I bought one of those a couple of years ago for $70 (I received a 30% off coupon when they realized everyone's cc card info had been compromised). I had some parts setting around that I wanted to use, so, I built a 1x8 commuter. The first incarnation was with narrow drop bars and a bar-end friction shifter. Hated it!!. I just did not feel comfortable with those bars at all. Next I put some straight bars (and I mean straight) on it with a friction thumb shifter. Much better, but it still wasn't floating my boat. Then I bought a set of cheap bars with a little rise and sweep along with a grip shifter. Wow, what a difference. I actually think this is now the most fun bike to ride that I've had in a while.

I have an old Blackburn Mountain rack on it and fenders. I used cantilever brakes, so, the rack worked just fine. The only thing that I wish was different is the fork. I used a Nashbar fork that I had picked up cheap several years ago because I was tired of it taking up space. The crown to axle distance is 453mm. I think this makes the front end a little floppy, but I'm used to it now. I would have liked to have had a fork with a crown to axle distance about 30mm less than the one I have. Other than that I have no complaints. It's made well and looks really good for a $70 frame. I thought about putting some decals on it but I kind of like it unidentifiable.