In recent times, biking sports have taken over a lot of areas. In most urban cities, you’re likely to find groups, or cliques of biking buddies.
As a result of this trend or new lifestyle, many youths, and even adults have begun riding. Another reason why people love biking is that it’s an easy means of exercising.
Soon after people decide to start cycling, they become interested in performing stunts with their bikes. This interest leads them straight to BMX bikes.
Is it Cheaper to Build a custom BMX bike or buy one?
This decision is very important to your entire riding experience. If you choose to build a bike, you have to ensure that it is strong enough to make it through any, and every form of harsh treatment.
The same thing applies, if you choose to buy a bike. You have to ensure that it’s strong enough to make it through your biking years.
In other words, do not just focus on the cheapest option, but focus on the cheapest option that will stand the test of time.
Most people believe that it’s easier to buy affordable parts, and just build a bike from scratch. In their opinion, this is cheaper than paying thousand of dollars for a standard bike.
This line of thought has deceived many riders. The bike quality you end up when you build, depends on the grade of components you use while customizing, or building your bike.
You can purchase all the parts required for a bmx bike for less than a $100. You won’t have to pay for labour, because you will be building the bike yourself.
If this is all you care about, then it’s safe to say that building a bike is cheaper. However, if you are any kind of smart, you would know that maintenance, and repairs are costly as well.
Your below $100 will breakdown once you land from your first 360 stunt, and that’s when the actual repairs will begin. BMX bikes are expensive because they come with expensive parts.
The most costly part of these bikes is not the individual parts, but the knowledge of how to assemble them to get the best results.
BMX riding is of different types, and manufacturing companies set the frame at specific angles for each type of bmx sport.
To make up for the lack of knowledge, bmx riders try different angles until they get the perfect fix that suits them. However, this trial and error costs money – there isn’t a fixed amount you’ll spend while making these trials.
One of the most important parts of a bmx bike is speed. In order to make your bike fast, you need to select light components. However, light and strong frames are very expensive.
Importance of Experience
Riders without proper knowledge in assembling parts, will find it difficult to build a lightweight bike successfully.
When one or more parts of the bike get damaged, it’s the riders responsibility to get them fixed as fast as possible.
This won’t work if the rider is not knowledgeable enough in the particular area of bike that got damaged. Customizing or building bikes is not meant for beginners.
Riding bikes for a period of time, usually for months, or years would be long enough to give you all the experience you need.
After riding for a couple months, or years, you will be able to easily build a bike from scratch – a bike that would be comfortable, efficient, and durable.
To get experience, purchase a bmx from any bike store close to you. While riding, you will have to change parts from time to time.
After a couple years, most of your bike parts will be replacements. With the experience, you’ll be able to whip up a good bmx-build at will.
Bike Selection
In this section, we are going to look at a few points. These pointers will cover all you need to know about hand-built bikes, and custom bikes.
Cost
Whether a rider decides to build a bike or simply order a complete one, the cost comes as the primary area of concern.
Getting a complete bike from the store can be more pocket friendly than building one. You could get some BMX bikes for prices ranging from 300$ to 1500$, and in some cases you could get them for prices even higher than that.
Building your own bike on the other hand can be very tricky, depending on what the rider wants.
In this case, more money is likely to be spent because some frames are sold for as much as $500.
An easy escape from outrageous costs for any rider is buying used components. For example, a used carbon steel frame will be cheaper than an original version.
You might even be lucky enough to get used items in top notch conditions. Building your own bike from used components is not a bad idea unless the components are damaged, or out of shape. This is the one way building a bike might be cheaper than buying one.
Also, when picking out components, you have to ensure that they are compatible with each other. You don’t want to buy tyres, and gears that wouldn’t fit in your frame.
Take note of the top brands of each of the components you need, and go for the one that’s available to you.
Technical Knowledge
If you order a bmx bike online, the package is going to arrive in a box with instructions on how to assemble it.
Setting up a bike is a job for someone who has deep knowledge of the workings of a bike.
The greasing and tuning of the bike are best left in the hands of professionals, especially if you are looking to install cable brake detangler units for safer rides.
You’d need the technical knowledge of bikes when getting the components of the bike in a case, or when you decide to get your parts from different shops and build them up yourself.
The versatility, and life expectancy of your bike depends greatly on the frame material. You have to look for a material that would be durable, strong, and has a low density.
Getting standard light frames might prove a very difficult task, and most times the rider would end up settling for high – tension steel frames.
Although, you can also get Chromoly frames, if you take out time, and look hard enough. When scouting for bike parts, be patient because getting less than the best is more time consuming.
It might take a lot of time to get your parts from different shops and build them up yourself. The waiting alone may wear you off, but it will pay off when you look back on 7 months, and you’re still riding your bike in good shape.
Other components that should be selected with precision include:
Drivetrain
Irrespective of the type of cycling you indulge in, you’ll need a good drive train. Whether you choose to ride at parks, or jump ramps, or race, your crank system has to be solid, and in good shape at all times.
You want a crank system that fits your riding style, the one that would enable you perform your skills with ease, or just give you the best riding experience.
In getting your drivetrain, you want to order from specific brands.
Cranks come in two categories: 1- piece cranks, and 3 – piece cranks. You need to select a crank that matches your riding style.
If you are not an expert yourself, you would want to go along with someone who is well knowledgeable in this area.
Brakes
Well from the name, you can easily picture the ill-effects of building with bad brakes. You can either use cables, or the standard disc system as brakes for your bicycle.
If you choose to build the bike yourself, go for standard disc brakes. Ensure that you purchase brakes from reputable companies.
Conclusion
Building a bike from scratch is the most exciting thing you would ever say to a bmx enthusiast. However, it is not always the cheapest option.
If you don’t know what you’re doing, you might end up spending money on constant repairs, and parts replacement.
If you’re going to build, make sure you know what you’re doing – this will help save a lot of your money, and time.
If you don’t, it’s best you buy a new bike.
