OJ, that is a beautiful bike!

I'm going to try and post some better pics here to actually do mine some justice...

As I've put the bike together, I've come to the conclusion that if I were to go into a shop and build up a bike with any gearing and components that I wanted, this is what I would have come out with.

I love the cassette and I'm so glad that my RD fit the 34t rear cog. My upper 4 gears are nearly identical to what I'm riding now so it should be plenty fast for flat riding on the 53t ring, but the bottom 3 gears are uber low compared to what I'm riding now, so this bike should be a goat which has me pretty excited.

The noodle bars are pretty amazing. I went from 40's to 44's as well which makes a big difference. Very comfortable.

The 25c tires offer much more cushion over the 23's I'm currently riding as well, so that was a plus.

And this bike has reinforced my belief that SIS DT shifters are my favorite type of shifting system. Too easy to set up, and too easy to use.

The biggest thing I've learned is that when purchasing a frame, make sure that everything is there. Even the small parts. I still haven't gotten the proper front derailleur hanger for this bike, and am using a Problem Solvers adapter that I've filed to fit. Not perfect, but works fine so far.

Anyways, now I just need to ride it...