Is the price of parts putting you off?

[Tootyred]

LGF is correct once again.....landrovers have no indexing......of any nature. Gears also seem to be an optional extra as does actually moving on most.

 

[was8v]

Lol as is the retro bike community. You could run a new 9speed altus mech on your 7speed overburys......

 

[KermitGKona88]

Lol as is the retro bike community. You could run a new 9speed altus mech on your 7speed overburys......

9 speed X0 maybe

 

[TreaderSteve]

Buy bits when you see them, even if you don't immediately need them is what I've generally done. Decent bits, not at top price, as-&-when.
I've not got a mega-stash of RIngle or anything, but good useable stuff I will hopefully eventually use in the forthcoming years. Hubs, cassettes, chainrings, a mech here or there. A few rims. But then I don't build unicorn-type bikes and don't need to hold-out for that set of Grafton cantis at a 'reasonable' price, which will probably never happen now.
There are bargains - I forgot about a set of LX cantis that was on my watch-list that went cheap in the USA with decent postage a few months back. Included a red MOJO hanger. For the price of the LX cantis.

 

[mr_ship]

Saw these Yeti grips go the other day, 112 quid!
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rare-Tur...wmqFJq3K7k%3D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc

 

[pw_pw_la]

Normally, I don't post in threads bitching about pricing. It's the law of the jungle, supply and demand and all that.

However, how you framed the OP is very thought provoking. Well done to you for that, it got my two brain cells rubbing together.

When I see you framed it all down to only two options, I think you have missed some tricks.

- NIB the moment it is out of the box, and installed it is roughly -30% the original price.
- A complete bike is never worth the sum of it's parts. For this to be untrue, we are talking something absolutely and historically extraordinary; which you don't appear to be in the game for.
- The bike industry is a fashion industry. Waves, re-inventions, nostalgia, new, exciting, been, has been, new fangled, bees knees, etc. etc.

The two options you state above to "survive" in the price whacko game don't take the above into account. The way this hobby pays for itself is splitting and flipping. I saw posts above against all this, but the bottom line is if you want that RD, you buy a complete bike with it, then flip the rest. You will end up with the RD for nothing, a spare BB possibly, a frame to piss about with and try for knowledge reasons, and if you did it right a little profit selling what you don't want by refurbing cleaning bits to extend your hobby either sideways (buy more equal value tat) or vertically up (higher end exotica for that Paul Rasta mech) or pay for a new fridge that broke last week (trade the XT FD in for LX FD which would do fine for your daily rider with no noticeable differance).

Many projects here are all about investment and the long waiting game. As mentioned about "hoarders" even though they don't know what it is for, it is exactly the right approach. Parts die and wear (except for that Paul Rasta rear mech which just changes hands and sits in a glass cabinet or next to the coffee table read (it certainly does not get thrashed)) and anyone with any sense does have an attic of bits waiting for that frame to come along. Those who have the frame but not the bits will be forced to sell the frame at some point, and those with the bits in the attic waiting will have a magnificent build at a good price.

Going to Ebay to buy parts is a money pit, but with some thought and investment, it can be turned around completely where you are not on the shafted end of the equation. All that said, it's good you are contributing with thought provoking questions and are also willing to invest in time for refurbishments which takes skill and practice. That alone, I can't see how you could feel a bit depressed, and dare I say, a looser in this hobby, most people want click to buy immediate gratification and only get satisfaction from purchasing.

Perhaps time you set a different level of a project? One that uses your skills (and kinder on the environment) and not your bank account or bike economy thinking?

Anyhow, peeps, all the best for 2022! I'm going to fully rat arsed in a moment!

Great comments.

Great thread.

As someone adverse to making commonsense decisions in regards to money, and certainly selling things I have that are worth some in order to fund others I want and can't afford, this very much hit home.

I'd like to try this approach more this year.

That said, sometimes those flippable goldmines are still just out of reach.

I get paid weekly by my job, and I build my bikes (or have thus far) on a paycheck-to-paycheck basis. Usually I have just enough floating around after bills and life expenses to purchase one small part here and there every couple of checks. Or save a few for a more major purchase.

But coming up with a couple hundred to a thousand dollars to invest in a full bike to get a part I want and flip the rest is often just out of financial reach.

Case in point: a Craigslist mint M2 Stumpy that showed up last night. It has the perfect perforated WTB co-branded Prolong I want/need on it. But the seller won't sell only the saddle (fair enough), and in fact got angry that I even asked! The bike is a grand. I could probably/easily flip that for parts and profit, but I don't have the grand. And by the time I do, saving in weekly increments, said bike will be long gone.

Also, there's another problem here: space. I don't have any! So taking on a full bike to break-down and part-out isn't realistic unless I already have a buyer organized before it arrives.

