Originally Posted by bka2
right, i definitely agree that i can't afford a custom build. that's exactly why i was asking about completes. thanks for the suggestions--i'll check out the fit pro and integral expos, although i was hoping to grab something 20" or below, and i've only seen those two with 20.5" TT. but thanks! i know it's a tough question to answer and it's possible that i just won't find the right bike in the right price range, and will have to settle one way or another.
See the thing is, the completes with the smaller tt lenghts are usually the ones with the cheaper parts. And generally that means they wont last as long or they will be heavy. The two bikes that i picked out for you to look at are sort of in the middle as far as how good the parts and frames are to the price and size.
I would assume that the smaller tt bikes with the cheaper and lower ends parts are made like that because they figure the little guys are only the little kids...I think you would be just fine on a 20.5"