All Things Bikes and Tacos! (...and every vehicle imaginable)

love me some sedona riding!

 

yall recommend building a bike from frame up? Or buy one fully built? Which would saved me money ?

 

Typically buying a full build will save you money. But if you go cheap you will likely end up replacing a bunch of stuff over time and lose money.
For most brands, the $4-5K mark is a bike that won't need anything new and be reliable, just ride and repeat.

 

Save money? Probably buying complete on the secondhand market if you want it in short order.

However...if you are willing to spend a considerable, some would say silly, amount of time, patience, or both scouring any and all secondhand, discount, clearance, KMart, etc venues, it is possible to save money over new while getting EXACTLY what you want. Really the "exact everything I want" is the man aspect of building your own. Often time, people use it as a way to move on to their new bike by buying frame on and going from there.

I built my Pipedream Sirius up from KSL (Utah craigslist) takeoffs and used parts for basically all but the frame and brake rotors. Took me a couple months vs "add to cart" everything, but got exactly what I was looking to build and at a shocking total price thanks to some people that must have been selling stuff for drug money or a dovorce lawyer it was so cheap vs retail.

 

It depends on where you could start and where you want to go. I've done dozens of frame up and complete bike down builds (and am currently building up a Liv Intrigue for the GF) and all of them have been a combination of methods. For the GF's bike, we bought a new once since we couldn't find a frame only that would fit the specs we needed new or used. She won't be riding the bike until I've basically 100% upgraded and rebuilt it. And yes, spreadsheets are your friend.

If you start with a complete bike that you're relatively happy with, ride it and as you ride it you'll get an idea for what you want to upgrade/change. (I know where I'm going from the start of every build, so if this you as well - disregard) However, having a rideable bike gives you time. Think about it this way- your bike comes with a Rockshox fork with a retail of $500. You identify this as a potential upgrade point and decide you want to swap to a Fox Factory 36. Of course, you can ride your bike in the mean time and either wait to find a sale on the fork you want (a bit more rare in these supply chain days) or wait to find a lightly used one that fits the bill for say $700. Then you sell your original fork for say $300, so your out of pocket is ~$400. This lets you have fun while looking for upgrades.

Then again, I love the hunt, planning, and envisioning of a sweet new build.

 

I'll be out there starting Thursday and can't wait. I haven't ridden my "local" trails in 2+ months due to freeze/thaw cycles, and even with the driving I've done to get on dirt, most of it has still been somewhat variable.

 

Thanks for everyone input! Been test riding some 2020s bikes and the feel soooo dreamy compared to my 2017 enduro....
I just want a nice frame HAHAHA!

 

So I have a confession to make.

I bought a motorcycle an e-bike today...

Spoiler

and by e-bike, I really do mean motorcycle

A 2017 KTM 390 Duke!

 

7

Enjoy!! The trails are in perfect condition. I hope the weather holds for you.

 

heretic! I mean....Sinner! I mean....biker???

 

Found out these exist...

 

Cool, if somewhat redundant
(At least one of those bikes needs some knobbies!)

 

haha. yeah, I know a few guys with that setup. It's...wild.

 

Yes! I bought my wife the 29 version, and over the course of "tuning it for her" it has kinda become mine. Love the bike, so much fun. Your version is what I would get if I could do it over again.

Nice man! I miss the shit out of my Triumph Speed Triple. Just looked through photos and can't find a single one, bummed. One of the most raucous machines I've ever owned. I eventually sold it after I realized I was going to die if I kept riding it the way I was.
Those racks are nice, just watch out for side winds with em. It's super sketchy when that sail in the back catches any sort of wind.

 

Without doing any research, is the Duke comparable to like Ninja 400's or in my mind where a Ninja 250 used to be?

 

It's more like what the Ninja 400 wanted to be but fell short of the mark. The Ninja 250 is fun a flickable, but a nutless wonder of the motorcycle world, great for learning and short distance commuting, but that's about it, in my opinion.

 

Yeah, basically KTM decided to take a learner bike, and amp up the specs to make it enjoyable. Consensus seems to be it punches above its weight, and many put it at the top of the learner bike class

 

Speed triple was the poster on my wall as a kid. I love the look of that thing and got me into the naked bike style.

When I was waiting for the paperwork to wrap up last night, I moved one bike over from mine and sat on the big Super Duke liter bike. Holy shit, that thing felt dangerous just sitting still on it. I know my days would be numbered if that came home with me.

 

For me it was the GSXR, especially with the wacky 90s color schemes. Road rash?