Quote Originally Posted by aicabsolut View Post
Considering that you'd have to change some of the more expensive components (like cranks), I don't think it would be worth it. I broke a frame last year (but the components were fine), and so I just moved them to a new frame. I made a big upgrade on the frame quality, and I wound up spending well less than 1/2 the price of that frame on a complete bike build (I also kept my old wheels). Of course the complete bike would've come with Dura-Ace, and I was running Ultegra/105, but a Dura-Ace gruppo is not worth the thousands of dollars in the price difference.

For the most part, however, doing a custom build is more expensive than buying the complete bike unless you can get some major discounts on the frame and/or components. I did another build this year using a crash replacement frame (cheap) and a special sponsorship deal from my local shop. Had I even gotten just the frame at retail and the rest discounted, it still would've been more than buying the stock bike, especially adding in new wheel costs with this build. Sometimes you can get a decent discount on a complete group, but the wheels are where you take the biggest hit going with a custom build.

Thx for the input! I'm struggling with the "buying the whole bike" discount right now in making the decision on my carbon pick. I think I'm back-pedaling on my original plan. Sometimes when the price diff gets to be so much that you start thinking what else (almost like a whole other bike) you could buy with the diff... it's pretty hard to swallow. You are totally right about the wheels--wow, I have learned there are HUGE differences in that category. Plus, from what I understand it is the biggest upgrade in performance you can make with one component option. Btw, I remember seeing your damaged frame thread--ouch! Glad the new rig is going well.