First Parts Update

Earlier this week I picked up my Karate Monkey frame and fork, and launched into a build project to make it my first single speed project. Since then I've picked up a few things -- new parts, used parts, and free stuff. Here's the overview shot of stuff I have. Not in love with the bars, but I'll explain after the photo.

From my previous list, I was shooting for the 'around $300 range' to complete the build. My initial stab at parts needed, and potential costs had me at $310 without a seat. Here's a quick update of what I've put together in the past few days, with some notes and prices.

$0 - Seatpost. I had to replace a seatpost on a Jamis roadbike because it was too tall for our son, so this was sitting around.
$0 - Surly Tugnut Tensioner. The seller of the frame mentioned he had one of these when I got the frame from him, and I was able to snag it from him this week.
$0 - Alloy bars. I have no idea what brand these are, but these came leftover from another purchase as extras.
$0 - Tektro brake and lever. Again, extra 'stuff' from the previously mentioned purchase.
$20 - Aheadset threadless headset. Broke down and just purchased a cheap, but solid headset locally.
$100 - Xero XSM 29er Wheels. The original seller mentioned he had some wheels, so I ended up snagging these from him. They have little use on them and are in great shape. They also have the freehub on the rear wheel, so I think for the SS project I'll first go with a sprocket and spacers, rather than spending money on a SS freewheel.

I don't think I'll go with these bars longterm, or even the brake, BUT for my initial build, they *could* be used if I need to make the budget work. Who knows, maybe I'll like them. Here's the picture with the breakdown of what's what and prices. (Click on the image to see a readable, full size image.)


I'm heading up to Portland for a couple days and hoping to hit a few bike shops while we're up there. Performance Bike has three locations up there and may have the Shimano UN54 bottom bracket I'm thinking about for under $25, as well as a basic tool kit I'm looking at. By the way, I'm not including tools or items like grease in my build cost since we have 6 in our family and the bike collection is growing -- those items will just be part of the cost of having bikes.

I'm actually looking forward to hitting more of the local bike shops than Performance though. Portlandians on Bike Forums have recommended City Bikes, Sellwood Cyle Repair, The Recyclery, and A Better Cycle. I also have a bid in on a stem that comes with some drop bars, but that won't end until after I make my run, so we'll see how all the timing works out.

On another note, there's a possibility this project may turn into more of a commuter/road type bike for the woman I live with, but the jury is still out on that. More later...but for now:

Build out component parts total: $120