Originally Posted by
TheBlackPumpkin
I'll keep this in mind. Buying a titanium frameset did occur to me. The problem is I'm talking going from an entry level Specialized roll to a mid range bike. Titanium frameset, by the time I have it fully built up, we're talking what? Another 1.5k on components, wheels, etc. I mean don't get me wrong that'd be ideal and it may take longer to hit my target weight than planned but titanium custom builds look about twice my budget.
It will be more expensive but you can build the bike to suit your needs.
You could spec something with some nicer wheels, and a few other nicer components and then go for say Microshift Sword for the drivetrain and upgrade down the road. It will cost a bit more but you will have a bike you can hold onto for a long long long time. You could also go for a complete build from say Lynskey who has some stuff on sale or Litespeed who might also do the same (they have share an origin story to some degree from what I recall). In the end if I know what I want I will save up a little more to get it but in the case of say Lynskey I can get a pretty neat Ti bike on sale for 300-500 above the budget and it could have electronic shifting which isn't bad.