Well ... I bought the bike. The Novara CX is now the shop's, and I have a very fast metal road bike for my new commuter. Of course, there's a downpour now. I'm planning to use the Soloist as a rain bike to spare the cassette on my fancy bike, so I guess it's a good time to get used to that.

I'll post photos shortly. I shot a few, but have to figure out how to use The Gimp enough to post them.