People have a tendency to say that they're looking for the cheapest way into the game and then, either they get relentlessly tempted by the new stuff, or they're only fooling themselves thinking that they're looking for getting only 'up and running'. Either way, they end up on an 'upgrade path'.

I'm just as prone to this anti-logic as the next guy is, BTW.

If, in the end, you're going to have your bike decked out in modern gear, isn't it better to know what it'll cost (best prices!) to start there?

And also, in answer to the original posters question: The absolute least expensive way to outfit a frame is to buy a donor bike that's outfitted as you like and then sell of what you don't need. Problem is that donor bikes have unique niceties and hence tend to multiply, eventually taking over your life.

That being the case, the most cost effective way to build up a bare frame is to sell it, after buying a built up bike that floats your boat in the same way the 'envisioned' one does.

Danny