Originally Posted by
dynodonn
by the time I get the beater bike to my minimum commuting standards, I might as well have bought a new bike with all the time, money, and energy spent on the beater.
+1 That's my take too.
I absolutely refuse to ride a low quality bike. They are horrible to keep maintained, and have bad ride characteristics (to my preferences).
The bike posted by the OP is my kind of beater - it starts with a quality frame and goes from there to become a nice riding frankenbike. I like that. And for $375 he's created a perfectly functional bike for less than the cost of a few nice components.