[BrendanWelsh]

Hey guys, considering getting into biking again. Thinking about picking up a TransAm because it seems like its a good all-around bike. I will be riding it both on trails and on the street.

I'm trying to gauge about how much a nice build is going to run me. I don't really know all the parts I am going to need so I can really price it myself but I'm definitely going to do my research before diving in.

Individual parts with their prices would be cool but are not necessarily.

tl;dr: How much did your TransAm build cost you?

 

[have2ride2day]

Probably the best bang for you buck would be just to go with Transition's build kit. Building a bike from scratch is a sure way to get less for your money. That being said, I built mine up full xt with a mix of new and used parts (including I9 wheels I bought off a buddy) for around $2500. But I got some screaming deals and it took me months to find all the parts for what I wanted to pay.

 

[BrendanWelsh]

Man, don't know that I can afford anything close to that. Whats a more affordable middle of the line build going to run? Anybody know?

 

[Jkosmo]

I'd recommend checking out the classifieds for some used complete bikes, if you're looking to get the best bang for your buck. I just saw a few really nice TransAm's pop up for sale in the last few weeks, for some pretty good prices.

 

[ciaran-77]

Not a great quality photo. This should give you an idea of parts etc. Some are new parts, some used parts, but mostly taken off a previous build. It was built it to take a beating so it's not light.

Orange Frame, blue decals (new) £300
Rock Shox Domains 160mm (from prev bike)
Wheelset Halo Freedom Ano Red (from prev bike)
Tyres Maxxis HighRoller Dual Ply (new)
Brakes Juicy 5 + 203mm rotors (used)
Rear Derailleur SRAM X9 (from prev bike)
Rear Shifter SRAM x9 (from prev bike)
Crankset Shimano Hones (from prev bike)
Pedals V8 polished (from prev bike)
Chainguide LS1+ (new)
Cassette SRAM PG950 (from prev bike)
Chain SRAM PG951 (from prev bike)
Seatpost Easton AM40 30mm (used)
Seat WTB (used)
Stem Raceface (used)
Bars Truvativ (from prev bike)
Grips Sunline thin (from prev bike)

I reckon if I had to rebuild this tomorrow I could rebuild it for about £1100 / $1800. Things are much more expensive in the UK though so you'd be able to build it for less in the US. As said above if you build it up from used parts you'll get it cheaper and learn a lot about it in the process. It's expensive building your first bike but when you decide to change frames you can pinch a lot of parts from the old bike so it gets cheaper eventually.

 

[eurospek]

IMO this one is a great deal if you're going for a L frame.

http://classifieds.mtbr.com/showproduct.php?product=60703&cat=all

As for own build, I'm swapping everything from a new On-One 456 SS build which was $1800 or so. So after selling that frame, I'll be around $2100 into my Transition TransAM build (Full 2x9 SLX drivetrain, SLX 203/180 brakes, Pike 454 Coil, and Hope Hoops Pro2/Mavic EX721).