Budget (sub 1k) Build recs

[Livingmannequin]

Hey,

I'm in dire need of a new road bike as I haven't had one in a few years and while researching what to get I came to the conclusion to get a chiner. Sadly I'm on a tight budget as I'm a uni student and dont have alot of disposable income, 1k€ to be exact.

I have searched around on this forum and gone through a few youtube videos but wasn't realy able to find a (current) ~1k build, so in hopes of finding some people who have recently done a build around that price point or atleast can give some directions on good CHEAP frames, wheelsets etc. I decided to stop lurking. Else I will probably just get the TT-X40 Full Build from Seraph Store.

Thanks in advance!

[jeffrey]

Well, you can get a full bike from Decathlon starting from half your budget, so you actually have quite some choice.

If you instead want to go the self-built path, I recently built my first bike - it's a gravel frame but you can find something more road-oriented (eg. Ceccotti RF27) for a similar price.

My build was under 1400€ but there are some areas where you can shave something off:

For sure crankset and cassette are a bit above the average bike that I have, but I wanted to get some extra lightness
Saddle you should be able to find something cheaper just for a few grams more
Groupset can go down from 105 11s
Wheels you can get some in aluminium
You could also save something in the cables and cable housing, but it would be advisable to go with external routing at least around the stem area to avoid shifting an breaking issues

Frame + fork + bottom bracket   Ceccotti RF25 size L                    396,48 €    https://it.aliexpress.com/item/1005008208274231.html
Seatpost                                    Toseek                                        15,19 €    https://it.aliexpress.com/item/1005005286211545.html
Saddle                                       Ryet Aircode                                42,58 €    https://it.aliexpress.com/item/1005005209973776.html
Stem                                         Kocevlo 80 mm                            17,41 €    https://it.aliexpress.com/item/1005007557399904.html
Handlebar                                  Og-Evkin HB-010 400 mm            26,09 €    https://it.aliexpress.com/item/1005005944474195.html
Bartape                                     Og-Evkin BT-001-BLACK                 4,81 €    https://it.aliexpress.com/item/1005005644811837.html
Shifters + derailleurs                  Shimano 105 R7000 11              114,90 €    https://it.aliexpress.com/item/1005007002474089.html
Crankset + chainrings                 Riro XX11 RD 50-34                   113,66 €    https://it.aliexpress.com/item/1005006481196419.html
Pedals (planned)                        Zeray ZP-108S                             21,45 €    https://it.aliexpress.com/item/1005006295887679.html
Cassette                                    Goldix SL CNC 11-32                    63,70 €    https://it.aliexpress.com/item/1005006472254930.html
Chain                                        Decathlon (KMC) X11                    19,99 €    https://www.decathlon.it/p/catena-bici-11-velocita/_/R-p-300692
Brakes                                      Onirii BR-05                                 41,31 €    https://it.aliexpress.com/item/1005006979553014.html
Brake pads                                Kingstop                                        4,89 €     https://it.aliexpress.com/item/1963687894.html
Rotors                                       SRAM (maybe) bronze 160 mm     16,00 €     https://it.aliexpress.com/item/1005005051281201.html
Shift cables (inner+outer)           Jagwire PCK500                           25,04 €     https://www.amazon.it/dp/B077F9ZMKF
Brake cables (inner+outer)         Jagwire PCK200                           22,99 €     https://www.amazon.it/gp/product/B01MZ5WP6E/
Antirattle foam                          generic                                          3,48 €     https://it.aliexpress.com/item/1005007235167191.html
Bottle cages                              Riderace                                        2,29 €     https://it.aliexpress.com/item/1005004883648081.html
Wheels                                     Elitewheels ENT 38 mm               366,87 €      https://elitewheels.aliexpress.com/store/1859081
Tubes                                       Thinkrider TPU                              10,59 €     https://it.aliexpress.com/item/1005005361851622.html
Tires                                        Continental Ultrasport III 28 mm    50,56 €     https://www.amazon.it/gp/product/B0BBZ93F8V/

[Da11as]

It really depends on what you want to have, what you can skip and what you can tolerate... and for what purpose. Racing, group rides, leisure? Are you fine with alloy frame/wheels? Are you fine with mechanical rim brakes or want hydraulics?

[Yunglord]

for your budget id start with marketplace and check for a caad12 or something along those lines.

[Livingmannequin]

Well, you can get a full bike from Decathlon starting from half your budget, so you actually have quite some choice.

If you instead want to go the self-built path, I recently built my first bike - it's a gravel frame but you can find something more road-oriented (eg. Ceccotti RF27) for a similar price.

