In his retirement, former President Mwai Kibaki enjoys a rock-solid reputation. He’s famed to have revitalized Kenya’s economy, from 2013. A professional economist, Mwai Kibaki implemented a multi-tentacle approach to jumpstart the economy.

This approach held an ambitious agenda to create millions of jobs, and create revenue for jobless youth. With a stroke of the pen, Kibaki scrapped duty tax on the importation of motor bikes. That’s how motorbikes flooded the country. That spurred growth in the spare part industry, insurance, SME’s based upon savings and cheap loans.

The Boda Boda industry posts millions of shillings in daily rotation.

A regular Boda Boda costs between Ksh80,000 – Ksh150,000 brand new. Financing options raise the price to over Ksh250,000 – which eats into the profits for an investor. In a bid for self-actualization, ingenious youth have explored other ways: purchasing bike parts and components, then make a Do It Yourself (DIY) assembly.

 Does a DIY Bike Assembly save money?

No. A pre-built, fully assembled bike is cheaper. There’s several reasons for that.

First, there’s a huge competition among bike manufacturers. This is a very low-margin business, but still mass-market. At the same time, selling specific components is a niche business and margins are higher there. What is the result? For example, a group set purchased separately will be 30-40% more expensive than same group set installed in an assembled bike.

Secondly, manufacturers are buying these components in bulk – thousands of sets. As a result, the pricing they get from one of three main manufacturers for key components (Shine Ray, Bajaj and Captain) is way below what retail stores can offer you buying the same parts separately.

To Buy an Assembled Bike

It’s the best option for a newbie, and cheaper. A bike from a reputable brand, has quality parts and are guaranteed to fit and work together.

Pros

• Cost-effective
• Saves you time
• Smart choice of components (if you choose a bike from good manufacturer). As a result, you get a well-balanced bike.

Cons

• Can’t pick specific components
• Lower-level manufacturers sometimes make illogical component choices and compromises to fit a bike within specific price range

Building Bike from Scratch (DIY)

The DIY choice I practical, but need experienced biker and/or mechanic. These are enthusiasts, who sometimes may overlook budget constraints

Pros

• One learns every single bit of the bike – May later cut down costs on repairs and maintenance.
• Maximum flexibility & customizability – you can pick each and every component
• Innate gratification and satisfaction of owning a bike assembled by self.
• It’s very unlikely to find a similar bike owned by someone else anywhere on the globe. It’s unique.

Cons

• Demands expensive tools, often used once – unless it becomes a fulltime occupation.
• Enormous time spent on research, and resources sourcing for each part and component
• If you’re new to the whole thing, you might not know yet what exactly you need – as a result – you can end up with a shopping cart of really expensive but useless parts.

What’s the Smarter Approach?

Procure a used, discounted bike with decent main components – say, a good frame and fork. Now, build upon that frame, or chassis. This saves you loads of money, and the vital organs shall have a guarantee.