If you had $700 to spend on components, what would you buy?
 

I have a steel road frame I am building up and am wondering what I should look for in components so I can complete my build. My budget is just $700 for everything as all I have is the frame, headset and forks. I intend to buy good, used parts to stretch my budget out a bit. This is my very first bike build.

Btw, this is the road bike I will use for centuries and for hauling my little boy around in his Burley trailer. I live on a double digit grade hill which I intend to ride up except when I've got him in tow in which case I will walk it up. I'm considering putting on an 11-28 cassette. Any advice for the rest?

Try looking for last years or 2 years ago SRAM Rival or Shimano 105 or maybe even Campagnolo Veloce, sometimes you can get those for under $500 and still have $300 which can buy you a decent set of Eastons or Mavics.... Two words as well, Compact Double!

Or one word.... Triple.

+1 on the 105 or older Veloce. Avoid 2007-2008 Veloce as it has the "escapement" shifters which were not one of Campy's better ideas.

You may be able to find NOS 9-speed 105 at a very good price if you look around.

Nashbar sells "Microshift" 10-speed brifters, etc, under their house-brand name and these seem to be a bargain and have decent performance. However they are double crank only.

Another major cost saver is to use barend shifters instead of brifters and they work with any crank/front derailleur configuration.

Actually looking back I agree on the triple, being that his rides involve a double digit grade hill, and he may be towing his son.

Also while I like Campy and suggested it, maybe I would reneg on my suggestion just for the simple fact that Shimano parts and wheels are more common and therefore likely cheaper.

Something weird has happened to this thread because there were a few more responses early this AM and now they're gone. I was hoping to click on one of the links for online bike parts retailers.

Me? I'd buy three or four parts bikes on CL.

Given your intended usage, top speed shouldn't be too high of a priority. With that in mind, I would consider something like a 46/36/26 triple crank (Sugino XD600) paired with an 11/28 cassette or similar. You might just have a chance of getting up that hill with that gearing and a 46/11 top gear isn't much of a loss from a 52/12. You could always get a 48 tooth big ring and have a larger top gear than many stock road bikes have.

Strange I didn't notice them.

If you are looking for new groupsets www.qbike.com can identify US based retailers with the best prices.

As well though you can save significantly going international. I use www.totalcycling.com they don't have anything in your range right now, but keep an eye peeled they do show up. www.probikekit.com is a good one too.

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/mercier/aerott.htm Take off the group and sell the frame/fork to recoup some of the cost. Good luck, sounds like a lot of fun.

You're right. I'm not thinking fast for this bike. More like comfort and low gearing for the hills. Thanks for the tip about the 48 ring.