[Closed] New Bike Build - Where to Cut Costs?

“ but after years in bike shops I cannot stand cup and cone bearings.”

Did you not learn how to look after them in all that time?

Just pack them full of grease and adjust them properly from new and with very little maintenance after that they’ll last a lifetime.

I still have Deore DX hubs from the 90s working just fine.

Other cost cutting - just get Deore group set, don’t bother with fancy bars and stem, just get basic ones as the fancy brands don’t work any better.

agreed

I never ever remember to service hubs. By the time I do the bearing surfaces are shot and the hub goes in the bin. Shimano hubs are not an option!

Bugger that, I'm with you OP, can't be arsed with cup and cone. Don't care if that makes me lazy and slap dash, it doesn't fit in with how I want to look after bikes. New Deore is great tbh. I've got that on one bike and XT/XTR on another and there's not much in it TBH. I'd go cheap dropper but better lever.
Bars and stem I happily cheap out on as long as they were the right shape. Saddle, as long as it's the right shape then bugger the rail make up.
Spend on tyres and grips, and just make do with whatever brakes for the moment.

I would be quite happy with Deore groupset. But so far I've not found available anywhere. I want to avoid having a half built bike and waiting months for bits to come in stock.

Finishing kit isn't important these days, the bog standard stuff you get on bikes is good quality, so bars, stem, etc are usually good to go.

Dropper posts, i wouldn't pay much more for quality, i did by a revive for my bike, but that was due to overall length and trying to get more drop rather than being flash, i had the standard giant one before and it did the same job, they're not exactly cutting edge technology.

Wheels, if it's hunt or hope, just go for the best price, can't see much difference when you break it down, others on the market are similar, but guessing these are build choices?

Brakes again, do you need 4pot or can you live with 2pot, can cut the cost considerably, SLX are a good option if you want that balance with adjustability, weight and power, or SRAM Code Rs if you want them.

Transmission again, Deore groupset is all you need to start, SLX is a nice one to get if you can stretch, but cost wise there's probably not much saved these days with nothing available!

Not sure how much you can cut and how you can save, but frame/forks are the priorities, closely followed by wheels, everything else is easily tweakable through secondhand places over time.

Microshift stuff is very good value and as good as or better than the Shimano Deore/SLX kit.
Been running the 11spd XCD groupset for over a year now and it's been faultless.
Not sure whether there's stock around though.

Brand X dropper all the way. They're as good as posts 2-3 times the price.

The only obvious saving would be to downgrade the dropper, but I’ve never had a dropper so don’t know if this false economy.

It's not. The brand X dropper from CRC is great value for money.

Brand x dropper is totally functional - the only reason to really spend more is perhaps if a One-up means you can fit a bigger drop in the space you have.

Bars / stem are places to save money - very little point forking out for the likes of renthal and Hope here - other than for the bling factor.

Same with the saddle - you bike is going to be heavy as a steel 29er full suss so a few grams saved with fancier rails isn’t going to make a difference.

If you’re doing the whole build yourself someone linked to a bargain Pike 29er on CRC earlier - if there are still any left that could be a decent saving.

Rear shock - I think Cotic sell these with frame sets - I’d be inclined to go with the cane creek option here - either dbair il or dbcoil il.

Brakes - jut go with a strong but not bling option in your preferred brand. I like my code r’s but if you like Shimano the deore 4 pots are basically as strong as the Slx / xt models - just heavier and with a more basic hose entry to the caliper (no banjo I believe).

Tyres - don’t skimp too much here, but schwalbe / Michelin / Vitoria seem to be cheaper than Maxxis so shop around and find the best deal you can.

On wheels it depends if you’re buying from Cotic or sourcing yourself - I’d probably avoid Hunt and Hope tbh. Hunt have quite soft rims on the trail wheels and Hope have heavy rims for the strength. I’d look out either some DT Swiss wheels with their 350 hub or get some DT Swiss rims built onto something like Bitex hubs to save some cash.

Groupset wise you’re limited on what you can actually find in stock. Deore 12 speed is more serviceable than low end Sram - I wouldn’t drop below GX Eagle level personally. If you can find 11 speed Deore that’s very nearly got the same range as 12 speed - just loses the 10t highest cog. Sunrace maybe a good place to lose some cost on a cassette (if in stock).

Brand X dropper is a no brainer. My other pick would be deore brakes, 2 or 4 pot, both great. 2nd hand bar and stem from eBay also a no brainer. And one of the pikes from CRC of course 👍

I had a pretty strict budget to stick to on my last build and ended up getting a pair of Nukeproof Neutron v2 wheels vs hunt/hope etc (plus they were available). Not quite as light but not that heavy either and a fair bit cheaper. They have held up to plenty of abuse so far.

I could save £200 by going with Shimano wheels, but after years in bike shops I cannot stand cup and cone bearings. I guess that just leaves the choice of Hunt vs Hope wheels?

I have news for you, the Deore 12speed microspline hubs are cartridge bearing front and rear.

No cup, cone nor loose balls in sight.

https://bike.shimano.com/en-EU/product/component/deore-m6100/FH-MT410-B.html

+1 for the Brand-X dropper.

Scan the secondhand market for wheels and other parts - plenty of bargains on unused OEMs etc.

Same with brakes. I've just picked up brand new Formula Cura 2s for half-price. You could even get a set of genuine Deore's off Ali-Express for peanuts.

Shimano BBs are 'good' as they're cheap and they never last two years so you can just claim warranty. I'm on my 3rd Saint BB for the price of one.

Buy new consumables, tyres, chains, cassettes. Go for used wherever you can, shifters, mechs, brakes, wheel, bars, stem, etc
Maybe new forks as used can be very hit and miss.
Can often used XT/XTR for the price of new Deore and what could possibly go wrong with a used crank?

