i've got a 2002 Lemond Buenos Aires 51cm that i'm building for my daughter. it's ultegra 2x9, and it needs chainrings, chain, cassette, brake pads, cables, and bar tape. pricing all that out, it's almost a wash to get a complete groupset, and then i'd have new brifters as well. so, i'm looking for a good price on a complete groupset in either 105 or ultegra, 2x9 or 2x10. can someone help a brother out? Thanks!
I might have an answer let me check tomorrow, and I will let you know.
know a huge bike guy at work. I'll see what he knows/can do.
thanks guys! just to be clear, i'm talking about new parts, and i'm capped at about $350 because i still have to get tires and get my '70s Leri Mirella put back together so I can ride with her. the Lemond does not need new brakes or derailleurs, but it seems like a new 105 groupset complete should be in the mid-$300's.
ECM?
Sorry, I've been out of the bike shop scene for a while now. All my pricing info is out of date.
I can tell you that Driven (which is a bastardization of Sturmey Archer and Sunrace) makes DIRT cheap 9-speed cassettes that are much lighter than their Shimano contemporaries. I got a 12-32 for around $12 on Amazon Prime over the winter for my cross bike.
Foam bar tape from China on ebay is like $3
KMC 9-speed chains on Amazon are dirt cheap
Brake pads can be found on ebay for super cheap.
A dude at the bike co-op where I volunteer said that Walmart has super cheap cables. I hate supporting Walmart, but go for it.
I've found ebay deals on chainrings. That said, if you watch Nashbar 20% off coupon deals, you can get an FSA Gossamer compact crankset with external BB for around $60 shipped. I got one of those for my cross bike over the winter.
There's some UK site to buy full Shimano groupsets from the UK for super cheap. I don't know the name of it, but it's always being mentioned on bikeforums.net
So there's my $.02 (well, a little more than that) 
In reply to AngryCorvair:
Replied in that thread.
Careful with brifters and small hands. My wife cannot actuate the brakes from on top of the hoods, and its stretch to reach them from the drops. She requires the inline brakes to get quick stopping power.
The main place in the UK folks buy from is Ribble. $321 for a 10-speed 105 group, free shipping. There are other UK sites too.
Watching with interest.. 
PHeller wrote: Careful with brifters and small hands. My wife cannot actuate the brakes from on top of the hoods, and its stretch to reach them from the drops. She requires the inline brakes to get quick stopping power.
Shimano made a 9-speed brifter awhile back called the R600. It's a 3/4 scale Ultegra lever designed for women. I have a set on my cross bike (I don't have huge hands and they're only a little cramped). Got them for $52 on ebay. Kind of a white whale to find now, though.
Otherwise, I know some small women who don't have issues with brifters. My friend Jenn that I ride with has some small friggin' hands and she has no issues with her 10-speed 105 levers. Just a thought.
lol, i never even thought of amazon. i fail at the internet shopping.
pretty sure i'm going to get a 105 groupset, plus a pair of 105-ish wheels. that way, she gets all the new parts and i get to put all the old ultegra stuff on my 1970's Leri Mirella. gotta get both bikes ready for the Maryland Eastern Shore Bike MS ride in about 6 weeks.
Is that the Chesapeake Challenge AC? hmm..
also, newer (buried cables) shimano may be easier for smaller hands vs. older.
Amazon can be dirt cheap for brake pads. I just picked up a set of 4 cantilever brake pads for under $6 shipped. I'd probably say a couple hundred to get everything done. Instead of brifters, i'd say look for a pair of bar end shifters. Less parts to worry about and cheaper to run.
AngryCorvair wrote: lol, i never even thought of amazon. i fail at the internet shopping.
Between Amazon and ebay, there are crazy deals on bike parts to be had.
Send me your donation link. Money was too short last year, but I can kick in this year. 
The Driven cassettes must've gone up or were on a huge sale over the winter, but there are still some mega deals on Sunrace 9-speed cassettes on Amazon that should do the trick.
In reply to bluej:
Yep, Chesapeake Challenge. Thinking about tent camping on-site. We will head to OCMD for a couple days afterward. I have a free place to stay at 71st Street, ocean block. :-)
In reply to gamby:
Will send donation link as soon as we register, LOL. Sarah was #7 fundraiser last year, so she's pretty stoked to have a yellow bib this year. Me, I'm stoked that I'm finding common ground with my teenage daughter. :-)
In reply to AngryCorvair:
Good for her!!! That number is lower than mine this year! I'm 11 or 12. Hoping to be back in the single digits this year, though. She should be very proud. Tell her to expect to hear a lot of "nice number!" on this year's ride. It's a helluva badge of honor!
My wife did this for me for Christmas
BTW--just threw a bunch of titanium/lightweight parts at my main bike. I'm also getting an aforementioned trick-ass black and red anodized Driven 12-28 10sp cassette that should shed another 50g from the bike. I'm thinking I'll drop another .75-1 lb from it total--gotta tally it all up after everything is received/installed. 
On my commuter I currently run drop bars with drop brake levers from TRP that pull enough cable for linear mtb brakes (it's a mtb frame) and I'm using bastardized thumb shifters mounted near the stem on the bars. I would love to upgrade to brifters and disc brakes, but I'd rather have Sram since that's what my road bike runs. Sram is a lot harder to find cheap than shimano. of course, then I'd need new wheels fro the discs, and a new frame with caliper mounts....so, you know, a new bike. 
I'm no help on cheap bike parts, but I will contribute something for all of us who appreciate "vintage" road bikes. Did you hear about Eroica California a few weeks back? A little hipster pretentious, but with really cool bikes: http://www.eroicacalifornia.com/ (scroll to bottom for photos)
Photos: http://theradavist.com/2015/04/a-weekend-at-eroica-california/#1
Eroica is a pretty cool event. The lack of helmets is a little unsettling, but the bikes/gear are SO cool.
I saw a bunch of stuff on instagram about it not long ago.
In reply to gamby:
3, 4, and 7?! those are three good years! I think i might have been top-10 once but i didn't ride the following year so i never got the yellow bib.
the Lemond is stripped of everything but the bottom bracket, and that's coming out tonight. then it's off to be stripped and e-coated, and when i get it back it's getting a coat of purple metalflake because 13-YO girl.
In reply to AngryCorvair:
You MUST post pics of this when it's done!!!
Yeah, those were good years. I'm thinking this year will be a pretty low number as well, as my brother made his fortune a month ago. We'll see. Slow start as usual.
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