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  • it's a slippery slope... or a beautiful journey, depending on your approach. I, like the OP, tend to jump in feet first, and on reflection blow budgets etc. but what you end up with is something you should be really happy with (unless you have to sell it to pay the bills you've racked up!).

    To answer the original question: what components depends on the frame and period. At the moment I'm building a 90's italian frame, so for me it's cinelli, campag etc. I've just noticed that ebay has a vintage cycle parts section (how long has that been around?).

    If you're building a modern track bike, and you bought decent components, my guess is that it's about 50% more expensive (even if you look for bargains) to put something together that's as good as OTP. If you spend more than that (or luck out), then you'll get something better, and possibly much better as OTP's are often a real compromise. Plus, OTP bikes aren't bespoke. So if you're particularly heavy, or tall, or light, you can build something you'd never be able to get OTP...

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