Anyway, I'm not even sure what I'm getting at here. I guess just that there are a multiple factors involved for everyone in order to maintain this pastime and passion of ours. And I've really enjoyed reading everyone's feedback in this thread.

Really glad you started it Toots!

I think I'm somewhere between the guy that just wants a handful of bikes to thrash around on, and the guy that really enjoys the thrill of the chase and buying parts and bikes that appeal/inspire me.

Some parts I just obsess over; they fascinate me. And thinking about finding them, and the right build for them, is a really enjoyable part of this whole thing for me. Who doesn't daydream their future builds in bed at night beside the wife, or on the long drive to work?

That said, the other day I was out riding, dealing with various shifting issues, and thinking: "Balls. Now I have to dump a bunch more money into this one, so that it just rides the way I want."

Spending money again on parts for a bike you've already built... now that's anxiety inducing right now looking around at prices!

 

[novocaine]

Gods truth, the price of everything is putting me off at the moment never mind bike parts. Another tight January followed by a tight February before energy goes up again along with NI. Any pay rise i see this year will be void before i get it.
So yes, cost of parts is going up and ues it puts me off building anything that isnt already in my stock pile.

 

[Woz]

Another part of the equation buying individual parts vs a complete bike is the logistics / delivery cost.

Figures from La Poste:
250 gram = 4.95 €
15 Kg = 26.40 €

So, x 5 individual parts purchased roughly the same as a complete bike. It is eye watering where the money is going.

 

[ted andkilde]

As has been mentioned, COVID has brought the "Chancers" out in droves. They're easy to spot, new accounts, more eBay listings than posts, lots of flowery language about how their wares are "rare", "bespoke" or connected to someone famous whose name they've misspelled. It's kind of a shame, but inevitable, the road bike and BMX guys have been inundated with all of these "get rich quick" clowns for ages. My advice? Go get muddy, donate a bit of blood to the forest, build a circle of friends and enjoy yourself.

 

[d8mok]

Great comments.

Great thread.

As someone adverse to making commonsense decisions in regards to money, and certainly selling things I have that are worth some in order to fund others I want and can't afford, this very much hit home.

I'd like to try this approach more this year.

That said, sometimes those flippable goldmines are still just out of reach.

I get paid weekly by my job, and I build my bikes (or have thus far) on a paycheck-to-paycheck basis. Usually I have just enough floating around after bills and life expenses to purchase one small part here and there every couple of checks. Or save a few for a more major purchase.

But coming up with a couple hundred to a thousand dollars to invest in a full bike to get a part I want and flip the rest is often just out of financial reach.

Case in point: a Craigslist mint M2 Stumpy that showed up last night. It has the perfect perforated WTB co-branded Prolong I want/need on it. But the seller won't sell only the saddle (fair enough), and in fact got angry that I even asked! The bike is a grand. I could probably/easily flip that for parts and profit, but I don't have the grand. And by the time I do, saving in weekly increments, said bike will be long gone.

Also, there's another problem here: space. I don't have any! So taking on a full bike to break-down and part-out isn't realistic unless I already have a buyer organized before it arrives.

Anyway, I'm not even sure what I'm getting at here. I guess just that there are a multiple factors involved for everyone in order to maintain this pastime and passion of ours. And I've really enjoyed reading everyone's feedback in this thread.

Really glad you started it Toots!

I think I'm somewhere between the guy that just wants a handful of bikes to thrash around on, and the guy that really enjoys the thrill of the chase and buying parts and bikes that appeal/inspire me.

Some parts I just obsess over; they fascinate me. And thinking about finding them, and the right build for them, is a really enjoyable part of this whole thing for me. Who doesn't daydream their future builds in bed at night beside the wife, or on the long drive to work?

That said, the other day I was out riding, dealing with various shifting issues, and thinking: "Balls. Now I have to dump a bunch more money into this one, so that it just rides the way I want."

Spending money again on parts for a bike you've already built... now that's anxiety inducing right now looking around at prices!

Some really good points.

Someone described it the other day as a delicate eco system and that is totally the best description

As many know I split quite a few bikes as well as owning quite a few too. I always try to price less than market and to be honest if a item is in stock more than a week I reduce it daily. Nothing really stays more than 2 weeks unless it’s niche/tat. Quick turn and also end up with the parts I need for free.

The cheapest way to get parts is to buy full bikes and split as mentioned. Some don’t have the funds or space as above. On a whole I don’t think people have issue with any of this as people get the parts they need and without much hassle. Click of a button the part is with you next day whilst I’m knee deep in cleaning/packaging at 9pm.

I know a few members do take issue with this method as they always like a dig but they are more than welcome to do the same and use their cash/time/space.

If the parts were worth next to nothing the whole thing collapses as people wouldn’t spend their time fetching , breaking , cleaning and posting items. It’s time consuming with lots of risk of broken parts too.