I love looking at the before and after pictures, I think it's the only thread I look at daily even if nobody new has added to it. It reminds me of my very early, very financially challenged days of cycling when I worked at bike shops and turned everything from department store ten-speeds to my road training bike into "psuedo-cross" bikes. My favorite was when I read Paul Curley's advice on how to construct effective cyclocross pedals at the time (bolts coming out of the backs of the pedals with guide wires to lead the foot into the clips and straps) and applied that to a $100 Kent, my first ever "road" bike when I was 15.