This is part 2, check out part 1 first!

Building

I expected this to be easier (or at least more fun) than the buying process, but sadly it was mostly very annoying. In particular because it turned into another shopping experience, and a worse one for that matter.

The parts

Other than the frame, the groupset seems most relevant here. I opted for a non-electric Shimano 105. Thought about going electric and maybe even Chinese OEM as well here, but it didn’t seem like the right thing for me. Biking is primarily leisure time fun, and I don’t want to mess with another app and think about charging batteries when I’m getting ready to ride. Rather I’ll be turning some screws and fiddle with my shifter for a bit. For the wheels I got TPU tubes from RideNow and Continental Grand Prix 5000S (30 wide). Both with no deeper knowledge, but just based on a good review or two I had seen online.

That’s it for the obvious parts (from my POV). My groupset order did not come with discs (which I could have deduced from the images), so I got some 160mm ones. It did not come with sleeves for shifter cables either. And my frame could only handle 140 discs in the rear by default, so I had to get an adapter (now while writing this I’m wondering: Do bikes usually come with smaller rear disks? Some do, some run an adapter. I just checked… ). All of these things I realized when trying to assemble, which got frustrating really quick. I had to stop every time and start ordering AGAIN. I don’t blame anyone but myself for not checking my orders better, but this made for a very unpleasant building experience. And that was only half of the annoyance…

The tools

You will have heard about the EUs push towards unified cables for electronic hardware producers. They should look into bike parts next if you ask me!

I knew ahead of time, that I would need a tool for the Shimano centerlock and the bottom bracket. I managed to order 3 wrong tools for the bottom bracket and the wrong centerlock tool. Naive me just counted the notches on the bottom bracket and ordered the first bottom bracket tool with “Shimano” somewhere in the description. I’ll spare you the details, but to get the right one I measured across my bottom bracket and then checked the manufacturers site to find infos about the diameters (shops did not really list these). Just like with the parts, this stopped me in my tracks multiple times and was very unpleasant. Also you might want 1 or 2 torque wrenches, some grease, carbon assembly paste, oil and a bleeding kit for the break lines (which also didn’t fit the first time). Some of this I already had, but now I almost feel like a bike shop. Still I’m 100% certain, that the three bottom bracket tools I now own will not be sufficient to service the next bike rolling into my “shop”.

The assembly

With the right tools (and parts) at hand, the actual assembly was mostly straight forward. Getting the cables and break lines into the handlebars was a proper pain though. Other than that: Apply the proper torque, mind the directions, grease up a little and listen to your gut. If something sounds, feels or looks wrong, it probably is. Take a step back and think for a minute. A quick internet search will likely help you in finding everything you would want to know.

Even though the mechanical shifting was a concious and deliberate choice, I’m still convinced: Adjusting your gears properly is sorcery. I spent quite some time on it, the bike strapped up in my power rack, youtube videos left an right. Then I did some more adjusting while out on the road and that’s were it finally felt like I achieved something decent. Cheers to the two fellow bikers who stopped while I was fiddling with my bike and asked if everything was all right!

Resume

I did not enjoy this project very much. And this has nothing to do with the ordering or the OEM frame. But the special tooling and all the tiny bits and bobs is what really got me. With many other projects, I feel like you can work around lacking tools or material. But in particular the wrenches and nuts are just so specialized (and I didn’t want to attack my new gear with a pipe wrench), that I just had to get more and more stuff. Also it didn’t help that I’m impatient and apparently bad at reading. When ordering parts and tools, just take some time. This would have saved me at least some of the pain. All the proprietary wrenches and fittings should still be forbidden though.

Now don’t get me wrong: I’m glad I did this and I’m very happy with the result. The frame, the wheels, the paint job - everything there worked out like I imagined and I would order one again. I really love the frame! I’m also happy with all the new knowledge and tools, which will help me maintain my bikes in the future. Like bleeding the breaks or changing the bottom bracket was nothing I had done before, and this just pushed me to do it (it’s not hard btw). But I guess I had this romantic image in my head where the frame arrived and then I just assemble it in one or two days and then get to go on a ride. Which maybe could have happened, if I had spent more time on checking what I needed. Anyhow: frame good, ordering good, bike tooling and bike parts bad.

The money

This will be split into two parts:

• Cost of the bike
• Everything I actually got/had to get

In neither case I went hunting for the best price or product for that matter.

Cost of the bike

Money that went into making this a functional, rideable bike.

• Light carbon order: ~1.490 €, split up into:
  • Frame, handlebars, seat post, bottom bracket: 840€
  • Carbon wheels: 320€
  • Bottle cages: 26€
  • Shipping and fees: 300€
• 105 group set: 430€
• Discs + spacer + pads: 100€
• Tubes: 8€
• Tires: 92€
• Handlebar tape: 8€
• Pre waxed Chain: 36€
• Outer shifting cable: 10€

Makes ~2200€ in total. I had a saddle and pedals at hand, so consider this, but these would not come with a store bought bike either…

Cost of building the bike

This will be everything I had to get, to go from “doing some maintenance on a gravel bike” to “assembling a bike”.

• Chain pliers: 10€
• Chain wrench: 32€
• Bleed kit & oil: 32€
• Centerlock tool: 20€
• 3* bottom bracket tool: ~100€
• Carbon paste: 10€

So at least 200€ more, while all of these could have been borrowed. The torque wrench I had gotten (a little ahead of time) would almost double that, since I’m seemingly unable to go cheap. The second torque wrench is a friends. This really is individual and mostly relevant to myself.

Was it worth it?

This is hard to judge, since this bike does not exist on the market. So I started thinking about it this way:

• Would I have gotten a road bike, if not building it? Yes. Maybe not this year, but within the next 1-3 years for sure.
• Would I have least a bike? No. I believe in owning stuff, and my job doesn’t offer it anyway.
• How much would I have spent on a bike? I’m in love with the Canyon Aeroad ever since I saw it, which ain’t cheap.

I don’t think I would have dropped 4-8k on an Aeroad, even used they are a little too pricey for me atm. Also, even when not considering differences in frame and wheels (that I can’t judge), I have cheaper components than any version of the Aeroad. That said, I have a hard time finding a carbon frame (and wheels) for around 2k new. So I like to imagine that I did indeed save some money (not billing my time ofc). A highly subjective verdict obviously.

If you are looking for guidance and the above is not enough: I would not recommend doing this for your first bike. Rather get a “complete” bike, go out riding, enjoy summer, learn something about bikes first. If you already have a bike, some tools, friends with tools, an open bike shop close by, this might be something for you. You can learn a lot, and I feel a lot more confident in maintaining bikes now.