Lots of good food for thought here. I've considered the 2nd hand market first, but being North Dakota, biking is still a pretty niche hobby unfortunately. Most bikes for sale aren't very good quality and don't fit guys who are 6'3" like myself.
Still, I have been looking on CL and locally. I'd have to drive almost 200 miles to Fargo to get into a better market.
I'm still open into a build-your-own, but I'd really like to find something with less aggressive geometry like a Vaya or Sequoia, so if anyone has suggestions from Nashbar, Bikes Direct, Bike Island, etc, that might fit the bill, I'd be all ears. I want to say, I'm SUPER reluctant to spend $1k+ on a bike, no matter how good it is. The value has to be there for me. I don't mind spending money if I know it's worthwhile. I'm probably going to start a separate thread that more specifically addresses this. I just want to say I'm not ignoring all the good feedback, just trying to work with what's available to me here on the frozen tundra.