Thanks, AdamDZ! Exactly what I wanted to hear--wait, no, must resist! Yes, the double-butted black mtn frame is what I was looking at. Right now Nashbar has it for $99, but I'm hoping for a sale...soon.

Current dedicated commuter is a '97 Raleigh M50 cro-mo frame that I really like, but I'm digging the NB's lighter frame and the fact that it's all black and has a standard 1 1/8 head tube. If I can score a good deal on this frame, I want to swap everything from the M50 to it. So it should be a cheap project. As long as I can use the Nashbar LTD rack I have, I'm happy. I really don't want to buy any new thing that I already have but can't use because of harware issues. I plan to use V-brakes anyway.