Best and worst build experiences....

[2manyoranges]

I am beginning to tear my hair out over contemporary frame-up builds...just so many different standards- particularly frustrating around BBs, chainsets and chainlines. And much work needed to calculate the right dropper length and the right dropper model - curved seattubes presenting considerable problem-solving. So this immediately invokes ‘..grief it was much easier in the past ...’ - 135 rear spacing, 100 front, only need to mess with bb axle length to get the crankset sorted. I remember a lovely build of a Marin Team Ti in 1995 - just order PACE forks from Stif, and then fit. Order Sugino chainset from Merlin and then fit. And so on. Spanner, spanner, spanner, and here comes a lovely machine....And then I remember a nightmare Klein build in 1992, using the Mavic Dakar groupset - and sorting the chainset and front mech function was such a headache - in fact it never worked properly, despite having all the right OEM spacers for the the fat tubes. Grrrrr.

And my best build ever? ... actually a recent jump bike build. So simple...just whack in a bolt in axle conversion to the Hope rear hub, and then everything else just slots into place...bop, bop, bop....done.

Anyone else?....

 

[hookooekoo]

I'm getting the feeling that it's deliberate. Create so many different standards and so many incompatibilities, that people give up trying to upgrade, reuse, and recycle, and just buy a whole new ready-built bike.

I thought cycling was supposed to be environmentally friendly. Never mind, I suppose energy recovery via incineration is a viable means of recycling all those used carbon fibre frames.

 

[d8mok]

Personally I find modern builds very simple.

All the info you need is online. Everything fits as it should.

If a pair of wheels are wrong axle it’s simple usually to change it. If the free hub needs changing - swap it out. BB’s adjusted with spacers for correct chain line , brakes which fit everything now.

5 mins on google and any bike is a easy build with the correct bits.

 

[mattr]

Not really, 5 minutes of doing some really basic checks and most modern kit slots together.

Internal routing can be a pain if it's badly planned/designed/made.

 

[tintin40]

worst moment dropping a spanner and damaging the paint on the just out the box frame. Or x threading a BB cup on a new frame. I must relax more with new frames