Back in January, I promised that I would show you how to assemble a reliable, enjoyable race bike on the cheap - and this month, I am going to do just that. Oddly enough, this is the second time I have addressed this topic - the last time was back in 1991 in the pages of Bicycles Today, when I described how I raced a successful 19X season on a bike that only cost $260 to build. Note that when I say "successful", I mean that the bike didn't break, not that I won it all or something like that... after all, it is old (then young) Boswell we're talking about.
Well, times change and prices rise, but it's still possible to build a great bike on the cheap and use that bike for a long time. Follow along with me as we step into our Time Machine and turn the dial back to January of 1997...
when I took delivery of a 1996 Redline PL-24 from Sweet Brothers BMX in Atlanta, Georgia in exchange for a money order in the amount of $200.00. This included shipping, too! How did I get this deal, you ask? Simple - Redline was discontinuing their "ProLine" chromoly cruisers in favor of alumino-scoots.
Let's interrupt this story for a moment to address one of my pet peeves. I HATE opening up an issue of Superbike and seeing a story on "Build your own $1500 Superbike!" than, on closer inspection, turns out to be a long list of free labor, promotional parts, and one-time-only deals. The SCCA magazine just ran a similar article on an MG that turned a twelve-second quarter mile for only $2500 - and over two hundred hours of machine-shop labor. That's not fair, because you and I can't do the same thing. Therefore, I will strictly adhere to "real-world" prices and values throughout this, and other, articles. If you catch me out, let me know!
Back to 1997. Thanks to Redline's willingness to cut margins to dump their dorky old Cr-Mo bikes, (haha) Sweet Brothers actually sold five cruisers at that price, so there was no special consideration involved. Today, you could get a similar deal on any number of 1999 or 2000 bikes that are just as good as their 2001 equivalents - leading me to propose that:
Rule #1 of Cheap Biking: Last year's bike is usually just as good as this year's.
Sometimes, that's not strictly true (for example, the 2000 Huffy Tantrum is a much better bike than my 1999) but it usually is, so when you are shopping for a bike, take a look at the "old stock" - and bargain hard.
I assembled the bike and raced it with some mild success. Right out of the box, the PL rode well and had no major flaws. The fact that the bike was just fine as-delivered didn't stop me from "improving" it with a set of Flights, Shimano DX V-brakes, and an S&M Redneck - bringing my total investment in the bike to $420. I sold the old parts for twenty bucks, bringing us back down to a flat $400. Notice, however, that we have now doubled my investment for less than a double in "return" - one slightly better bike is not as good as two good bikes, leading to:
Rule #2 of Cheap Biking: Separate parts and "improvements" are usually a poor value.
Had there been a "Team" version of the PL-24, I probably could have gotten it for less than twice the cost of the regular one - and I would have received a wheel upgrade in addition to the 3-piece cranks and better brakes.
Two seasons later, the original equipment wheels were in rough shape. I could have had them professionally trued, but instead I broke down and bought a new pair of Super 7X/Redline wheels for $140 - bringing us up to $540. At this point, I had gotten two seasons out of the bike - and it was in like-new shape. I also bought new tires, but since that's a wear-and-tear item, I'm leaving that cost out. Sorry for cheating :)
Let's un-dial our time machine a little bit, to December of 2000. After four uears, the old PL is starting to look a little frayed around the edges - stickers worn, loose wheels, packed-in dirt and muck everywhere. I nearly bought a new Purse Signature Bike before deciding to "revamp" my current bike. After all, as a good-quality Cr-Mo bike with decent components, there was no reason it wouldn't last another four years... and if I could get eight years out of the same bike without penalty, why not do it, and spend the difference between my "rejuvenation" program and a new bike purchase on something else - like, say, a new house?
I had one goal in mind - to make my bike a "new" one. That meant both tuning the bike and paying attention to the cosmetics. So, the first thing I did was to purchase a new set of blue Redline stickers to replace the original red ones. I got them on eBay for eleven bucks.
Next, I bought blue grips and a black chainwheel to replace the original red items. Cost: $33, for a total so far of $44. My original handlebars had bent at some point in the past, so I dropped $35 on a new pair. Now we're up to $79.
I bought a blue paint marker for $2.50 ($81.50) and repainted my red Shimano DX brakeset to match the "new look" of the bike. A new brake cable at $3.50 ($85.00) made sure the revamped brake was as responsive as it used to be.
The next step was to take the bike completely apart, down to the last nut and bolt, and scrub the heck outta it, which took about four hours. While the bike was apart, I took my wheels to Keith Baer of Baer Wheels, who professionally re-trued my two-year-old wheels to perfection for the sum of $29.00. This was the best money I spent, because the "feel" of a bike is largely dependent on the wheels. After Keith's careful work, my Super 7X wheelset felt better than brand-new.
Rule #3 of Cheap Biking: Wheels are very, very important - fix them first if you want a fast bike.
One careful re-assembly later, I was out $114.00 - but I had a bike that looked so new, several people at the track asked me if it was the "2001 Pro Redline". The re-polished chrome and the new blue hardware make the bike look new - and the rebuilt wheels, new bars, and new brake cable, together with the careful cleaning and tuning, made it ride that way.
In January, I promised that I would show you how to "rebuild" your bike for under a hundred bucks - but, as you can see above, it actually took me a hundred and fourteen. Excuse time - I didn't really need a new chainring - that was just to make the "color scheme change" complete. Leave it out, and we are comfortably under a hundred bucks.
Shortly after my rebuild, one of the bolts broke on my Flight cranks - proving that this isn't actually a new bike, but simply a well-restored one. Let's assume that I need ten bucks' worth of bolts throughout the bike, which is pessimistic to say the least.
Adding the bolts brings us to our final tally - $664.00. Quite a bit of money, isn't it? Well, if we spread the total out over four years, we're only looking at $166 per year. If I get another two years out of the bike, which is a very safe bet, we're down to $110/year. If I make it to January of 2004, which is my goal, my total cost of ownership will have been $83 per year. If I can sell the bike for $150 when I'm done - and many people will pay $150 for a working cruiser with name-brand wheels and three-piece cranks - I drop my price down to under sixty-five dollars per year. Compare that to the $350 or more it costs to buy a new aluminum frame every year, or the more than six hundred dollars I spend per year to keep my Klein MTB in one piece, and we start to see what a deal this really is - less than six dollars per month for a competitive race bike. The average BMX rider, in my experience, spends at least four hundred dollars per year on his bike - that's $33/month. What can I do with my extra $27? Well, I could race three extra locals a month. Who do you think will be faster - Rider A, with his thousand-dollar gimmick bike, or Rider B, who is racing three times more per month? Heck, you could even waste the money on the National circus - see here for details on how to get the most out of your money. Bottom line: over the course of your career, you will save thousands of dollars and not suffer a bit for doing so.
There is probably a 'happy medium' between my ultra-cheap method of procuring a race bike and the idiotic free-for-all spending spree advocated by the color mags and the manufacturers' paid mouthpieces - and I believe that my readers have the sound judgement necessary to find it. After all, part of the fun of BMX is having a neat bike, but there's much more to our sport than the thrill of the new gimmick. Choose wisely, save a couple bucks, and find out what really makes BMX a great sport - not the bikes, but the time spent on them, and the memories you will have, far beyond any price.
Rule #4 of Cheap Biking (and Rule #1 of Biking, period): Have a
good time.