Ok, So I have a road bike that i love. I'm a relatively poor soldier who's moving back to the states after a year away from the family. They come to pick my stuff up and put it on a boat here in a couple days... and I just found out I'm going to be without bike for roughly 3 months!

My alternative, is to build a single speed. I'm not looking to purchase a complete bike, (unless someones got one for super cheap in the savannah georgia area) but I found a complete frame/fork/bottom bracket/seatpost combo with a blemished paintjob online for 90 bucks with free shipping. Its a cheap taiwanese frame I'm sure but its aluminum and comes in at around 2500g's for the frameset.

I'm going to need a couple parts to finish it out, I'm looking for the best prices for serviceable equipment that will work together...Help!

Wheelset with rear cog.
Stem
Roadbars or aero bars with wrap.
Track crankset... would prefer a 46t
Chain
Seat

I'm looking around online pretty hard... and hunting eBay at the same time... but I'll honestly take what you've guys got sitting in your parts bins if its serviceable and cheap....

Aside from the frame... I see the wheelset being the most expensive purchase. Cheapest I've found so far is 99 dollars at nashbar.

If you are really looking for cheap, why not just get the hounder from Nashbar? It is $175 with free shipping today. You would spend way more than that building your bike up no matter what you do.

ugh...its almost like buying from BD though.....

Aside.. I've got a little money on the left and right, I want drop bars... and being able to customize the thing as I build it right the first time is important me. I also plan on using this for family rides with my wife and kids...

Do you want a cheap bike or not? Building a bike will cost much more than buying something complete - even if you use crappy parts.

What's so terribly wrong with buying a bike from BD and being done with it? Or if you don't want to give BD your money for whatever reason, how about this:

https://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product...5_10000_202339

If you are shopping on e-bay, there is no reason to avoid BD. Buying a complete bike is always cheaper than building. The only situation in which it makes sense to build is when you already have most the parts or the frame you want is unavailable as a complete bike. This isn't to say that the frame that you are looking at isn't a great deal. We don't know what it is, so it could be. Regardless, this won't be the cheapest way to go.

I guess im trying to find that middle road, between getting what I want and doing it as cheaply as possible.. and in small enough increments that I cant slide it under the wifes radar... lol.

And I thought BD and Nashbar and PB were all owned by the same company?

maybe so, but you'll end up with a bike cobbled together from lousy parts that costs twice as much. Hey...it's your money.

I was pretty sure that nashbar and performance were the same. But I would be surprized to find out that Bike's Direct was the same since they have a radically different feel to them. I also want to add that I would take a Kilo TT over a Nashbar Hounder.

BD is a totally different animal. I'd rather have any BD bike than a Hounder.