Hello there. To start out, some back story for how I arrived where I am now.
I got a free bicycle (a 1995 Univega Via Carisma) from my girlfriend's parents but the problem is it is too small for me. I measured the seat tube to be around 21 inches, which you can imagine does not work well for someone that is 6'4". I of course found this out after finding out
this recall still works since it had the listed FC-MC12 cranks and had them replaced by the LBS. I have tried riding it anyways, knowing it is too small for me, but it ends up bothering me after 2 or 3 miles and then I do not ride it again for a few weeks. Since I got the bike last year, I have been lurking here and seem to have grown an affinity for late '70s and 80's Japanese bikes.
I have browsed craigslist plenty the last few months but tend to stay away from the NYC one as it would be more difficult to get there than other places for me. Something caught my eye yesterday though, a Univega Gran Rally frame listed as 24.5" that looked to only be missing wheels, brake levers, and some of the cables. At $50, I thought to myself "it's cheaper than a complete bike and you could have fun getting it going!" In retrospect, I should have tried to jump on it regardless because the Shimano 600 parts it had seem to go for a nice price anyway and would have covered the cost of entry if something went wrong with the frame.
Either way, I guess the "starting out" title refers to what the best way to go about getting a bike for someone that is new to this would be. The initial cost of a putting a bike together looks attractive compared to a complete bike, especially with some of the ones I see for sale around here. I do not really have any tools, but I figure I would end up purchasing them anyway, and I have the space and the go ahead from my SO. The only problem with buying just a frame is that I only have an idea of what my size should be from an online frame size calculator but have never actually ridden on various sizes to test them out.
So it leads me to wondering if it would be better for me to pay a bit more and buy a bicycle that works to begin with and that I can test ride to make sure it is the right size for me or to buy a frame and hope it is the right size as I build it up.