How to build a bike - Part 7: Finishing up!

Other parts:
introduction
Headset
Bottom bracket and crankset
Derailleurs and chain
Steer and cables
Make the brakes and shifters work
Finishing up!

Having it made this far, it's hardly possible to take a wrong turn anymore. We only need to put some easy to install components.

Seat
The seat post is simply inserted in the frame. Some frames have integrated clamps for it, for others (like mine) you need to buy a seperate clamp. Put your seat on top of the post and adjust the height in such a way that you feel comfortable on....

Steer
Finish your steer by putting the bar tape on it. It's a task not many people tend to like, and I'm definitely one of them. But when done, it makes your bike much more appealing!

Wheels and tires
Put on the tires around the wheels if you didn't already. A little trick to put on your rimtape efficiently is shown in the picture. You'll need to align the hole in the tape with the hole in the rim. This can be done by putting something through both holes when putting the rimtape on. In this case a file which happened to be around did the job..

Other things
Think of bottle cages, bell, air pump, speed meter, etc. Just put as much stuff on it as your willing to carry with you...

And that's it, more or less! By now you should have an irresistible desire to start riding your bike. If not, you should start to doubt if you actually made the right choice of building your own bike...

At least I hope to have shown that building your own bike is not as hard as it might seem. If you've got something that comes close to a technical mind building your own bike might safe you quite a lot of money. And in the end, although I know how weird it may sound, building your own bike may come close to something we call 'fun'. Don't say I didn't warn you....

Shopping list

Frame: Nameless aluminum frame. Got it cheap from ebay.
Groupset (excl. axles): SRAM Rival
Fork: Kinesis aluminum fork.
Headset: Acros Ai03
Wheelset: Easton Circuit
Tires: Continental Grand Prix 4 seasons
Stem: Truvativ team stem
Steer: Molbodo
Seatpost: Ritchey Comp V2
Seat: Ritchey Comp
A lot of small bits and pieces....