The bike is up-spec'd with the Sora shifters from the Trek 1.1 at retail price of $700+, so it seems like a decent bike at a good price, but down-spec from the similarly MSRP (Nashbar claims $999) Trek 1.2... of course you could almost buy two of these for the price of a 1.2, actual price. Seems like a pretty good deal at decent, basic spec.
I like the idea of the 9sp shifters, especially. Depending on what you want to do with it, you could have a low geared monster running a mtn derailleur and cassette.
Any idea how wide a tire you could fit in that bike? Would it matter to you if the widest tire you could fit is a 25c?