I hear what you are saying BBM and you make some good points.... But I guess that what I meant was that I see really well-made handcrafted bikes in my local used market for $300-600-ish and they are often near pristine and far superior to the $899 Specialized/Trek machines that I sometimes check out in the shop. (I consider "superior" to be smoother and/or faster or at least a "unique" feeling when one uses the component/machine)

Very flashy goods these days but I haven't felt any '08-09 derailleurs or especially hubs in the $899 price range that are as smooth as my old 600 stuff or my Campy Record stuff... And the sad thing is that sometimes all somebody would have to do is spend a weekend afternoon doing some general cleaning/greasing on a vintage machine to get a better result.

Sorry, I really am a tight*ss aren't I... I'll try to join you guys in the current century some day...

I think that it's time to admit that I have a problem w/ that little black "Made in China" decal on the bottom of most head tubes....Maybe it's psychological on my part