yeah, i'm glad i haven't given up yet. would have been a bigger pain if i didn't have another bike to ride while i've been working on this monstrosity. the thing that has kept me going is knowing that when i'm done, i'll have what i want, not something i had to compromise on because of a time constraint.

the good news is that after a bit of steel wooling the bottom bracket is finally in and i just took it for a test ride around the block. after a couple fine tunings tomorrow (like getting some brake cables...) it should be good to go.