So there is a collegiate cross season for the first time, and I'm very excited about it. I was planning on using my Dawes Kalahari commuter as a basis for a conversion.
I was going to stick on some Suntour XC pro brakes, XC Pro derailleur and Command shifters with some Cane Creek brake levers.
But I was chatting to a team mate who thinks that this frame would be an awful basis for a conversion.
It's a 2002 Dawes Kalahari frame (ignore the rest of parts; I had to replace most of them
http://www.dawescycles.com/dawes/kalahari.htm
If I need to look at a new frame, what is a good, grad student budget frame for racing?