Thanks guys. I volunteer at Bike Church and have very little to do with the actual kid programs aside from helping to raise money for it. Come on down, tuesday thursday sunday 6-9:30 pm. Women and trans night wensday for a more toned down atmosphere and far fewer people. It's a great place if you want to buy a cheap bike and learn how to overhaul everything. I learned almost everything I know about bikes there and from Sheldon Brown's site.

Cordia: Building up your own is more about taking your time and doing things right then some mystical bike knowledge. Just don't do it all at once.

Bob Ross: There's a few things I don't like either but can't justify the money to change them, but I am very very happy with it. It rides fantastic, takes corners far better than my surly without being at all twitchy. I love the STI ergo shifters, they're my first set and the tight gearing is fantastic. I'll be doing 40 miles tomorrow and 100 sunday, so that's the real test.

Maalea: My brother has a Bilenky touring bike (26" wheels, every braze on imaginable) with the S&S and he loves them. After doing it once or twice it takes about 45 minutes to break down the bike into the suitcase and an hour or so to put it back together. He an his girlfriend both rode bilenkys from Amsterdam to Prague last fall and when she didn't tighten down the couplers enough they started comming loose. The design is good the threads didn't strip and they just tightened them and kept going.