rasheed -- thanks for the links. I'll check them out. Yes, I intend to post once I decide on a bike (and put up a pic too).
markm109 -- two people for a Gary.
Phiber -- I must be blind not to see them. I just clicked on the first one.
Trauma -- I'm from Fort Worth, Texas. Hello neighbor from the north! Hope it's not too cold around this time of the year up there. It darn hot down here in the Texas heat.
rmwun54 - hooligan & super-douper has already talked me out of buying a wal-mart mongoose bike several posts up. A co-worker said that he bought a wal-mart bike for his son that lasted for a year without any problems. He said it comes with some sort of Shimano branded component located near the handle bar. Which he said the Shimano brand is the top of the line for such a bike component. Not knowing much about bikes, I took his word for it. Anyone here disagree?
At any rate, I called up the local bike shop asking whether they had the 2005 specialized hardtop sport model in store. They said they don't have them right now, but are in transition between the 2004 and 2005 models. For availability, they're thinking it'll be around 2 weeks to 2 months before they get that model in the store. What a bummer, dude. I was hoping to try one out at the store.