[Closed] Never built a bike before - when to ask for help?

Park tools website has a lot of info. Also sheldon brown's one is an encyclopedia of the bicycle.

Main learning curve will be the headset and fork fitting. The proper tools to do this would run you a few hundred quid, but it can be bodged for around a tenner. Not even bodged, really, as you can do it with good care and attention using household stuff.

Maybe get the LBS to do this and ask if you can observe? One I used to use in Edinburgh would fit a fork and headset for £15 - which is nothing really to see it done professionally.

+1 for headset. Forks are easy, pipe cutter from wickes, measure twice, cut once. Theres loads of stuff online.

Just built my first bike from start to finish. Nothing more satisfying. You tube is your friend.

+1 for getting the headset fitted, rest is just a matter of screwing together. The headset is the one you van get wrong.

After that you tube and the instructions that come with stuff.

I'd say don't cut the steerer to any significance until you have a few rides in and are happy with stem/bar fit and fork travel. Do that first.

A headset press is 30 or 40 quid, not hundreds. Lots of people fit headset cups without any specialist tools at all.

There's probably no need at all to go near a bike shop, try and do as much as you can yourself.

If you're using an external BB (Shimano Hollowtech 2, or Sram GXP for instance) in an "English threaded" frame, (you probably are) you just screw the cups in, remembering the driveside is reverse threaded.

It ain't rocket science.

If you're using an external BB it may be worth having the LBS face the BB shell if you have them do the headset.

Cheers,
Jamie

For the headset tool I just followed a YouTube video and bought a length of threaded steel rod, two nuts to fit and a couple of large square washers. Total cost about £3.50. Hardest job was seating the crown race.

I'm in the process of building up a frame i got on ebay (+bits i got from people on here..). I was going to make my own tool like Bregante said, but my LBS fitted the headset for £10 (frame was already faced) so I let the pro's do it. If you plan on building more bikes in the future then buy/make the tools to do it. Its very satisfying to know how all the parts go together.

If it all goes wrong its just an excuse to get another bike 🙂

Ive just finished my first build this morning. Although there was a few unknows along the way i found it very easy and just took it for a car park type test ride and everything works purrfect.even the gears which i found were a doddle (1x10).

For rear derailleur this is what i did...

1. Undo cable clamp bolt
2. Tighten barrel adjuster fully then slacken off by a full turn
3. Adjust high limit screw (small sprocket)
4. Pull cable taught (not too tight) and tightenclamp bolt
5. The gear should now shift up
6. Change into low gear and set low limit screw (big sprocket)
7. Adjust B-screw so the derailleur is as close to largest sprocket as possible whilst still shifting proerly.

That method worked a treat for me but im sue there are other ways to set it up too

Even the tubless tyres were easy (ive converted my other bike to tubeless and even tho that was easy enough this time it was stupidly easy-MKii on flows). Tyres pumped up using a track pump without even removing valve core and no soap. Did it in the lounge this morning.

For the Bb press i bought a M20 bolt and 50mm square washers, all for less than £5 and it worked a treat.

Many thanks for the advice. Will probably get LBS to fit BB, headset and fork.

Am I right in saying you can fit any crankset, and any rear hub to a single speed - or does the hub have to be ss specific?

BB and fork are easy to do, headset cups require patience so maybe go LBS for that. I see 200mm as a regular benchmark for steerer amount, pretty much go with enough to have some spacers either side of the stem. I have 20mm beneath and 10mm above and it happens to be just right, but I'm fine with the excess. Hacksaw to chop (tape a marker first), file to tidy up. I prefer Hope Head Doctors to star nuts which are easy to fit and more reliable IME. The crown race if not split already can be cut with a hacksaw which makes them soooooooo much easier to fit and remove.

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Assuming you've got external BB cups, give the shell a measure to see whether you need spacers (yes if 68mm, 2 on the drive side). Grease the threads, don't force it. Double check which cup is which and the direction which is probably printed on the cup.

The mechs and cables may give you the most headache 😉

There's an abundance of old threads on here for all sorts and a fair amount on youtube. You can always ask on here as you go, you'll have lots of help offered.

Chainline matters with singlespeed, if it has 135mm (normal) rear spacing an adapted cassette or singlespeed wheel will position the sprocket inline with the middle ring up front. Or should do. Some SS parts are specifically tweakable for this. Square taper BBs come in different widths which will affect this, ISIS and Octalink may also. Some wonk is ok, but you want it straight for stealth.

any rear hub to a single speed - or does the hub have to be ss specific?

I'm not sure about [i]any[/i] but a standard triple crankset and normal splined cassette hub are fine.

Use the middle position of the triple for your chainring (buy some short bolts).

Get a set of spacers and a cog of your choice (of tooth count) for the hub. Use the spacers in whatever combo positions the cog in line with the chainring. A dead straight chain is one of the sweet pleasures of SSing.

Velosolo and On One have bits and kits for all this.

I just built my first bike, and to be honest I found it quite easy.

Used a lidll toolkit, bought a spanner and socket for the hollow tech bottom bracket (although I'm not convinced I needed to), m16 bolt and washers for fitting the headset and a piece of plastic pipe to fit the crown race.

A bike stand would of been handy, but managed without one.

Only mistake I think I made was getting centre lock wheels and bolt on brake discs, so had to get an adapterr for the discs, and they don't seem to run quite true. Delighted with my bike tho 🙂

Best bit of advice I have is: if a bottom bracket won't screw in by hand ie without a tool until you need to do the last couple of turns to tighten then take the frame to a bike shop for the threads to be chased through. It should go in easily if it doesn't there is an issue brute force will only ever make worse.