Budget (sub 1k) Build recs - UPDATE finished Build, what next?

[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.

[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.

[Livingmannequin]

Thanks guys for all the input! Decided to build a bike as I can get quite a few things for free/cheap from my dads leftover stuff. Will ofc keep you guys updated.

Frame: haven't decided on one yet, will most likely either be a TanTan or Ceccotti one

Things I ordered:
137€ Groupset: https://de.aliexpress.com/item/1005006449025000.html
1€ TPU Tubes: https://de.aliexpress.com/item/1005005361851622.html
22€ Pedals: https://de.aliexpress.com/item/32246052671.html

Things I luckily don't have to worry about (might upgrade depending if I like it or not):
DuraAce Crank
Seat
Discs
Bar tape
Stem
Handlebar

Things I can get for cheap:
250€ DT Siwisss E-1800 Wheelset + Cassette + Tires (will be decent ones)

Depending on if the frames comes with a seatpost or not I'm in for 410€ + frame. So I might be able to build a decent bike for sub 900€

[jeffrey]

My Ceccotti came with the seatpost (round, 27.2mm). I moved the one I had in my previous bike so I already had the saddle on it but that money wasn't really needed in the overall cost

[Tpower59]

Just in case TanTan offers TT-R18 full bike with mechanical 105 groupset for only 899 USD

[rasch]

if you have the parts then it’s doable.
I managed to get a full carbon build for under 1k for a client (challenge), all parts new and a very decent frame paintjob and carbon wheels with ltwoo hydraulic. So its possible.

[BalticSea]

Just in case TanTan offers TT-R18 full bike with mechanical 105 groupset for only 899 USD

Shipping + VAT puts it at around 1300 EUR price tag.

[Livingmannequin]

Exactly, apart from that I can‘t stand the look of the TT-X18  Will probably go with the Ceccotti C27 as I can get it for sub 500 incl shipping + taxes. Won‘t pull the trigger before gettong a quote from long teng for the 268.

[rasch]

Exactly, apart from that I can‘t stand the look of the TT-X18  Will probably go with the Ceccotti C27 as I can get it for sub 500 incl shipping + taxes. Won‘t pull the trigger before gettong a quote from long teng for the 268.

cecotti is a nice one if it fits your needs in terms of geometry, look and colour options. not the best finish but u get what you pay for