So, I just need to vent and feel a bit better here.

I bought a frame on ebay, an old austro-daimler inter 10 with vertical drops. Then I got the IRO velocity aerohead wheel set and a build kit, and then I went down to my LBC for a stem, seat post, seat, etc. I got it all together without too much trouble, getting the chain right was a biatch, but it worked out after awhile. Sore thumbs, but it's fine. I had a hell of a time trying to get the bolts off of the rim so that I could align the cog correctly, but I'm not sure that I've gotten it yet.
How much noise is the chain meant to make? It's clicking and making a grinding sound when I spin it, it's not as noticable when I'm riding but it's still there. No matter how I seem to align it, it still seems to make some noise.. so I take it they don't run silent?
I started trying to do skip stops etc, but I don't exactly trust the bike yet... I keep expecting something to fall off... it's kind of a leap of faith to throw yourself forward to unweight the back.
I got 170 cranks, which might have been a mistake... pedal strikes might be a little too close for comfort...
One thing that really sucks is that I got a flat after riding it around the block a few times. The Iro rims didn't come with those rubber things that usually go on the inside between the tube and the spoke holes.. so I figured that maybe it just didn't need them. Apparently the edge was a bit to sharp for the tub so now I have a flat... which sucks...

My whole thing with building it myself was that I would hopefully end up spending less than what it would cost to buy a Mark V... I figured that I would end up with better parts too, because I believe a lot of the things on the IRO are just generic, so I figured I would end up with a better bike. ... so I've spent 585.71 now and have a bike with a flat and chain-alignment problems.

I'm just a little bummed... someone cheer me up. I do like the bike, it's not as sexy as a Mark V but it's not a bad bike. I do like the way it feels, so I'm not disappointed about that either... I'm definitely hooked on the fixed gear aspect.

I was a little suprised that I couldn't do track-stands (note I've been on the bike for all of half an hour) but I kind of expected to be able to do those pretty naturally. I've been unicycling for the last 3 years, and I can idle (which is the same thing) for hours on end.. but it's different on the bike... there's much more of a delay and it's a lot different than I expected.

Meh... this is a rant rave post.