>>1172538Everyone above is right. The thing to do if you want a project, and a cheap good bike, is to buy someone high quality from the 90s and restore it.
That involves stripping it, replacing all the cables, the chain, cassette, bartape, brake pads, tires, tubes, cleaning all the bearings and regreasing them, maybe new bottom bracket, maybe a new dual pivot front brake caliper, truing the wheels, cleaning all the bolts and threads, rust protecting the frame, maybe touching up the paint, reinstalling everything, adjusting it all, recabling the bike, tuning it and wrapping the bars.
You can buy something rideable and do it in increments too, the thing is just to get a mid-top end bike, something new enough to have common standards, old enough to have downtube shifters and not completely shot. They are often not that expensive. You can easily do this to a very high standard, including purchasing of tools, for 300-$800. $800 is the minimium you would spend for a new entry level bike. A high end old one in good condition will be a lot nicer to ride and represent much better value for money. You will also learn more doing this than 'building' a new bike, as there is more work involved.
I would not trust someone who has never wrenched on a bike to setup a new one well. They would very likely do a bad job and could break/strip expensive parts. It's not the right place to start. If you want seeing if there's anything good in your area, post your craigslist/ height and i'll have a look
