@kiwifyx Not sure if PX do a build on that frame but I didn’t look TBH. @splash Pretty bog standard Hope wheels that actually haven’t gone up in price much in the last three years.
I’m sure I could have found some of the parts cheaper elsewhere but most of the prices are straight from CRC.
I made a similar decision last fall, however I built mine up myself. I purchased an Open U.P. frame and built it with Campy Ekar. Some things to note:
The Open UP uses an integrated headset so no need to press any bearings there. Just a little grease on the outside of the bearings and inside the cups and the bearings pop right in place. The “crown race” is actually molded in to the fork. OK, it’s not really a bearing race, its just a tapered piece of carbon that mates up inside the bearing, but you get the idea.
The bottom bracket is press fit. I used a BBInfinite bottom bracket so I was able to rent their press tool for something like $30. Nice since this would be an infrequently used tool for me.
Since I went Campy, I did have to buy some Campy specific things (cassette lockring tool, LONG 10mm hex socket for crank, special bearing puller/install tool set for crank)
Outside of crank bolts (Campy ultra torque is something like 40-50Nm, yours will vary depending on which crankset you choose) and cassette lockring (40Nm typically) you should be fine with a torque wrench in the 2-16 Nm range.
While I certainly did not embark on a “budget build”, I think I got the best value for my money as compared to anything off the rack - even Open’s Ekar build. By comparison, the Ekar build that was available from Open at the time was around $6k I think and I’ve probably got around $7500 in mine. That said, I have an Enve seatpost, stem and handlebars as well as Campagnolo Shamal Carbon Disc wheels. In addition, I got the saddle I like (Ergon), bar width and stem length I like, crank length I like, tires I wanted and chainring/cassette combo I wanted. While the upfront cost is more, the overall cost is less as I don’t have to swap components out down the road to get what I actually wanted in the first place.
On top of the “getting exactly what you want”, and the perhaps debatable cost savings, I enjoy working on bikes and enjoyed building this one. The cable routing inside the Open UP isn’t bad (don’t think I even used my Park kit with the magnets). If you have questions on this frame specifically as it relates to putting it all together I’d be happy to share any of my experience with you to help out.
If you feel up to it, I’d use the money you’d spend having the shop do the build to buy the tools you don’t have and build it yourself - you’ll learn a ton and know exactly how everything works on your bike so you can fix it in the future. I’m all for supporting your LBS, but there’s nothing quite like building your own bike from the frame up.
Oh, and you’ll really like the Open UP. I’m running it with 700x32 tubeless road tires right now and its a blast on nice roads, not so nice roads and smoother gravel. I’m going to swap to wider gravel tires for a few races later this year that have rougher gravel, but am sure it will be just as great on that setup.
