Coming off of BMX bikes, the gritty would be a great bike for you. Brakes aren't any worse than what comes on BMX bikes at similar price; lots of BMX parts like seatpost, cranks, stem. Love the clear over steel "handrail" paintjob. Downside: is it even CroMo anymore? And the parts are pretty cheap.
Only reasonable way to go geared on this bike would be an internally geared hub, most likely a three speed with the Gritty's 120mm rear dropout width.
It would be a pretty decent segue from BMX into full-size bikes. Where are you that you can't buy a decent bike locally?