Thanks all for your compliments! To answer a few questions, I can get all gears on the freewheel. This is the smoothest riding bike I've ever ridden, due to the outstanding Phil Wood components. The splash guards were almost an afterthought, and they are purely ornamental. Wald sells them for $15.00 or so and I couldn't resist. I think they give the bike that early '60's look I was after.