sputnik-f1

Edman, you are on the money, better to invest in yourself than frame material. It's not what the bike is made of, but what you are made of. Anyway, some more steel loveliness

And lets not forget steel... I would rather ride one of these for the rest of my life than a Taiwanese plastic jobbie Colnago Master X Lite

My two pence worth: A good quality Alu bike will be miles ahead of a bad quality carbon one. The most important and noticeable upgrade one can make is a quality set of wheels.

I can't tell from your post if you want the saddle for a road or mountain bike. When I got measured I was also told I fell between 130 and 143 option. If it is for a road bike and you spend a lot of time on the drops ( i.e. leaning forward and low ) then 130 would be my choice. If it is for a MTB then you have a more upright position and the 143 would be my choice as your sit bones would be better supported. And lastly, I would go for the Phenom Gel with CroMo rails. Reasons are it is a lot cheaper than the Ti and if you fall the CroMo will be less likely to bend, so better suited to MTBing ( unless it is for a road bike, then get the Ti if you want to spend the extra cash for saving a couple of grams).

Another vote for Paypal, register for free and money is paid into your PP account immediately. Then transfer it from PP account to your bank account and you it clears in about 3 days. The buyer also needs to have a Paypal account though, but if they are serious then getting one is easy.

Hi TwoBob, I am very curious why you are building a set of SLR's. As far as I know SLR's are ready built 'factory' wheels and not a build option from Mavic. Having only seen Mavic rims for sale, where did you get the SLR hubs from?

Mmm, saddles, not an easy one. I have tried SDG Bel Air, Gobi, Selle Italia Flite Genuine gel (new version) and did not like em. WTB came close to making me happy ( Rocket V and Silverado ) Got a Spesh Toupe on my road bike and I like it, so I bought a Spesh Phenom 143 for XC duties. Will report back late Thursday- putting it on my road bike to test it on a 100km ride.