It is possible to build up a bargain bike when you spot some of the really good deals out there. I built up a great little On-One Scandal for my partner based around a bonkers deal from On-One on a Scandal rolling chassis package (frame, forks, wheels, finising kit, saddle, grips, tyres for £399). The finished bike cost a smidgen over £600 with Recon forks and hydraulic disc brakes and I reckon I paid well under half what I should have at full RRPs but even then it’s tough to compete with big builders and OEM components. At a rough guess I’d say that a comparable current season similarly specced bike would be in the £900 – £950 range, so I probably saved about a third (and again this was with some ridiculous savings); it’s less of a deal again when compared with last season sale bikes (some of which are in the 25% off catagory).
That said, building a bike is great fun and very rewarding and you can spec. it just the way you’d want it; it feels much more personal too.
Merlin are great for deals, particularly groupsets, brakes etc., although some of the european retailers seem to have the really killer deals, and On-One often do some great rolling chassis or frame and fork deals.
For reference, I love my Pipedream Sirius and the Scion (which has the same geometry) looks great too, but that’s £350 out of your budget and there are cheaper frames out there. It can be tough deciding whether to go for a nice, upgradable frame and compromise on kit for a while or do it the other way around.
Have fun if you decide to buld your own.