yeah, guys i'm stoked. these were the replies I was hoping for. I appreciate all the advice, and completely agree. "entry-level" straight guage chromo frame certainly doesn't warrant hanging a bunch of swag components. I was more concerned with having some people with experience look through the list for red-flags. bike has been overhauled, re-greased all the good stuff. seller is actually a pretty rad dude, does a bunch of work on rertro raodies, rebuilding/whatnot and seems willing to help with any future issues / upgrades. I'm now confident it will not fall apart underneath me. and it will get loved, hard.