I agree with others recommending the 2nd hand market, especially if you're not in a rush to build it up. I'd be buying the frame, shock and probably forks from Cotic, and getting everything else 2nd hand. You'll end up with the bike you 'want' for a good amount less than the complete options I'd wager.

Brand X dropper is a no brained. They just work and cost waaaay less than a Reverb or other big brands. Agree also on bar and stem, Nukeproof do decent kit at sensible prices. If you are happy with Hope/Hunt prices on wheels I wouldn't discount a set of Mavic Crossmax for similar cost (plus Wiggle have them AFAIK). You can also purchase 3 year crash replacement on Mavics.

The discounted Pike from CRC is also a great money saver if they still have some.

Although I prefer SRAM, Deore is cheaper, works well and is durable.

Brakes wise I'd go with a set of Magura MT5 over Shimano purely because of the number of people who have had the typical "micro leak" issue with almost every level of Shimano brakes. You can pick up a pair of MT5 with rotors for under £200.

I've got both 4-pot Deore and 4-pot SLX. Very little reason to go up from Deore between those two IMO. But then in your shoes I'd look for 2nd hand across a long list of brands. And yeah, the reason to go with Shimano brakes is mostly price, so I'd only do that if it does turn out to be a good cost saving.

Also got both Brand-X and Bikeyoke droppers - the bikeyoke maybe has a user-serviceability advantage but the Brand-X is good and on a tight budget it's a no brainer.

If buying shimano 12s drive train bits by shopping around I'd say an XT shifter is worth a few quid extra for the double upshift and IMO deore mechs may be a false economy on longevity. But those upgrades from say Deore to XT total <£50 extra. And I'd normally consider cassette weights, but in today's market you probably don't have that luxury. That said, on a tight budget I reckon I'd go 11 speed anyway, and Sunrace cassette. And just generally loads of 2nd hand/shed stuff.

One thing to note with buying a Cotic, you can remove anything from the build, and they'll credit you the saving.

So when I bought my Flare Max I 'deleted' brakes, rotors, saddle and bars as I would use ones I already had.
I also choose a cheaper fork (as I was swapping in my Pike and using the X-Fusion on my HT). But I did pay for the upgraded Cane Creek shock, and it's been superb.

Also took the 0% finance even though I'd the cash - another saving.

Groupset-wise, are there any actually out there for sale, other than buying with a bike?

As above:

Shimano wheels - some new ones are cassette bearing, and if not just learn to maintain them.

Full Deore groupset.

Deore 4-pot or hunt down second hand Magura or Hope brakes.

Tyres - avoid the Uber popular Maxxis and Schwalbe, look for Hutchinson, Vittoria, Bontrager etc.

Own brand Madison saddle.

PNW dropper, the cheap one that is a BrandX but still cheap.

In the current climate it’s going to be limited by the extremely limited availability of, well, pretty much everything.

As above Cotic will sell you as much of a build as you want (I’ve never bought a whole bike off them, nearest was a mk1 SolarisMAX minus seatpin, saddle, bars and grips). Last time it was frame, forks, headset, dropper, mudguard and two bottom brackets... and the forks arrived 3 months late (due to availability issues).

Group sets are all like hens teeth and RRP. Wheels, you pays yer money... brakes, 4 pot are nice but I’ve 2 pot SLX on all mine and despite being a FF stop me well enough (but even then cheapest I saw lately was M7000 2 pots at £200). Beware, the rear hose requirement is long so be wary of secondhand when I took a set off my hardtail hose wasn’t long enough.

Secondhand is the only way really to save money. But that will need luck. For example I’ve just sold almost a complete bike to a mate because I had stuff kicking around (inc a boxed & unused 3x10 XT trans, not much use on a FlareMAX though!).

If you like nice stuff you’ll end up replacing the cheap stuff anyways (or maybe that’s just me). But a new stem in 2-3 years time won’t hurt the same.

If you are looking at a large (and don’t mind a gen2 frame) I have an excellent nick dark metal frame (with c/c IL shock) sat here doing nothing since the Jeht arrived... 😗 I also have bits and pieces kicking about, I’m sure others do too. CBA with listing/selling 🙄 you just need the luck in stumbling across the right source...

Thanks everyone, think I'll go with the cheaper dropper. I'll also speak to Cotic about taking of pedals, saddle bars etc. As I've got multiples of those already.

Back up. Shimano have started doing cartridge bearing hubs?? Thank you @wzzzz that warrants further investigation!

Get Cotic to delete the crank, and buy the cheap Raceface Ride Cinch one off CRC

I'd spend on fork, shock & wheels.

Save on transmission, brakes (Deore 4 pot or Code R), dropper & finishing kit.

Hope Pro 4 hubs with DT swiss rims are my choice, probably the XM rims for that bike.

Back up. Shimano have started doing cartridge bearing hubs??

Oh yes. Near silent as well. Ace.

They just need to do XTR bubs in 6-bolt with XD freehub and I'm in

I was in the same position, finally finished the build last week.

1. Get parts on cycle to work. About 40% saving just there.

2. The I'd go 11 speed and a slightly smaller chain ring.

3. TRP Slate brakes I got because they were available and cheap. Actually really good. Take shimano pads.

4. Halo Ridge Line wheels. 2200g but cheap and decent.

Brand X finishing kit and dropper.

Second hand parts where possible if you have the time and patience to find bargains.

Superstar wheels?

No cup, cone nor loose balls in sight.

Oh thats good to know, elevated my faith in the wheels on the new bike. I'd visions of mincy old cup and cone set up 😀

Shimano have started doing cartridge bearing hubs??

they have, but they are heavy if that’s something that bothers you