Moving to Stockholm in 2018, I always had the plan of buying a bike and commuting everywhere on it. But little did I know it would spark a new hobby and obsession.

In the spring of 2019, I bought my first commuting bike and absolutely fell back in love with riding. I started tinkering with that bike (the mullet), going longer and longer distances. I knew I wanted to get fitter, so I signed up for my first triathlon to take place in 2020. Covid had other plans, and I didn't get to race until 2022, but that summer I started looking into road bikes.

The thing is... I didn't want to invest too much money into a road bike, which sent me down a fun little rabbit hole.

The frame

Having worked in the golf industry, I knew how equipment was made. I spent weeks scouring the internet using Import Yeti and countless forums until I found a manufacturer in China with open moulds. They were willing to sell me a sample frame for $200 USD.

Maybe a little naive, but I was confident I could build my own bike after watching a few YouTube videos. Plus, I knew how to work with carbon fiber from my years building golf equipment. How hard could it be?

Painting

WOW... Did I bite off more than I could chew. But it was SO worth it! Now I understand why so many shops charge an arm and a leg for paint jobs. The amount of sanding, waiting, and sanding again was unreal.

Thanks to this video, I lost count of how many times I watched it. I felt confident enough to attempt it, and since it was Covid times, I had nothing but time.

The process was meticulous: primer, sand, primer again, sand again, base coat, wet sand with 800 grit, mask, colour coats, unmask, clear coat, wet sand with 1000 grit. Each step had to be perfect or you'd see it in the final finish.

The Parts Hunt

With the frame sorted, I spent time digging through YouTube reviews, eBay, AliExpress, Facebook groups, and local bike forum buy/sell threads. I managed to get some great parts for a fraction of the cost. Since I wasn't sure if I'd actually enjoy this new sport, I didn't want to go overboard on equipment. Plus, I knew quality second-hand parts hold their value.

The build list:

SRAM Red carbon crank (eBay)
Shimano R8020 hydraulic groupset (Facebook Marketplace)
Shimano RS wheels with tires (Blocket)
Prologo Dimension saddle (HappyRide)
Bars and stem (AliExpress)
Speedplay pedals (HappyRide)

I loved the fast now that each part had its own little story. The SRAM crank came from a guy in Germany who was upgrading his entire drivetrain. The Shimano groupset was practically new - a salsa instructor was selling because his wife surprised with with upgraded parts for this birthday. The wheels were local from a guy that had them on a training bike.

The Build

Assembly was where my golf equipment background really paid off. Carbon components require specific torque specs and careful handling. Too loose and parts can slip or creak. Too tight and you risk cracking expensive carbon fiber.

Cable routing through the frame was probably the trickiest part. Internal routing looks clean but requires patience and sometimes creative problem-solving with an old shift cable, magnets and "sentence enhancers".

The most satisfying moment was when everything finally came together and I took it for that first test ride. All those hours of research, sanding, and assembly condensed into the simple joy of riding.

Lessons Learned

This project taught me more than just bike mechanics. It was a masterclass in patience, research, and the value of learning by doing. The skills from design work and golf equipment building absolutely translated, but bikes have their own unique challenges.

Would I do it again? Absolutely. In fact, this bike sparked an obsession with cycling that led to countless upgrades, more bikes, and eventually racing. Sometimes the best way to fall in love with something is to build it yourself.

The total cost ended up being around $700 for what would have been a $3,000+ bike retail. But more importantly, I understood every single component and how it worked together. That knowledge has been invaluable for every bike project since.

To wrap up

This ended up being an amazing passion project. I loved the process of learning something new and seeing skills from design and building golf equipment translate over. More than that, it was the start of a cycling obsession that's taken me from Stockholm's bike paths to racing triathlons.

Sometimes the best purchases aren't purchases at all - they're projects that teach you something about yourself along the way.