Weight Cheapie (Chinese crabon fun)

If you need a big frame then you will never be short of bargains from last year.

Open to suggestions - I genuinely couldn't find one.

You say that you're not after a Madone or a Dogma, but with the kind of money you are talking you're not far off. If I were you (desperate for di2 with a fixed budget) I would buy a good condition 2nd hand frame (there are so many out there if you are patient) and a new di2 group.

The Di2 is a deal breaker (the noise of misaligned rear derailleurs haunts me), and the di2 versions of those frames is Small-Car territory.

I'm wary of second hand frames due to the propensity of bike theft, and, well, people sell bikes for a reason (i.e. they're fucked) and carbon one's are tougher (IMO) to spot the dudds.

I would totally understand this project (well, not totally, but I would better understand it) if you were building yourself a mechanical Ultegra-equipped race bike at that weight for sub £1300.. but even then I would still rather buy a Ribble or PX - there is very little difference in price, plus you get better customer service, QC and a warranty. I appreciate the decision you are making is one of aesthetics, but if I were on a budget I wouldn't skimp on warranty because I'm too much of a tart to ride a frame with an ugly logo.

For the record, if Planet X did a di2 bike I'd probably bite their hand off. The brand says the 'right things' to me (very budget conscious, little delusions of being a US/Euro Grande Dame, just bikes that work) and the frames are pretty discrete.

But they don't.

The point of the project is to try out di2 shifting and for a set and forget (or at least allow a bit of dimentia). It's in the back of my head a lot of the groupset will be transposed onto a future build if it's a roaring success (when the frame snaps on me!)

Or you could just buy a Ultegra CAAD* and have a blindingly good bike straight out of the box. Don't believe all the guff about carbon being way better and more comfortable than alu, there may be some difference in ride quality, but not that most of us can discern over choice of contact points and tyre pressure.

• stock forum response: buy a CAAD - but there's a reason for that!
  
  

And the Mumsnet crowd RAVES about M&S slacks ;)