Think I've finally decided on a bike

My search for a new bike began around two years ago. I had narrowed it down as far as frame material: Titanium, but that was as far as I got. Then I was extremely fortunate to be given an aluminium Felt Z65 as part of the Team Cycling Plus experience and my search was put on hold. I was browsing through www.royles.biz the other day when I noticed an amazing bargain http://www.royles.biz/product/2888/Litespeed_Icon_Ultegra_TiWhite

When I looked through last weeks Cycling Weekly, the bike received a glorious 10/10 review: "It goes into my All Time Top Five", "If the Litespeed Icon can make that much difference to a half fit old duffer like me, what would it do with a half-decent rider on board".

I then checked out the review on the Bikeradar website: "The best bit, though, is when the road heads up – the Icon is a fabulous climbing companion. You find yourself halfway up steep hills barely realising you’ve started.
Or you stay seated on a climb that usually has you out of the saddle and cursing everything that’s sacred. It’s guaranteed to put a grin on your face."

Last weekend I decided to go and take it for a road test. Unfortunately, the sizing was all wrong. Although ML is a 56cm frame, like my Felt, the headtube is much smaller, meaning I was in a ridiculously racy position. However, it felt amazing. The road outside Royles is like the surface of the moon, but the bike just seemed to absorb it all - it was like riding on velvet. The very helpful guys let me try out a Look carbon bike too and there was no comparison. Although I was sitting much more comfortably, the ride was terribly harsh. I went away happy that I'd tried Titanium and it was more than I ever expected it to be, happy that I loved the bike and think this could be "the one" but a little disappointed that a bargain wasn't to be had.

Since returning home, I've been checking the geometry of the large size frame compared to my Felt and there's not much in it. And....drum roll.....I've decided that this is the bike I want. Now I've settled on this, I know it's going to be very hard to be convinced of any other view. The only problem is that it costs the best part of £4K! I've been trying to work out how much it would cost to buy the individual parts and then build it (would need help from Mr Payne if he's reading - or the bike shop). The bike is spec'd with Ritchie everything - I could opt for slightly lower spec bars/seatpost/stem etc. I already have a fab pair of Fulcrum R1 wheels so don't need any more wheels. I'm looking into all options to bring the cost down a bit. I knew I wanted to spend a bit on a bike, which I hope will last me for many years, but that seems just a bit too much (probably more than my car).

Now I've settled on the frame, the next dilemma is Compact or Triple: my compact has served me well and I've managed some huge climbs with it. However, I'm aiming to do the Fred Whitton next year and a compact will not be low enough for that. Plus, there are always moments when I wish I had a bit of a lower gear (like on Ventoux!). It would be good to have those extra low gears in reserve.

Thoughts welcome :-)

BTW, I've signed up for an intensive mechanic course at Edinburgh Bike Shop - I wonder if they go into building a bike on that?