I don't have bargain bikes as much as I have bargain frames. Most of the time the bike I end up riding has little to do with the bargain bike I started with. For example, my mutt started as an early 1990s Trek 730 with mostly original parts except for normal wear items. It now has a mix of new and used Deore, LX and XT components with a variety of bargain bin, closeout, take-off and leftover parts, with a wheel set I built myself. It would be a nightmare to figure out what it truly cost me as some parts were swapped to another frame for a bike flip, ended up on a family or friends bike, or are still waiting in my parts bin for another project.