At the price point where things are good enough, bikes are really not at all frustrating. I put together my newest bike, a Canfield, with Deore level Shimano bits and it was honestly a pleasure. It's at the extreme ends where things are either weird and expensive, or too cheap to function, where we get problems.
For a metal bike with internal cables, it helps a lot to run the housings before you put the headset in. Even just having the fork out helps, especially if you have a tapered fork because you can still get fingers and tools in from the bottom. I think a better justification that gets mentioned less often is tailgate pads.
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Genesis 49:16-17