I'm 6'9", with very long legs. Invariably, whenever I enter a bike shop, I am greeted with "you need a custom bike." This is very annoying, because my bike is less than 3 months old, and it seemed fairly expensive for me, yet very, very cheap compared to a custom bike with decent components. And, honestly, who'd put tiagra on a custom frame? I think Ultegra or Chorus would be the minimum.

My personal view is that it's better for me to get out on a bike, without necessarily fitting perfectly, than waiting until I can afford a custom frame (which would be quite some time from now). And yet I can't avoid the custom frame pitch.

What do other people feel about this? Is fit really that important an issue? I'm young and poor, and haven't really ever fit on a bike properly since I was in 6th grade, so I've never felt a "perfect" fit.