The Denali isn't a bad bike at all. If everyone did what you are doing, they could have themselves a pretty nice entry level road bike for more less than half the cost of a regular entry level road bike. If I am ever strapped for cash and I need a new road bike, I'll buy the Denali. I'd switch to lever shifters, a used deore+ groupset, gatorskin tires, and a lighter aluminum seatpost. I owned a stock Denali and it rode just fine, but it felt pretty heavy for a road bike. The only thing I didn't like was the low quality group set and grip shifters.