointed

Permalink Reply by Tricolor on December 1, 2013 at 3:08am

Or the Recyclery near the Howard station.  I pressed in the headset and cut the fork for my bike there.

Website seems to be down; maybe they're gone.

Putting a whole bike together takes a number of hours so $200 is pretty reasonable for a mechanic's time.

h' 1.0 said:

Someone should also mention West Town Bikes:

http://westtownbikes.org

A fully equipped bike workshop/ donation-based.

Show up reasonably early on a Saturday and you should be able to get it done before close.

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