My build was under 1400€ but there are some areas where you can shave something off:

For sure crankset and cassette are a bit above the average bike that I have, but I wanted to get some extra lightness
Saddle you should be able to find something cheaper just for a few grams more
Groupset can go down from 105 11s
Wheels you can get some in aluminium
You could also save something in the cables and cable housing, but it would be advisable to go with external routing at least around the stem area to avoid shifting an breaking issues

Thank you so much! Will definitely dig into it, as I could get a few parts for free so it‘s definitely realistic now to get below 1k

[Livingmannequin]

I can tolerate a few things as it‘s mostly for leisure training activitys and maybe 1-2 races a year.An Alloy frame and wheels would be fine as long as I‘m able to keep the build sub 10kg but I can‘t go with mechanical discs or rim brakes as I just can‘t stand them anymore.

Getting a used bike is also out of the question as I don‘t want to face issues caused by previous owners bad maintenance or general fatigued material due to age and use, else I would have done that.

[Yunglord]

I can tolerate a few things as it‘s mostly for leisure training activitys and maybe 1-2 races a year.An Alloy frame and wheels would be fine as long as I‘m able to keep the build sub 10kg but I can‘t go with mechanical discs or rim brakes as I just can‘t stand them anymore.

Getting a used bike is also out of the question as I don‘t want to face issues caused by previous owners bad maintenance or general fatigued material due to age and use, else I would have done that.

at that budget you'll have to make significant sacrifice on major components to fit under the budget just food for thoughts.

I would not ride the cheapest carbon frame available just to ride something new and under my budget same goes for wheels/handlebars/etc.

[Serge_K]

If you cut a few corners and have time to hunt for parts, it's probably doable.
Assuming you buy new:
My daily driver is long teng 268, and it's cheap, but i'm completely happy with it (13,000km and counting). There's a trap door on the down tube, so you could run mechanical shifting without having to do tight bends (or you route everything through the headset ofc). Frame's fast, guaranteed, and arguably my bike is a superbike (whatever that means), so it wont hold you back.
Wheels, if you're a uni student, i assume you're light, so you can buy elite wheels from AliX when there's a sale. If you dont overthink the specs, you can get a capable wheelset for cheap.
Groupset. If you get semi hydraulic disc brakes, you can get a group for really, really cheap. Full hydraulic would still be cheap. I think everyone moved to full hydraulic, but my 1st gravel bike is semi hydro, and it does work.
A stem costs 10 eur, capable alu handlebars in 36cm wide cost 20.
Could be worth looking for 2nd hand groupset parts. Depending on where you live, could also make sense to buy wheels second hand.
Ignore 12s stuff, you can save money by doing 11s. Idk how 10s compares, as this really feels dated. We still run 11s.

[Da11as]

I can tolerate a few things as it‘s mostly for leisure training activitys and maybe 1-2 races a year.An Alloy frame and wheels would be fine as long as I‘m able to keep the build sub 10kg but I can‘t go with mechanical discs or rim brakes as I just can‘t stand them anymore.

Getting a used bike is also out of the question as I don‘t want to face issues caused by previous owners bad maintenance or general fatigued material due to age and use, else I would have done that.

Frameset, there was a thread somewhere on the forum regarding this frame. I suggest to check it out and ask about details and quality of accesories: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005008991692266.html including fork, axles, BB, headset, some handlebar
~400$

Groupset: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006449025000.html
~200$ Get 2x12

Chain: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003489164453.html
~45$ buy silver if you are planning to wax, if it's too expensive or not waxing, get YBN one level below

Chainset: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1000006338700.html
~80$ I strongly suggest to buy separate spider and chainrings from Stone or Pass Quest. Else, look for used 105 chainset with the crank length you need (don't buy 175 simply because they are easy t get)

Casette: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006343081906.html
45$

Bar tape: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000192578780.html
12$

Rotors Cnock-offs of Sram's: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005933139495.html
12$

Wheels: whatever you can find on the aftermarket. I wouldn't trust Chinese alloy wheels and you can get stock wheels from some Giants PR-2s for very cheap, look for tubeless compatible
~100$

Tyres: don't buy shit, spend some money on GP5000S/AS or Pirellis PZero TLR/TLR RS, buy wider ones
~120$

That will put you at 1014$. Everything except the group and the frameset in the list above I tested myself and the quality is way above the budget build (of course you may go cheaper). You may consider buying frameset without accessories but then it may be a bit more expensive. If you can negotiate modern bar/stem and you know what are the needed dimension I suggest to go for frame set+accessories option.

[Serge_K]

the OP wrote in EUR, and so, a cassette costs 20-25 eur max (full steel, bombproof, 11s), bar tape is under 5 eur, a chain (Alix or decathlon is under 20 eur (KMC. YBN), chainset with rings 60/65 eur (https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006032054478.html), even though you can spend a bit less than that; rotors are <5 eur a piece. Tyres, given the budget, dont get total crap, but if you can spend 60 eur for a pair instead of 90, maybe it's worth it, really depends on how strict your budget is. Good tyres are nice, but a budget is a budget. Obviously, get TPU tubes, dont go tubeless (it's more expensive)