Originally Posted by smurfy
An acquaintance of mine who's a seasoned bicycle tourer considered purchasing a Trek 520 but for $200 more he got a custom-sized Waterford touring bike, complete bike, I might add, very similar to the 520 (even the same color) and he got it built up how he wanted it without having to swap out all this stuff like he would have to do with the 520. This is what I would recommend.
Now that's a GREAT deal, because I just looked at the waterford website, and their cheapest frame is $1299, and the cheapest fork is $250, so right way there's over $1500. Components, I guess, are at least another $500-$1000.
I only paid $1000 for my Trek 520, including swapping out the crank, so paying $1200 for a $2000-$2500 custom Waterford would be fantastic.