Originally Posted by
asromzek
I was leaning on the side of buying a bare frame and building up the bike component by component, but after reading a bit more I'm starting to wonder if I should go with a complete bike and replace components one at a time. .
Jeez, now you want to save money. Buying a frame at retail and the same quality of components as a stock bike easily puts you 50% over buying the complete bike, even more if you get pricier components. IMHO the entire reason for getting a bare frame is because you have nearly all the parts already from prior constructions, you work in a bike shop, or you have an extra $1000 in your pocket. Your desire to prioritize "quality over cost" will give you marginal increases in quality given the significance that labor contributes with much cost. Assuming you are sure about dimensions get the complete bike and have a spare set of wheels/tires. Unless you're especially heavy or crash all the time the stock wheels are good. Besides any crashes that are likely to damage the stock wheels will probably damage the frame or you.