Disappointed to find the bars I want are on back order for another couple of weeks. Gutted.
I was even contemplating going for the 40’s as I am so desperate to start building.
Wonder if Specialized are having supply issues as the saddle I was hoping to purchase is on order till the end of may
Probably. I mean how can you have the latest products on back order in some stores literally from June and as late as September.
sometimes items are always on backorder, just if you get your order it, it will be filled when it comes available. Back when I was stupid enough to have an s-works mtb as my only bike, it was only on backorder for 2 weeks.
Specialized seem bad for this. My S-works frame was on backorder and took almost 5 months to arrive after being delayed for almost a month. S-Works turbo 2bliss 26mm tyres are currently on backorder until July in UK. They’re obviously doing something wrong.
Should I just give all the parts to my local bike shop or attempt to build some of it myself?
If you have to ask the question, you may be better to have the shop do it.
A bit harsh, but unless you have solid confidence in maintenance and prior builds, you should leave it to the professionals.
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Have been doing bike maintenance for some time now but this is my first full bike build… Was hoping to give it a go but obviously there are things I simply cannot do at home ie a steerer cut.
Obviously having a professional do it will give it that clean look and peace of mind. Just kinda wanted to take part in that aspect…
Give it a shot if you want. Gotta learn some time if it’s a skill you want to learn. The risk/reward is yours to choose and take.
I would just be more nervous while learning on a higher end build vs something less expensive (if I make a mistake… which is very likely with new skills). But that may just be me and my perfectionist nature of wanting to get it right the first time.
That is a good point, building an expensive bike is risky and creates some element of nervousness.
It is also risky handing your bike over to the shop bloke and hoping he takes a fair amount of care assembling these expensive parts. That also makes me nervous.
There is part of me that doesn’t really want to go back to the shop and voila here is your bike built. If you know what I mean…
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Yeah, shop techs range from scary to amazing. I would never hand my bike over blindly. Especially in the case of a build, I make sure I know the person doing the build and their prior experience.
Easier to do in a small area like mine and since I work at a shop. But I recommend that anyone in your position do some initial research and meet the person that will be doing the work.
Hmmm. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt. Measure, measure again, check, measure, check, cut.
Oops.
A lot easier than pressing in headset bearings without a headset press.
Go to the bike shop?
If you’ve not done this yourself, and S-Works build isn’t the one to start with!! I’d be getting this done professionally.
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I begrudgingly agree. But equally I have never trusted a mechanic with an S-Works before.
+1
If you do not already have favorite/trusted mechanic, perhaps ask your friends. In my case, there was a Specialized Concept Store close by. I would go by there on occasion to look at stuff. At the same time, I would always pay attention to the guys wrenching on the bikes. It was easy to see who was learning and who was experienced. More importantly, I could see who was meticulous and thorough. Eventually when I decided on an S-Works frame/fork, I already knew which wrench would be building my bike. We made a list of parts together. He called me when it was done. That was about 4yrs ago. Even though he is now at a non-Spesh shop, he is the only person that works on my bikes.
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Wow, I didn’t realize the cheapest S-Works bike is $10k, cheapest frame is $5k. I am poor, lol.
I’m not necessarily poor, but I sure am cheap. No way I’m putting that kind of money into a bike…
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A few years ago I was the 12th rider in a 13-rider pile-up, broke my clavicle and in the process ran over a SWORKS!!! with Campy. For a moment we discussed my liability, lol. This is another reason I don’t race on pavement, too much risk of crashing and I can’t afford to replace someone’s $10k bike in a pile-up.
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You’re not the only one. Why I bought the Allez Sprint. I get a little bit of satisfaction dropping people on bikes that cost more than my car.
I do have my Emonda SLR but that was a super duper discounted bike from a friend who had it when he was a trek rider.
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