Eh. Maybe it's a BSO. I still prefer having something new to someone else's used bike with unknown maintenance, problems, wear, "custom" setups, and so on right now. It's going to be a while until I can sink real money into a real bike. As pro bikes go it's too heavy, the shifters are crap, and the build quality is questionable. As BSO's go this is great.

I'm going to argue to return it because defective freewheels are freakish and even the bike shop had to look at it twice. If I don't return it, I'm going to upgrade the cranks and ride it till it dies.
In the second case, do I need a 9-speed chain just because I have triple cranks, even if I have an 8 speed freewheel?

I think it has a 42-52 on it now. I'm thinking that a 28-38-48 would work for me. We have some ridiculous hills here, especially on campus, but also just nearby. We call the nearest mountain range the Trinity Alps, and for good reason. Thanks especially to nfmisso. That 34/50 looks like it might work great.