All-in-all that's probably cost me about $2,000 to build it as you see it - over a couple of years.
The frame you see is an OLD (mid-80s) steel Pinarello frame that I bought from a guy on Craigslist for $300. Personally I love steel bikes and when I saw that particular one for that price, I just about dropped a load in my pants. Those were THE top-of-the line bikes in the 80s when I was growing up. Olympic-quality stuff for that era. Had to get it. I went down that afternoon with cash in hand to make sure nobody else got it. I've done a lot of work to it though.
I found a set of decals on the Internet from a guy in Australia who specializes in vintage bike decals. The original Mavic wheels I still have, but they're very old school (tubeless, glue-on type). Actually kind of nice because they're so light - even by today's standards (there's less metal because of no tire bead, etc), but they're also extremely hard to find tires for, so I don't train on them - just keep them around for special occasions.
The wheels on there are better for training anyway - they're a bit heavier than "race" wheels, more durable, more modern, easier to find parts for (new Mavics with a "typical" bead setup) - those, the Bontrager tires, tubes, yada yada were about $400. 10-speed rear cassette & chain was about $250. New front crank (Dura-ace) I got for I think $450 along with some other stuff (was a pretty good deal actually). Rear dura-ace rear dérailleur was $130 I think. Cycling computer was $65. The heart-rate monitor I got off of woot.com for $20 I think - you can find 'em cheap. Pedals were about $200. Shoes were about another $200. Add some funky jerseys, some tools (a Park stand is an absolute must), a CO2 inflater for blowouts, a helmet (don't skimp!), etc. and you're into it for another $500 easy. Next I'll probably get the 10-speed indexed Dura-Ace downtube shifters (still using the original 600s in "non-indexed" mode, which works okay 85% of the time, 15% of the time you have to fiddle with it so you're completely in a particular gear and not trying to be in two at once). I looked at brifters, but that would add another 500 clams or more - and I actually like the lightness of the dts.
Cycling is a blast, but it can get REALLY expensive really quick if you get into it. The good news is you can very often recoup some of your costs if you ever want to sell pieces/parts off as you trade up - kind of like Porsches. You won't get back 100%, but you can usually sell well-cared-for used components for halfway decent returns. Best advice (especially since you're around a college and typically colleges have halfway decent used bike markets) pick up a used road bike that someone's looking to get rid of for $700 or $800 and just ride the snot out of it. I imagine 90% of the students ride mountain bikes or cruisers, but look around and check C-list. If you find a decent road frame that's your size and you like, get it. As you start riding more, look into (and get) the components/upgrades you want one at a time, just like you would with a P-car. It makes the $$$ pain more tolerable if you do it in little pieces and you can either sell off your original components or keep them as spares.
Or you can go down to your LBS (local bike shop) and have them put you on a modern carbon frame bike with decent components (Ultegra) for anywhere between probably $1,600 and $whatever out the door. The modern Pinarello frames are sicko awesome, but also insanely expensive. I'd feel like a total poseur riding a 12-pound bike at this point (plus I'm old school and like steel). I need to tune up the engine before I start worrying about 10ths of a gram here and there on the machine, ya' know what I mean?
If you have some cashola saved and are gonna' stick with it for sure, start researching. Try bikeforums.net and lurk a bit or ask some ?s. Talk to some bike shop guys. Definitely try a bunch of different frames to decide what you like/want before you plop down that much coin. If $$$ is tight, save up and get a used one.
Here's another couple just to tease. . . I'm like that.
