Originally Posted by Eyenigma

Makes sense, thank you all for taking the time. Really good advice in here, and I appreciate the input.
Without really sounding ignorant, how does one really choose a groupset? I can see why it's a logical place to start. It honestly seems a lot like choosing between Audi, Mercedes, and BWW. Really all of them make comparable products (according to reviews anyway) at various price points. You could almost flip a coin and wind up in something quite nice. So is that the answer? Find a groupset at a smoking deal (whatever the brand) and go from there?

As not to start a debate on that, are there general rules of thumb to follow or avoid? For instance it seems a lot of Italian frames are paired with Campagnolo given the country of origins. But I'm guessing there's no hard and fast rule as to what pairs with what. I assume it's all universal sizing and fit?

It would seem picking a popular brand like Giant or Felt
Propel Advanced SL Frameset (2016) | Giant Bicycles | United States
FRAMESET: AR FRD - Felt Bicycles

Would probably be silly to do a custom assembly given their packages come pretty well dialed. Is that fair to say? In thinking about this a bit more, I'm asking myself what it is I'd hope to gain by doing something custom.

It almost seems it's well suited to finding that rare frame and assembling something exotic. Or a frame on close-out where the price warrants the effort of trying to piece it together little by little.

Originally Posted by Eyenigma

Makes sense, thank you all for taking the time. Really good advice in here, and I appreciate the input.
Without really sounding ignorant, how does one really choose a groupset? I can see why it's a logical place to start. It honestly seems a lot like choosing between Audi, Mercedes, and BWW. Really all of them make comparable products (according to reviews anyway) at various price points. You could almost flip a coin and wind up in something quite nice. So is that the answer? Find a groupset at a smoking deal (whatever the brand) and go from there?

As not to start a debate on that, are there general rules of thumb to follow or avoid? For instance it seems a lot of Italian frames are paired with Campagnolo given the country of origins. But I'm guessing there's no hard and fast rule as to what pairs with what. I assume it's all universal sizing and fit?

It would seem picking a popular brand like Giant or Felt
Propel Advanced SL Frameset (2016) | Giant Bicycles | United States
FRAMESET: AR FRD - Felt Bicycles

Would probably be silly to do a custom assembly given their packages come pretty well dialed. Is that fair to say? In thinking about this a bit more, I'm asking myself what it is I'd hope to gain by doing something custom.

It almost seems it's well suited to finding that rare frame and assembling something exotic. Or a frame on close-out where the price warrants the effort of trying to piece it together little by little.

Originally Posted by bassjones

For me, my CAAD9 has SRAM Rival 10-speed and I really like it, having test ridden several 105 and Ultegra built bikes over the last couple of years. I prefer SRAM. I'm going to keep the CAAD9 until the frame brakes but I'm going to start racing next year and will be using it as my race bike. I also like endurance riding (but not full on touring) so I will be building up a bike specifically for centuries, double centuries and maybe eventually "credit card" touring on weekends. Since I like SRAM and for an endurance type ride, the latest, lightest, greatest group isn't necessary, I've decided to do a 10-speed Rival build, using a wifli RD for greater cassette range over the short cage setup on my CAAD9. Since that's now "outdated", it will also allow me to save quite a bit of money over building with 11-speed Rival or Force. So now, it's just a matter of choosing my frame and for what I'm planning, steel makes sense, but since I'm not doing loaded touring, a steel fork isn't necessary, so steel frame with carbon fork, it is. I've looked at off the rack frames made overseas - Soma, Surly, and a couple of others, but settled on a Gunnar Sport for US made custom sizing (available). I'm hoping to keep the total build around $2000, but won't skimp on wheels to do it.

Originally Posted by bassjones

I'm not spending near $600... Pick stuff up a piece at a time. Less than $100 right now and I have both dérailleurs. Also picked up a standard 12-26 cassette for $30. Brifters and a crankset are being hunted down now. I know the crankset will be the expensive part, but Rival cranksets aren't too bad and I don't see the need for Force on a distance bike.

Also picked up a stem for $5 on close out from my LBS and may get bars this weekend if they still have the 44s for $30. By buying stuff they've had on the shelf for a couple of years, it's not too bad on the wallet. I'll have all or at least most of the parts on hand before I order my frame.

Originally Posted by ShortLegCyclist

No offense intended, but if you don't know the difference between the groupsets from having ridden them, can you really decide whether it's worth $500 more for Ultegra over 105, as an example? I would think you'd be best off riding as many different bikes and groupsets as possible first, to really get to know the pros and cons for you particular riding style.

Originally Posted by mawashi

Again it all boils down to how much you want to spend and you've not stated the amount... and what you're looking for. If you want something beautiful that you could ride and show off while knowing it's really unique, you could look at Ti, steel, stainless steel etc. that way you get a truly beautiful frame that will stand the test of time.

Originally Posted by 69chevy

I'd rather base the frame I want on the crank I want. I'm not sure I'd want to pick a crank based on the confines of a particular frame.

If you pick a pressed fit BB frame, you are limited in options. If you pick a english threaded BB frame, you could run just about anything.