Quote Originally Posted by Zippinalong View Post
You can also look at the cassette which you can get in different teeth sets. But in the end as someone else pointed out, you'd probably be farther ahead having a bike built for you. That way you get it built the way you want. 4k is plenty of money for that.
I spent less than that on my full custom Gunnar, but of course some custom builders charge more than that. I don't know how the drive-train price point might change for a true road bike as my Gunnar is pretty much pure mountain outside of the custom road fork. One thing is sure, especially for us shorter women or those with physical limitations, custom is indeed the best way to get what fits us. Is it the only option? No...but if you are working with a fitter who knows his or her stuff and a reputable company like Waterford/Gunnar or others it is a way to assure it fits.

Of course the proof is in the pudding, and sometimes a custom bike doesn't mesh, but I would hope that is a rare occurrence. I've had a good experience going custom, and should any of my current bikes explode I would consider doing it again.