Okay, the Obsessive Compulsive in me went out to the local "if we don't have it, you don't need it" warehouse store tonight on a quest to see what "buggy resources" might be available. Naturally the wheels, tires and axle assemblies jumped out at me and I managed to find a supply of steel in square, rectangular and round varieties. What I also found were the price tags. After reading through some posts in this thread I see that even just the wheels and tires are likely to hit a guy at about $2-300. Am I right? I'm thinking that wise money might BUY the first bug and then, now having a set of wheels and tires (and seat) you can fab your double wide, your stretched, your dual axle etc.

I'm not done "doin' the math" here....for all I know the wheels and tires are the only major expense and the steel and miscellany are not much more than that so maybe it's smart to build. I know lots of you have built, are building etc. What been the consensus? Is a guy better off just to buy the first one?

[Edit: Just found the thread on the "Buggy Metal" - ouch]

Don't forget the price of steel... A decent first bug (purchased with an eye to a deal) would be about $600, and the kitesurf crowd spend that much on a board! I reckon for me without access to welding supply and skill it will be far cheaper to buy the first one, ride that for awhile, then invest the hours and money and tools and time spent learning new skills in something more like exactly what I want, once I know what I'm doing with a buggy.

But with access to skills and tools for free after a few spins in somebody else's bug, the situation shifts to make it worthwhile...

I was thinkin about building my own buggy for awhile.
Then reason stepped up and slapped me square in the face.
After a talk with Jellis, and Sunset Jim, if you don't get the geometry just right
you will have trouble controlling the buggy. Also, with the cost of steel, (either stainless,
or chrome molly), tires, wheels, padding, a seat, extra steel (for the mistakes) you are likely
to spend as much if not more the a production buggy.

First question is do you have access to a welder if yes than you're good to go. Next there are ways around building a "stainless steel" buggy - first off you don't have to use stainless - it is the best material, but we're not going to the moon here. 1/2 in square mild steel tubing is relatively cheap compared to stainless - you can double it up with spacers in between and make a framework capable of holding a 230 lbs man (my bro sat in my buggy and it didn't collapse). After that wheel are basically going to be anywhere from $19 - $35 a piece (that's wheelbarrow=$19 - turf tires (wider and taller)=$35) - now bigfoots are the expensive ones - a set can roll you back $240. I suggest the wheelbarrow tires. Here's your cost breakdown -

Tires $19 x 3= $60
buggy frame (1/2" x 25' square tubing = roughly $60
axle (3/4" x 6' steel axle) = $20
front forks (plates, tubes, bearings) = $40
seat (seatbelt straps with epoxy and staples holding them together - trust me it works great + replacement seat for riding mower - you can find these at hardware stores every so often) = $30
odds and ends (bolts and nuts and cotter pins) = $20

Our total = $230 bones and all your spare time for a month.

So really do the math. My 2 cents

I built a buggy and spent $50-$100 but it isn't working well at all. I did spent quite a while shopping for stuff and building it. Since it isn't working, I am still spending time working on it and not riding it.:flaming: So unless you know what you are doing (cause I didn't) or it is going to cost you significantly less than a buggy, don't build it.

If you do the math and find like flexiblade that it is $230 then I would look at the $299 buggies on ebay. Yeah, they aren't great but for $70 more you could have a buggy and spend the rest of the spare time that month on said buggy instead of figuring out why the one you are building isn't working.

Why didn't I do it that way? Like they say, hindsight is 20/20.

It all depends on your interests and the availability of equipment. If you just want a buggy - you can hunt around and eventually you will find one. If you're like me and some of the other kiters on this forum we like to take things apart find out how they work and then put them back together with new things added. It's fun, but it is also very time consuming. I work at a foundry (bronze casting) so I have access to welding and metal working equipment. I had a heck of a time building my first buggy (which is the one I still ride) took me about a week of intense work - It worked the first time out but I have been constantly rethinking design and rebuilding parts of the buggy. I am constantly looking for and stealing designs when I see good ones (PTW) - this only comes after you've been in a buggy a while and know what should need reworking and what doesn't. Do what you think you should - Borrow a friends a few times and get that bug - kinda feels like when you first started flying a power kite. Then you can decide what you want to do.

LOVE the emoticon! hehehehe

Words of wisdom flexi, thanks. I'll be overstaying my welcome in RevPaul's bug if we can ever get wind and then decisions will have to be made. I'm a fan of the almighty "tinker" but for me it's a combination of wanting to build, wanting to learn some skills and wanting to stock up on more tools that I left behind way back when ('cuz they were dad's and I turned into a grown up......not sure how that happened.)

Not a cheap venture materials aside.

A word about material, CSA D. you used a name that alot of people throw around but do not know what it is. CHROME-MOLY! is not pretty. If I threw a piece of each chrome-moly steel and mild steel . you wouldn't be able to tell them apart. Chrome-moly steel will rust.It looks nothing like stainless.All it is, is an alloy of steel that has a high % of chromium and molybdenum . Used in boilers and high pressure steam pipe ,due to the fact that it resists corrosion. It handles high temp fluctuations. It is stronger than ordinary steel ( 80,000 ) And expensive!!:wow: bike makers CHROME-PLATE a piece of steel and call it "chrome-moly" Anyway I thought you should know, before ya order some pipe that ain't shiny!

Yeah in my previous life as a licensed aircraft mechanic I worked with a lot of chrome-moly. It's tough and easy to weld with plain oxy-cetaline (sp?) welding gear. Used a lot in aircraft for structural pieces.

I totally agree with furbowski's post above on this .
Buy one to start with. You will get a much better idea of what you need after you have owned abuggy for a while.
Once you know what you want, then you are in a better position to build your own.

I had PL production buggies to start with. They were both rubbish as far as I was concerned but I learnt a lot from them when they broke, which they did almost every outing.
I have built 4 buggies and each one has been an improvement of the previous one. My next one will be even better again.

My earlier ones were made of stainless steel but I found that stainless would fatigue faster than mild steel.
My last buggy was all mild steel and finally powder coated for protection against corrosion. I don't build my own buggies to save money because when I consider all the work I put in along with material costs (include seats wheels, bearings etc). it probably costs me about the same if not more than a decent production buggy.

Thanks all for the input - as much as I'd love to have a somewhat rational excuse to finally buy a welder it's not the right time or place for me to do so. I figure if I am gonna do it I'd be wise to buy a "good" welder that will last as opposed to trying to do things on the cheap. That said, comparing between building a bug and buying a bug isn't fair....really I'd be spending WAY more on the tools alone than just buying a bug.

So that's the plan. If I can get one of AWOC's Monsters up without losing my shirt I will but otherwise I'll keep an eye on the market and see if I can get my hands on a used bug first, new second and built if neither of those two come to fruition.