[Yide]

I have been looking around online for a road bike for the last few months. Some of the Bikesdirect.com road bikes look tempting, but I have come across enough critical posts on here and other forums about BD bikes that I started looking for a quality used bike.

I came across this frame on Ebay and would be grateful for any advice you more experienced riders can give.

http://cgi.ebay.com/LeMond-Zurich-5...md=ViewItem&pt=Road_Bikes&hash=item27b2ce75db

It appears to be a 1997 Lemond Zurich 853 Steel frame and carbon fiber fork. I was thinking that I might try to repaint it because its 13 years old and has significant blemishes. I've been reading good things about the Reynolds 853 steel frames and the Lemond brand seems to have a very good reputation. At $200 dollars with shipping it seems like it might be a good deal for a 853 frame/fork. It has about days left on the auction so I have time to try to get advice before I pull the trigger.

I believe the frame is the correct size at 56cm for a guy who is 5'11" tall. I know that geometry and top tube length are important too. I would be using this bike primarily for commuting to and from work. I have contacted the seller and she? says there are no major cracks or dents in the frame, and the BB and head tube have no problems. She did list in the description initially that the frame material was aluminum, but in the images she provided you could clearly see the Reynolds 853 Steel sticker. I can't tell if she just isn't very familiar with bicycles, or is playing dumb and being vague because this frame/fork is a lemon.

I've never tried to build a complete bike from the bare frame/fork. I was also wondering if anyone has any advice as to major mistakes that newbies like me make when trying to build a complete bike for the first time. If I do decide to try and build up this frame I will be using this forum from start to finish with questions.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I look forward to using this forum as I go forward with trying to build this bike, or with whatever bike I decide to buy. thanks in advance for your help.

Regards,

Yide

PS. If there is a better place for a post on this topic please let me know.

 

[orange_julius]

I've never tried to build a complete bike from the bare frame/fork. I was also wondering if anyone has any advice as to major mistakes that newbies like me make when trying to build a complete bike for the first time. If I do decide to try and build up this frame I will be using this forum from start to finish with questions.

How do you plan to get parts for this frame/fork, and how do you plan to make sure that they are compatible with each other, and also for this frame/fork?

Do you have tools such as allen wrenches, torque wrench, pedal wrench, cable cutter, cassette tool, BB tool, etc.? If you don't, this project may end up being much more expensive than you think it will be.

If I were you I'd look at entry-level complete bikes at $600-700 from a good local shop. By the time you get the parts and tools you need to install them, assuming that all goes well, you'll be well into that price point anyway.

The frame/fork that you are looking at is decent, but it's not spectacular. And the ride quality goes down at a significant rate if you put cheap crappy components on it, such as cheap wheels.

Sorry for dishing out the tough love, but it's best to be realistic ...

 

[nightfend]

Building it yourself is a great project. Better to learn to build and service your own bikes than rely on the local bike stores. In the end you'll gain more enjoyment out of the bike and you'll be self reliant.

If you don't have tools, then budget around $200 for bike specific tools you'll need to finish the build.

If you are fairly mechanically minded, then you can build a bike from scratch using only a website like: www.parktool.com or buy a repair book like the one Zinn puts out.

 

[krisdrum]

I would suggest trying to plug your measurements into some of the online fitting calculators. And get familiar with the interactions that happen within frame geometry. Test ride as many bikes as you can with similar geometry. If you have a good local shop, maybe see if they'd be willing to help consult on stem length, bar, width, bar style, saddle type, etc. that can be a real challenge to navigate without hands-on experience or knowledge.

I tried the whole buying random parts in hopes they would work thing, before smartening up, and looking back, most of my successes were just blind luck. The failures were as well, but they became pretty costly.

 

[Allez Rouge]

I believe the frame is the correct size at 56cm for a guy who is 5'11" tall.

Assuming you are normally proportioned that is probably correct, but be sure to verify the size with the seller. As the questions and answers in the listing say, LeMonds are measured center-to-center, not center-to-top, and IINM they have always used odd rather than even sizes. Based on the seller's answers about the way he measured the frame, as well as looking at the photos, my guess is that this is actually a 53cm frame, per LeMond's normal sizing.

Because the length of the top tube will be proportional to the length of the seat tube, you should ask the seller to measure BOTH the seat tube AND the top tube center-to-center.

EDIT: Here is another listing for a 53cm LeMond bicycle, measured center-to-center. To my eye, the frame looks like exactly the same size as the one you're considering.

 

[Camilo]

I'm wondering how you figure $200+ shipping? The bid you pointed to is at 100 already with 3 days left. Take a look at completed auctions for lemond frames and forks to see what the ending bid is likely to be. It could very well be $200, but don't assume that.

That aside, it almost never pays off to build a bike up from parts, even if you get a good deal on a frame UNLESS.....

1. you already have many or most of the parts
2. you really have specific things you want in your bike that aren't readily available on a stock bike - in other words, if you bought a stock bike, you'd end up replacing a lot of parts to make it suit what you want.
3. you can get the parts really, really cheap. This is POSSIBLE (but in MHO and experience, NOT LIKELY) on ebay if you spend many, many, many hours looking and bidding, and know exactly what you want and need, and are very, very careful and astute about distinguishing good deals from crap being sold at excessive prices. Most things on ebay are bid up past what they really are worth, again in my opinion and experience, and if you value your time at all, it makes the deals even worse.
4. have the special and general tools you need. The general tools are a set of good basic tools, plus good allen wrenches, torque wrenches (2 - one small, one large). You also need some specialty tools like cassette tool, chain whip, bottom bracket tool, crank tool, to mention a few.
5. It's essential that you actually enjoy this kind of stuff, because it will take you some time to figure it all out, assemble the tools and parts, and get it toegether.

I built up a bike from a bare frame and fork this spring and every item above (except #3 because I already had the components, wheels, etc.) applied to me. It was fun and I'm very happy with the bike. If I couldn't put check marks by all the above points, it would never cross my mind because of the expense and time involved.

If I were you, I'd buy as good of a complete bike as you can afford, get the thing, and start riding it. A project will cause you spend a lot of time before you can ride.

Save the project for when the above criteria apply to you.