Hey guys, thanks for the further replies! (and the photos!)

I do all of my carrying/lifting in a bag. So I'm not horribly worried about racks, though in the future you never know. I won't need horribly wide tires, but again the option is wonderful and one I'm keeping in mind. I basically just need a frame for general "getting around" as well as commuting.

Fenders would be nice, nothing super heavy though. Was thinking about doing blades or something, but I've not really looked into the market. I don't need a super packhorse, but something that can be a toolin' around with friends on a whim bike as well as a commuter, all in one would be awesome.

The surlys look nice. Plus they seem to look like one of the few with spots to to mouth fender/brakes. Yes I want to run brakes! So it seems like I need to look into surly a bit more...