Well, I got the winning bid on the bike - not as cheap as I hoped, but not more than what I set as my limit - actually, it was exactly my limit!

It was a little frustrating to watch other bikes go at the minimal price acceptable or slightly more, only to see the one bike I wanted keep going up!

But its a fine bike and probably the last I'll buy for a very long time - until the darn frame falls apart! Now to investigate the various ideas I've seen here.

I'm assuming that I can switch to a 12/27 until the store tells me otherwise. But what about an 11/27 or something? The highest gear is a bit higher than what I have now, I think (11/48), but I'm thinking it would be nice to stretch it out a little. And since I'm not racing, I don't think I really need the gears to be as close as they are - not that that is bad, but I'm thinking I may be better off with a wider range if it doesn't screw up anything else.

Also, we've talked about the rear gears a lot. Can anything be done with the front (presently 39/53)? I was wondering if the 39 could be smaller without causing other problems.

Bob