Originally Posted by
Commuter76
You've gotten some great advice so far, so I'll just add that you can find a touring bike on BikesDirect.com (the Windsor Tourist) for $600. I've never ridden one, but there are one or two folks on here who have one who might be able to tell you about the quality of it.
Quick answer: No.
Long answer: Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.
If you want to save some money, build from scratch. You'll end up doing just as much work with anything BikesDirect sells anyway, and you'll avoid some cheap-o parts.