I'm over here in Skokie, IL it's like 10 min from rogers park in Chicago. I paid $250 for the frame not knowing what it was beforehand just knew cannondale was a great company and the frame spoke to me. Glad I got all this info. Honestly there's a few bike shops around here gonna go to a few and see if one is cool enough to stick with for good. I've read some good reviews on the mavic wheels, shimano (rs20?), and the fulcrums. Hopefully one of these guys have a good deal on a pair around here. I did end up paying 1100 for everything so far so sure I overpaid, but lesson learned.

Don't sweat it. This should be a great bike, and you could have gone out and bought an entry-level aluminum-framed Cannondale road bike and spent more money, and it would be arguable if you got a better bike. Amortize your costs over thousands of miles of enjoyable riding, and in the big picture the bike will be a tremendous bargain.

It will be! My next bike will be a higher end cannondale but that won't be for a while. I'm going to have a lot of fun with this build. And like one of the posters said it's going to be fun having a blank canvas to work with.